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What the Eck?

Gagne fills role of pampered closer well

Posted: Friday June 27, 2003 11:43 AM
Updated: Friday June 27, 2003 6:20 PM

Eric Gagne rarely has to overexert himself to earn a save. AP

15

Baserunners allowed by Eric Gagne in his 29 save opportunities (28 2/3 IP) this season.

Reasons Juan Gonzalez should accept a trade to the Montreal Expos:

1 Peace and quiet of Olympic Stadium.

2 Can't beat the exchange rate.

3 Celine Dion is in Las Vegas.

4 Won't have to watch Chan Ho Park pitch anymore.

5 Alex Trebek will grant a guest appearance on Jeopardy!

6 Canadian beer packs a real wallop.

By Jacob Luft, SI.com

To say Eric Gagne has been dominant this season would be to sell him short by the length of a Carlos Delgado home run.

"Dominant" doesn't begin to describe Gagne, who has struck out 69 of the 148 batters he has faced this season. He's allowed a scant 30 baserunners in 39 1/3 innings, and has converted 37 straight saves dating to last season.

He is Dennis Eckersley reincarnate, and not just because they both began their careers as starters.

The Eck is widely credited with ushering in the era of the pampered, one-inning closer with the way he was handled by Oakland manager Tony La Russa in the late 1980s and early '90s.

Gagne fits the Eck mold. Only once this season has he converted a save of more than three outs -- on May 11 when he went 1 1/3 innings against the Expos. He has two outings in which he's gone two innings; the rest of his 39 appearances have been one inning or less.

Of course, this doesn't reflect on Gagne as much as his manager. Jim Tracy is the one making the decisions on when to use pitchers, after all, and he is not alone in using his closer sparsely. The Rolaids Relief Man Standings categorizes a "tough save" as coming in with the tying run on base. So far this season, only one pitcher has as many as two tough saves -- Atlanta's John Smoltz.

Relatively speaking, Braves skipper Bobby Cox has made sure Smoltz isn't as pampered as Gagne. Smoltz has recorded six saves in which he got more than three outs, including a pair of two-inning jobs.

Perhaps the best example of a manager making full use of his ace closer comes from Houston, where Jimy Williams has deployed Billy Wagner in all manner of ways. Sixteen of Wagner's 39 appearances have come in non-save situations, including five in tied ballgames. (Isn't that what Bill James was talking about when he wanted the Red Sox to use their closer in high-leverage innings?)

By contrast, Gagne has been brought into non-save situations nine times and Smoltz seven. Gagne has top-shelf setup guys like Guillermo Mota and Paul Quantrill to plow through the seventh and eighth innings, so his boatload of made-to-order saves is understandable. And when you have the best record in the NL, as the Braves do, it makes sense to keep Smoltz fresh for the multitude of save ops he will have.

But what about the Texas Rangers? They are a losing team (29-48) and have used Ugueth Urbina in non-save ops a measly seven times. What is Buck Showalter saving him for, the two times a week when they win? Several closers have yet to record a save of more than three outs, including Kansas City's Mike MacDougal, Colorado's Jose Jimenez, Baltimore's Jorge Julio and Pittsburgh's Mike Williams.

Much like Houston, Oakland and Florida are two teams that deserve credit for not having tunnel vision with its ace relievers. A's closer Keith Foulke has posted four two-inning appearances in non-save situations and has a pair of four-out saves. The Marlins' Braden Looper has pitched two innings five times in a game this season.

Even in this era of ultra-specialization, it's nice to see that some managers can keep it old school.

This week's topic: Three hitters who have crashed in June after sizzling starts.
1. Bill Mueller, 3B, Red Sox. What, you thought he was gonna hit .400? Statheads everywhere rejoiced when Shea Hillenbrand was traded, but all that did was clear the way for Mueller to hit 18-for 83 (.217) in June with a crummy .267 OBP. Maybe it's time to give rookie Freddie Sanchez a shot.
2. Marcus Giles, 2B, Braves He was an RBI machine through May with 30 but has only five in June. His batting average has cascaded: .365 April, .280 May and .225 June.
3. Raul Mondesi, OF, Yankees. So much for the salary drive. Mondesi was looking like a contract year wonder before a 17-for-83 (.205) month.

Welcome to the world of alternate photo captions:

Hideki Matsui can't stop hitting groundballs, but at least his face is getting airborne. AP

Alex Popov (left) and Patrick Hayashi should be the ones on exhibit -- for stupidity. AP

Prison won't stop Jose Canseco from granting interviews every 15 minutes. AP

Don't tell her Derek Jeter is having a tough season. AP

So the two guys who waged a bitter court battle over Barry Bonds' 73rd home run ball end up with nothing after paying their legal fees? You couldn't make up a more lucid example about the evils of pure, unadulterated greed.

Joe Torre
Major league baseball's new wrinkle to the All-Star Game selection process for reserves -- letting players and coaches vote -- was designed to stop managers from loading up the squads with their own players. It's almost a shame Joe Torre doesn't get to pick the squad this year, because this rule has his name written all over it. ... If you haven't already, check out the Hall of Fame's online exhibit on the history of baseball uniforms. It includes an archive of every uniform every worn in the big leagues. ... Has the National League finally figured out Giants lefty Damian Moss? He's 2-6 after a 5-0 start, and his ERA for June is 8.88.

Jacob Luft covers baseball for SI.com.

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