Eric Gagne Faces Two Game Suspension for "Jockeying".

It's been a trying year for Eric Gagne. First, he injured his knee. Then he injured his elbow while favoring the knee. Now, after a month of rehab, he'll have to wait a little bit longer.

We all remember how Gagne got himself ejected on Opening Day for heckling an umpire from the dugout. Seems like getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes is the thing to do lately... Everybody's getting into the act!

However, it seems like while ACTIVE players just get a one-way ticket to the clubhouse for arguing, the punishment for players on the DL is a little more stringent. MLB has suspended Gagne for two games, starting from his activation from the DL, and fined him an undisclosed amount.

The precedent for the punishment: MLB Rule 3.17 states that a player on the DL is "permitted to participate in pre-game activity and sit on the bench during a game but may not take part in any activity during the game such as warming up a pitcher, bench jockeying, etc."

Gagne was clearly not caught warming up a pitcher, which means that he must have been suspended for "bench jockeying".

While it may be true that the term "bench jockeying" is hilariously antiquated (why not suspend him for tomfoolery or shenanigans?), it's equally clear that "bench jockeying" is no laughing matter. Especially because Gagne, at 6'2" and 235 lbs, is far too large to be a jockey of any sort.

Gagne will throw in back-to-back bullpen sessions on Friday and Saturday. If all goes well, he'll face live hitters, and will then presumably be activated from the DL two games before he's ready, just to stick it to the man.

One More Sim Game for Borowski

Good news for Cubs fans - potential closer Joe Borowski, who has been on the DL since March 25 with a broken wrist, will be traveling with the team to Houston.

Unfortunately, the only in-game action he'll see in Clutch City will be of the simulated variety. This will be JoBo's second, and presumably final, sim game.

As Mike Kiley of the Sun-Times noted today, "Borowski was impressive in a simulated game Wednesday, but pitching coach Larry Rothschild wanted to see him throw one more time to build up his strength before allowing him to face minor-league hitters." So, he'll pitch a simulated game on Saturday or Sunday at Minute Maid Park.

The word out of Wrigley was that Borowski's velocity was great on Wednesday, but that he needed some work on his control. Which is expected after a month on the shelf with a broken pitching wrist, of course, but pinpoint control is 90% of Borowski's game, so he'll need a bit more practice before he starts seeing any save ops.

The Cubs are off to Milwaukee next week, but you can expect JoBo to catch a flight from Houston to Des Moines, where he'll spend a few games tuning up with the I-Cubs. When he gets back to Chicago, it's probably only a matter of time before he reclaims the closer role.

Armando Benitez Out "At Least Four Months".

Details are still a bit sketchy, but Giants trainer Stan "I'm not Victor" Conte confirmed tonight that Armando Benitez is out for "at least the next four months" with a pair of torn tendons in his right hamstring. If my calculations are correct, that puts Benitez out until at least the final month of the season.

Benitez will go under the knife on Tuesday.

Even before the injury, Benitez has struggled to regain his past form. As we noted at the beginning of the season, Benitez' K/9 rates have declined in each of the past several seasons. Manager Felipe Alou had been underwhelmed by Benitez stuff in the early going, recently noting that "he seems to be pitching uphill and at times without any life on the ball -- no velocity, nothing extra."

Former (and future?) Giants closer Matt Herges indicated that the entire SF bullpen is ready to step up and fill Benitez' shoes, saying that "it's too bad about Armando, but we'll hold the fort until he comes back." It remains to be seen whether the Giants will entrust their ninth-inning leads to Herges, who was relieved of the closer role after getting roughed up last season.

Other candidates for saves include Jason Christiansen, Jeff Fassero, and Jim Brower.

Injury Updates - Gagne, Borowski on the Mend, Izzy Injured

ERIC GAGNE COMPLETES PAIN-FREE BULLPEN SESSION, THROWS FROM MOUND

It's been a long wait for Dodgers fans and Eric Gagne fantasy owners, but it appears that baseball's top closer is finally making measurable progress toward returning to the bullpen.

Eric Gagne threw 60 pitches, including curveballs, during a flat-ground bullpen session on Monday. When he was pain-free after that session, he talked his trainers into letting him throw from a mound - and he threw 11 fastballs without incident. Pitching coach Jim Colborn said that "(o)verall, he looked better than I hoped for. He looked stronger and his delivery was good. He's pain-free. It was an encouraging day."

JOE BOROWSKI TO THROW SIMULATED GAME TODAY, EYES RETURN

Where have you gone, Joe Borowski? Cubs Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. In the aftermath of Dusty Baker's reported decision to reinstate LaTroy Hawkins as closer, Cubs fans everywhere have pinned their hopes on the one man that can deliver them from their torment - JoBo. Fortunately, he may be back sooner rather than later. According to the Chicago Tribune, Joe Borowski will throw a simulated game today, and hopes to get back on the mound immediately.

