The Rangers never cease to amaze me with their incomprehensible personnel moves. I had thought that Jon Daniels would be some kind of improvement over former G.M. John Daniels (AKA the Empty Golf Shirt), but he and Tom Hicks continue to let some of their best players slip through their fingers and write huge checks to the over-rated, the washed-up, and the just plain bad. Today, they announce the newest addition to their bullpen when they sign Eric Gagne to a one-year, $6 million contract... pending the results of a physical.
Now, don't get me wrong- I love Eric Gagne as much as anyone and maybe more than I should (see here for proof).Still, he has pitched fifteen and a third innings in the past two seasons combined. Nobody needs to convince me of his potential (or past greatness, as I fear it is now). I remember his Cy Young season when he posted 55 saves with just three losses in 77 games, with a 1.20 ERA. But in an eight year career, he has only had three good seasons (although when he's good, he's amazingly brilliant). The Rangers say that they are confident in Gagne's medical reports, but I can't imagine anything inspiring enough to gamble six million dollars on.
Of course, I'm hoping that Gagne really is healthy and can return to his former glory. I would love the chance to be there and watch him at work and in top form.
Desperate for pitching, that's all there is to it.
Now I hear they are leading the way in pursuit of Zito. He won't be as good there as he might've been for the Mets, but can still chew up innings and hold his ERA around 3.9-4.2, especially if he can avoid the long balls...
When you look at all the other deals for relivers out there...Justin Spier, Jamie Walker, Dannys Baez, all these deals were for multiple years all over $4 million a year. Six million for a one year gamble is a great move in this year's free agent market. I think the fact that Gagne hasn't pitched much in the last 2 seasons means its more likely he has recovered from his shoulder surgery. Also, this move sets up Texas to trade Otsuka, and maybe a Josh Rupe or Nick Massett for a quality starter say maybe another Dodger, Brad Penny? Also I love the Randy Galloway empty golf shirt reference.
When you look at all the other deals for relivers out there...Justin Spier, Jamie Walker, Dannys Baez, all these deals were for multiple years all over $4 million a year. Six million for a one year gamble is a great move in this year's free agent market. I think the fact that Gagne hasn't pitched much in the last 2 seasons means its more likely he has recovered from his shoulder surgery. Also, this move sets up Texas to trade Otsuka, and maybe a Josh Rupe or Nick Massett for a quality starter say maybe another Dodger, Brad Penny? Also I love the Randy Galloway empty golf shirt reference.
When you look at all the other deals for relivers out there...Justin Spier, Jamie Walker, Dannys Baez, all these deals were for multiple years all over $4 million a year. Six million for a one year gamble is a great move in this year's free agent market. I think the fact that Gagne hasn't pitched much in the last 2 seasons means its more likely he has recovered from his shoulder surgery. Also, this move sets up Texas to trade Otsuka, and maybe a Josh Rupe or Nick Massett for a quality starter say maybe another Dodger, Brad Penny? Also I love the Randy Galloway empty golf shirt reference.
Ellesie - I understand your frustration about the Rangers "taking a risk" on Gagne (clearly, the Rangers haven't had a ton of luck in terms of risk/reward propositions lately; See: "Park, Chan ####"), but this to me seems like the classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario for your GM. It was known the Rangers had some interest, and if Gagne signs elsewhere, regains his form, and runs off another 84 straight saves, Daniels gets blasted for not being aggressive enough.
Now that the deal's done, if Gagne can't get healthy, the guy's going to get killed for taking on essentially 6 million in dead money. It's a tough call, but I'd rather have a GM willing to roll the dice than an Ed Wade "sit-back-and-wait" type.
I love your title "talking to myself"....at first I thought validation writing a blog was in how many responded but I've come to accept that the number of hits are in direct porportion to how outrageous you are, how well your Title is perceived and how confrontational you are willing to be. And hey if you got some buddies who blog a lot you can turn one blog into a chat room and that works too. I've given up trying to find a criteria to judge my own writing ability and sports knowledge. It's a zoo and nobody every gives an inch on anything. Writing for yourself is probably the only thing to do.
"Basketball, football, baseball- if it has balls, I'm all over it. Puck hockey."
I am a Red Sox fanatic and otherwise sports-obsess ed nut. Favorite teams include: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers; Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots; Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
