Ned Yost Springs into Action!

Eric Gagne has been sucking at his job dating back to last season, when he refused to save a game for the Boston Red Sox after being traded there by the Texas Rangers.

Somehow, he landed a free agent contract off the hot stove with the Milwaukee Brewers last winter, and has since managed to blow five games in 14 chances, including three of his last six. As expected this weekend, the struggling righty was yanked from the closer's spot after his comments in Saturday's edition of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"I don't deserve that ninth inning right now. It's very simple," he said. "It's embarrassing."

Is there some sort of mental issue here? Does this guy have more problems than just sucking at baseball?

Gagne, who at one time was actually the best reliever in baseball and now has a 1-2 record with a 6.89 ERA, has allowed 18 hits, walked 11, and surrendered 12 earned runs over just 15 innings this season.

Manager Ned Yost, who is also struggling to keep his job at this juncture, said it was a simple mechanics issue for Gagne, which is easily fixed. Yost went on to say the load will be stacked on the shoulders of the entire bullpen for now, with quite possibly as many as three pitchers handling the ninth, if need be.

Those three would likely be Salomon Torres, who has 29 career saves, David Riske with 20 and Guillermo Mota with 19.

On a lighter note, if you were ever wondering who the best shortstop in the history of the world is, look no further than The Grand National Championships, who are also fed up with this Eric Gagne business.

[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel] | [Brewers Blog] | [Red Sox Monster]