Eric Gagne

ently holds the record with 57, while Mariano Rivera is tenth with his 50-save performance of 2001. Eric Gagne and John Smoltz have both threatened to unseat Thigpen, each coming within two saves in 2003 and 2002, respectively.

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Eric Gagne: I was at opening night at Dodger Stadium in 2006 against the Braves (back when Andruw wasn’t only worth his weight in fat) and during a rain delay, my seats allowed me to talk to al the pitchers in the Braves bullpen. They wandered around and we started talking to one player (who shall remain nameless) and he revealed to us a few juicy tidbits. He let it fly that Mike Hampton’s (another person deservedly on Jeff’s list) checks on the Braves were for over $100k every two weeks. That was shocking enough. Then a slur so vile was emitted I didn’t know what to do about it. We were talking closers, and talking about Gagne’s return and he informed us that, “Gagne is going on the DL tomorrow”. We couldn’t believe it. He was going to be healthy this year! True enough was this Braves player. Gagne went on the DL after that. But that was not the slur. When we asked him why, he said it was because of…steroids. Appalled as we were, not realizing I had my first scoop as a burdening blogger, or as an informant for the “Mitchell Report”, we told him he was crazy, only for the truth to actually come out. Gagne now pitches like a man whose steroids weakened everything about him but his ability to look gross. He wanted a big money deal coming back from 2 shoulder surgeries and for once the Dodgers weren’t dumb enough to give it to him. Thankfully he is the Brewers problem now, but unfortunately for the Dodgers (what else is new) prior to going on the DL again, his last successful save conversion was against…The Dodgers.

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ex-Los Angeles Dodgers favorite Paul LoDuca needed the inherent ability to play catcher. Eric Gagne had to have the knowledge and ability to throw a baseball effectively. Barry Bonds had to be able to connect the bat and ball. Let’s not fool ourselves folks, if all you had to do was pop a pill or take an injection – why aren’t you getting drafted into the MLB?

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I’m there, every season hoping that this one will be different. When popular players like Eric Gagne and Paul LoDuca are traded away, I humbly take the ensuing punishment. When the new owner adds seats to the stadium and makes my usual lower box placement less desirable, I buy another beer and act like it never happened.

Continue reading "My love affair with my Los Angeles Dodgers"