While a brief rehab stint at AAA Iowa will probably be necessary, Borowski said on Tuesday that "if everything's sharp on Wednesday, we can go map something out."

JASON ISRINGHAUSEN SUFFERS ABDOMINAL INJURY, WILL BE CHECKED TODAY

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen, who is 7-for-7 in saves this season with a 1.08 ERA, suffered a strained abdominal muscle in the 9th inning of Tuesday's game against Milwaukee. He'll be examined today, at which time it will be determined if he'll need to spend time on the DL. Barry Weinberg, the Cardinals' head athletic trainer, discussed the injury after Tuesday's game:

"We have to wait until tomorrow to see how bad it is. It's hard to tell initially. In normal cases, right-handed people strain the left side. This is on the right side, so we'll have to see. We'll just have to assess it tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning it will be evident, the extent of it."

If Izzy spends time on the DL, it's likely that either Ray King or Julian Tavarez will be handed any save opportunities.

Tom Update: And as of 3:00 today, Izzy is on the DL.

Well, that didn't take long.

According to Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Tribune, the Post-LaTroy Era is over in Wrigley. Carrie Muskat at Cubs.com comes up with, more or less, the same conclusion. That's right, Cubs fans... Hawk will probably be "protecting" the Cubs' next 9th-inning lead, and you can bet that the booing that he'll receive will be something to behold.... worse than anything that Wrigley has heard since the Pulpo days.

Just three days ago, Dusty indicated that he was going "back to the drawing board", and that going forward, he would be using a "closer-by-situation" system. Apparently, that actually meant "I'll be completely dependent upon Chad Fox in every possible situation, unless his arm explodes, in which case we're going back to LaTroy."

After Fox went down, Dusty said that his new closer may be someone already in his bullpen - "Somebody we already have, somebody you either aren't counting on or somebody that the public already don't like." You get one guess as to who he may be referring to. When pressed, Dusty admitted that "we're probably in the same boat as we were". Apparently, there was no Plan B after Chad Fox.

Obviously, this is all still speculation at this point. Moreover, there's a chance that Joe Borowski could put this whole sad saga to rest in just a few days. But last night, in a close game that saw Dusty call for 6 relievers, he never even warmed LaTroy up. (Mike Wuertz, for what it's worth, started the 7th, and gave up 2 earned runs, while his defense committed 2 errors.) The only possible implication is that Dusty was holding LaTroy back for a potential save situation.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Dusty Baker has no plan for his bullpen, and that he's simply making this up as he goes along. For now, I fully expect LaTroy Hawkins to be handed the next Cubs' save opportunity, and we can fully expect him to keep on blowing about 30% of those saves, and about 66% of 1-run saves.

In happier news for Cubs fans, Joe Borowski will throw a simulated game today. Cubs fans everywhere wish him an incredibly speedy recovery.

Cubs Still Searching for a Closer - Down Goes Fox!

It's Day 2 of the Post-LaTroy Era, and the Cubs' bullpen situation isn't even close to settled.

It's been clear since training camp that Joe Borowski was going to see plenty of save opportunities this season, but he's still working his way back from a broken wrist, and will probably be unavailable until next weekend at the earliest. (He has been throwing from a mound, will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, and he's eager to return as soon as possible, for what that's worth.)

Chad Fox was tabbed as the interim closer, and he nailed down a 3-run save on Sunday. It made for a great story - just one year ago, Chad Fox thought his career was over due to a nerve problem (ulnar neuritis) in his elbow, which may have been related to the stress placed on his elbow from throwing too many sliders. He was brought into Cubs training camp as a non-roster invitee, pitched well enough to make the team, and amazingly enough, had apparently landed the closer role during the first month of the season.

Well, that may be over. Fox entered Monday night's game with the Cubs leading 10-3 (an "interesting" decision by Dusty Baker, who had previously emphasized Fox's fragility, and indicated that Fox would be used as sparingly as possible), and Fox proceeded to walk two hitters, gave up a 3-run bomb to Adam Dunn, walked Rich Aurilia, and ran the count to 3-1 on Jason LaRue before leaving the game with... you guessed it, a sore elbow.

Mike Remlinger entered the game to finish out the Reds, and it's possible that he could be in line for some save opportunities until JoBo returns. Possible, but not all that likely. Remlinger is still the primary lefty in the Cubs' pen. Moreover, the main reason that Remmy entered Monday's game at all is because he'd started warming up - and Fox had sat down - when the Cubs went up 10-3.

So who's the next "interim closer", while we wait for JoBo? As we discussed below, if Dusty's paying attention, it's Michael Wuertz. But that's really asking a lot of Dusty, and we all know that Dusty likes to give prominent roles to older players. Remlinger (7.11 ERA) was born in 1966, while Wuertz (0.96 ERA) was born in 1978. As such, I assume that Remlinger will get the next crack at the 9th inning. But as a Cub fan, I really hope it's Wuertz.

