He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle

(AP Photo)

Well. Um.

Maybe it's always going to be Opposite Day in the postseason. I seem to recall this 2007 team in the regular season being in the habit of offensive failure, rather than the bullpen kind. But this time around, the offense actually picked up the pitching for most of regulation, until the bullpen--the strength of our team all year--spectacularly blew a tie game in a rally led on the Cleveland side, creepily, by Trot Nixon.

It has been my curse this season to have been immediately smitten with Eric Gagne--given he's a cute, cuddly, roly-poly pastywhite French Canadian dude, I'm pretty much bound by my genetic heritage to find him adorable--but at this point I'd say my disgust for his performances has overwhelmed my general attraction to his person. I'm sure he's a sweetheart, but it's time for Eric to hit the golf course this year. We don't need to make it personal, but let us just quietly let him go.

I think Surviving Grady's post this morning is a must-read, and within that the most important section is this paragraph on Gagne:

And, sure enough, as has been the case so many times since he came aboard, it all came apart when Eric Gagne entered the picture. After striking out Casey Blake, the Canadian Loyalist, who practically refuses to execute a 1-2-3 inning under any circumstance, gave up a single and a walk and got his ass lifted but quickly by Titio, who I'm sure could imagine fans storming the gates and killing Gagne with their bare hands. One can only hope that Gagne just kept walking off the field, through the gates of Fenway, down to the waterfront and out to the airport where he hopped the first plane back home. Because the guy is clearly useless to us from this point forward.

And it's like that. We don't have to yell and scream about it. There doesn't need to be a mob on his doorstep with pitchforks and torches. We can be quiet and civilized as we make this transition. But it is for certain that he should leave now.

I've been trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but at this point I have officially given up that ghost. We can now say definitively that Gagne was the difference between a comfortable division lead throughout August and the nail-biting, ulcer-scraping tension of the final few weeks. He was the difference last night between a perhaps arduous win in extra innings and a total meltdown for the Sox bullpen. Worst of all, his spot in last night's game represents a potentially crucial missing piece for the Sox bullpen--it's not just that Gagne's so bad, but that he's taking up a spot on our roster we might have filled with a more effective pitcher. With how evenly matched the Indians and the Sox are this season, even that small an edge can soon look like a glaring advantage.

Also, I mean, Jon Lester and Javy Lopez...Lester's been a little inconsistent elsewhere this year, but of all the times for Lopez to pick to shit the bed...

Red said he'd already conceded this game mentally on account of Fausto Carmona, but I hadn't. I thought Schilling would be nails again (he was ok, but nothing like he was in Anaheim) and expected a full repeat of the Papi and Manny show (which we got, for the most part) and another 5-1 or perhaps 5-3 ball game.

So for it to have first finally attained Heart-Attack Theatre status (also tm Red) and then gone pear-shaped in such dramatic fashion, has me experiencing some severe cognitive dissonance this morning. It's kind of like that terrible pins-and-needles feeling you have when your leg falls asleep--you just have to kind of hop around, grimace and go "eerrghhhh" for a while.

It's like I've said all along. I've never felt this way about a playoff-caliber Red Sox team before, but with this year's squad, I feel like I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd been swept in the first round, or if they won 11 straight games and the World Series. They've been so hot and cold, so spectacularly bad and yet so life-affirmingly good, at different times this season. I still feel strongly that from night to night, it all comes down to which Red Sox team decides to show up. Last night the Suck Factor invaded Fenway big time, and for the first time this postseason I'm wondering if it's the footsteps of Mr. Hyde* I'm hearing...

Luckily, they've given us a day to let our ulcers heal over, and hopefully a day's lead for Gagne to skip town before he gets the full-on Buckner treatment. Unluckily, we're going to have an entire day to contemplate all the what-ifs, now that this team has shown the cracks in its armor for the first time.

___________________________
* The weird parallel-universe-ness of these teams continues...Indians bloggers have apparently used the same Jekyll / Hyde reference to describe their team, too.

Comments

[COD]

When the camera showed Gagne walking in they went to commercial after the 10th I went to bed. No reason to stay up when you know the ending. And we all knew that ending.

[maxwell horse]

"We can be quiet and civilized as we make this transition. But it is for certain that he should leave now."

This would be a lovely option if we lived in a logical world. Unfortunately, they are going to keep trotting him out there again and again. It defied all logic for him to even BE on this post-season roster in the first place, when Tavarez would've been much more helpful in games such as last night. And yet, Gagne magically found himself on the post-season roster.

I've come to think of Theo Epstein as a George Bush type. He will still hold the same beliefs on Wednesday as he did on Monday, regardless of what happened Tuesday. If by some miracle the Sox make the World Series, I think we can count on seeing Gagne on that roster too. Hell, they'll probably have him closing out Game 7 in lieu of Papelbon.

