[ThePundit]

Eric Gagne pitched the eighth Saturday in his second outing with the Red Sox and gave up a two-out single to Ben Broussard, who then stole second. Kenji Johjima followed with a line-drive RBI single off the wall in left field. Jose Lopez dumped a double into left field, advancing pinch-runner Willie Bloomquist to third and putting the go-ahead run at second. But Gagne got Yuniesky Betancourt to ground back to the mound.

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Maybe he needs to close to be effective. What does everybody else think?

[legend]

Gagne has been so, so bad! He is single-handedly trying to get the Yanks back into this. This trade now looks to be a bad one, but perhaps he will right himself and pitch better. If he doesn't soon though, look out!

[ThePundit]

Maybe he has a closer's mentality and can't get it done as a middle man.

[legend]

Or maybe all these surgeries have taken thier toll. I doubt he stands out on the mound not knowing how to get hitters out because it's the eighth inning instead of the ninth. The Sox pen was just fine before he came along, and now it is suddenly wobbling.

[EmpireWF]

Gagne was great with Texas...as a closer. There is something to that mentality of knowing you're the closer...not the 7th or 8th inning guy. It does play with some people and it might be toying with Gagne's head.

[mervinout]

what pressure is their in texas none, and really wen he was in la the dodgers werent under any pressure it was the nl west. Now he is in the east and he isnt as dominant as he once was, and this just shows why cashman is in charge of the yanks, steinbrenner would of gotten him but cashman wouldnt. Im glad to see gagne in a sox uniform he is really helping the yanks out, keep it up buddy

[azrael492]

I think he will be just fine. He jsut has to readjust to his new situation. Like Mervin said, he hasn't had to deal with all the attention he has gotten until now.

[legend]

How are we feeling tonite about Gagne? At what point does Boston now banish him to mopping up blowouts?

And K-Rod peed himself tonite in the big spot. Came in with the bases loaded and threw a fifty foot curveball, allowed a double to Ortiz of all people and another to Manny, but Gagne bailed him out. Ortiz's RBIs were the first he has had all year in the eighth or ninth innings.

[ThePundit]

So-so? Make that absolutely awful. Another genius move by Theo Epstein.