Tom: Update, as of 4/26/05, 3 PM Chad Fox was placed on the DL. Details to follow.

Bullpen Shakeup at Wrigley

Today's Chicago Tribune reports on what we all already knew - Chad Fox is the Cubs' brand-new closer. Sometimes. But never more than two days in a row, and probably only until Joe Borowski returns from his busted wrist, which could be within a week.

LaTroy Hawkins will return to the 8th inning, where he has been fantastic throughout his career. This move is a win-win for the Cubs: While removing LaTroy Hawkins from his 9th-inning duties is addition by subtraction, adding a LaTroy Hawkins as your primary set-up man is definitely addition by addition.

In any case, Fox is probably only a short-term fix at closer. Obviously, the Cubs would like nothing more than for JoBo to return to form. It is, however, becoming abundantly clear that Mike Wuertz is the Cubs' heir apparent at closer.

Wuertz, 26, has emerged as the best of the Cubs' young bullpen arms. He spent 2004 as the closer at AAA Iowa, where he recorded 19 saves, put up a 2.42 ERA, and struck out 9.3 batters per 9 innings, while holding opposing batters to a .181 average. After Sunday's game, Wuertz subtly lobbied for the closer role, saying that "(Closing) is definitely something I like. I like the pressure, the situation of the game. I've always been that way... I always wanted to be the one who got the last shot or the game-winning kick. I want the ball in my hand."

Of course, Dusty Baker will be the one making the final decision on who pitches in the 9th. But when Dusty was asked on Sunday if Wuertz was going to take over as his closer, his reply spoke volumes:

"Not yet."

Ambiorix in KC (for the long-term?), Turnbow in MIL

Ambiorix Burgos closing in KC, MacDougal (and Affeldt?) Out

As Tom notes immediately below, Ambiorix Burgos has been recalled from Double-A Wichita, will take over as the closer, effective immediately. In his major-league debut on Saturday, he pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a tie ballgame - while MacDougal took the loss in the tenth.

"He's got electric stuff, and his field awareness is much improved", said GM Allen Baird. At AA Wichita, Burgos was 1-1 with a mediocre 4.50 ERA and a remarkable 17 strikeouts in eight innings. He appears to have had only one bad outing, because he posted six scoreless innings in seven appearances. Burgos' fastball reportedly tops out at 100 MPH.

No word yet on whether Burgos is just holding down the fort until Jeremy Affeldt returns, but if I had to speculate (and, since that's the entire point of this website, I do), I'd say that Burgos will be given every opportunity to seize the closer role for the long-term while Affeldt recuperates. Pena and Baird are both quite high on him. If he performs well over the next couple of weeks, the job could be his for good. If he struggles, even a little, it could mean a 200-mile bus trip back to Wichita.

Mike Adams Out, Derrick Turnbow Earns Save in MIL.

Mike Adams, we hardly knew ye. In fact, the vast majority of MLB fans and fantasy owners couldn't pick the Brewers' former closer out of a police lineup. And for the time being, that won't matter too much. Derrick Turnbow picked up his first save on Sunday, and according to Brewers' manager Ned Yost, Turnbow will get the next save opportunity, too.

Dusty Baker wakes up - LaTroy Hawkins finally out in Chicago?

LaTroy Hawkins, whose struggles as the Cubs' closer have been obvious to everyone in the nation except Dusty Baker, has finally, at long last, gotten "Johnny Toothpick" to notice his remarkable knack for failure.

I was in attendance at yesterday's Cubs/Pirates game (brief recap: 24-degree windchill, Maddux flirts with a no-hitter until Patterson misplays a Jason Bay warning-track fly that would have gone 500 feet if not for the swirling winds, DuBois is completely locked in, hitting everything hard, so Dusty, of course, lifts him for Jose Macias, Patterson's HR puts the Cubs up 3-2 in the 8th, Dusty calls on LaTroy Hawkins to protect the 1-run lead.)

Anyway, LaTroy has been remarkably bad in 1-run save situations. Historically bad. In fact, he has blown 10 of the 16 1-run save situations that he's faced as a Cub. He's 6-for-16. And of course, he gave up 2 runs yesterday, giving the Pirates the win.

After the game, Dusty expressed puzzlement that his in-game strategy had blown up so spectactularly:

"We have go back to the drawing board on something else, that's what we have to do. It seems like he hasn't been good with one-run leads. I can't figure it out. He has the stuff. I can't figure it out right now."

In all likelihood, Joe Borowski will be given a shot at closing when he returns this week. He'd won the job in spring training prior to breaking his hand, he's been successful in the role in the past, and Dusty likes veterans - especially veterans who have had success for Dusty-led teams. There's also a chance that Mike Wuertz or Chad Fox could see the next save opportunity. As always, we'll keep you posted.