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Inexplicably, Eric Gagne Is Still Closing Games for the Brewers

I'm not a big believer in the "save" stat. I could sit here and lecture you all day about leverage index and things of that nature, but I'll simply say that any stat that a player can "earn" by retiring the bottom of the order with a three-run lead is not one worth keeping track of. Sometimes, however, things are obvious enough that even the worst stats can capture the essence of the situation.

In Milwaukee this year, Eric Gagne has blown five saves. Think about that. Five blown saves before Mother's Day. Of those five saves, three of them have come with leads of two runs or more. We're not talking about a guy that's being thrown to the wolves and racking up blown saves as a result and we're not talking about a Joe Borowski (circa last year, that is) type that has a high ERA but generally gets the job done. Gagne is almost pathologically unable to finish out games at this point in his career.

After he blew a two run lead to the Astros on Sunday, I thought for sure the Brewers were going to yank him out of the closer's role. There comes a time when enough is enough and $10 million be damned, you've got to win baseball games, right? Apparently not. Doug Melvin says Gagne's job isn't in jeopardy and the team isn't even discussing removing him from that role. Interested in watching a talented young team implode before Memorial Day through injuries and bad decisions? If yes, then definitely check out the Brewers.

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