They will keep bringing in Gagne again and again until there is nothing left to play for.

[Kelly]

I share your unreasonable and perhaps unjustified affection for the guy, but I think it's often overlooked that the move to get him was exactly the right move. And it's true that:
It's not just that Gagne's so bad, but that he's taking up a spot on our roster we might have filled with a more effective pitcher
... but the real problem is that I don't think we have that pitcher in the first place. Folks cite Tavarez as the guy they want; well, I think there's a reason that in his time here he's been a decent low-rotation starter but a total crapshoot out of the 'pen. Since the end of July, he was good against Tampa and in one game against LAA--otherwise, not so much. Snyder wasn't the answer either. If I could convince Gagne to suffer an injury right now and make room for Bryan Corey, I'd do it, but I would certainly have chosen him and the possibility that he'd get past the yips over Tavarez.

(I assume it's the yips. What else could it be? Friday night was incredible--he had it, and then it was gone, and I was amazed he held on. On the way home from the park someone asked me what the final score was and I had to confess that I thought it was 10-3 but that I might possibly have mentally blocked out a Gagne run!)

[KLN]

I complained, here in this blog, when they made the trade for Gagne. I thought it was a short-sighted move, and I'm sorry I've been proven correct. I'm willing to bet he's injured too, and just is too f---ing selfish to admit it.

As for the Sox, was it the 7th or 8th inning, when Papi and Manny came around again, and all of a sudden they looked different to me -- not as patient, more hurried, anxious to get the game done and go home. Same as they looked in the 10th. And I had to wonder, just what you wrote above Beth, has Mr. Hyde come to visit? I sure hope not.

Finally, I'll add that I can't really blame Tito on his pitching decisions. I would have kept Timlin in, and let him got on a batter-by-batter, or maybe pitch-by-pitch evaluation. He and Papelbon rocked, too bad the offense couldn't find something, late in the game (and where the hell are the 7-8-9 hitters, please?).

[Bloggy]

You can add my name to the list of people who "cite Tavarez as the guy they want".

Gagne has done mathematically NOTHING in his time as a Bo-Sock. Tavarez has shown that he is incredibly versatile. He starts, he comes out of the pen, he does long relief, set up stuff, whatever. Yeah, he's kinda a crapshoot, but I'll take a 50-50 guy over a flat-out dud any day of the week.

I'm a Canadian, but any leaway he gets from me due to a shared nationality is long since passed.

If and when we make the Big Dance, I hope that Tavarez is on that roster.

[Caroline]

Well, exactly. I have tried and tried to give Eric Gagne a fair shake but the shake is done. And then Lopez just embarrassed himself.

I guess we have just got to hope we can keep ourselves out of these situations in the future by scoring lots and lots of runs. Guys? Good luck with that.

Also, I have to confess, ever since that one unspeakable Yankees game I have realized that the one thing I physically cannot stand to look at is a sad Papelbon who's blown a game, so my dismay at Gagne's entrance was mixed with relief that at least it wouldn't be Paps' blown game, is that sad or what?

[mouse]

I thought Schilling would be nails again (he was ok, but nothing like he was in Anaheim)...

Here I must respectfully disagree with you. Five runs in 4 2/3 innings is not "OK," especially in a playoff game. I didn't expect him to throw a shutout against a good hitting team like Cleveland, but the very fact that he couldn't even finish the fifth inning is one of the reasons Gagne had to come into the game in the first place. He can't be let off the hook so easily in my mind.

As for Gagne himself...I've tried to be patient with him as well but I can't take it anymore. The very fact that people are clamoring for Julian Tavarez to replace him on the roster about says it all, and I can't really disagree. Although it's worth noting that Tavarez was utterly craptacular in September. (I don't think Corey is an option, because he was called up after August 31 and because Ellsbury and Lester are already on the roster.) Kyle Snyder maybe?

I try to look at it this was now: can the Sox win three of the next five games? I think they can, but it'd sure help if the "good" Matsuzaka would show up on Monday. Situations like this make me wish it were possible for Beckett to start every game. Heh.

[Texas Gal]

I'm basically out of good will for Gagne. Saturday morning, I had still had a small reserve of hope and nice feelings for him -- that reserve done dried up after Saturday night. I saw him in person blow away one of Josh's wins back at Fenway in August against the Angels- and it's funny, but until now, I've let that go. He should not pitch a single more throw for the Sox again. Unfortunately, I think we'll see him sooner rather than later.

I can forgive the implosion by Lopez, because that's not a constant regular occurrence for him. I can definitely forgive the Lester part of the 11th, because they essentially just threw him to the wolves. But I cannot forgive Gagne for YET AGAIN blowing the game.