Eric Gagne

Eric Gagne's April of 2008 was an epic failure. Heartbreak after heartbreak he let the organization down with blown saves and an embarassing ERA.

Trevor Hoffman's April of 2010 has been an epic failure. Heartbreak after heartbreak he is letting the organization down with blown saves and an embarassing ERA.

This is a short, bitter comparison of the two, with some pretty appalling statistics.

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Baseball is a funny game.

One minute you are considered the most lethal,  dominant closer this game has ever seen, next you are being booed by your home crowd, on your way to independent baseball.

That is what makes this game so irresistible and endearing to its players and fans.

Despite all the heartbreak one endures during a career, one’s competitiveness brings them back, wanting to prove naysayers wrong.

Once upon a time, in a Dodger era far, far away, lived one of the best closers in all of baseball history.  It was 84 consecutive saves until the "Game Over" Gagne beast was proved to be human.  

According to sources, former National League Cy Young award winner Eric Gagne has decided to return to the team that lifted him to the top of the baseball world in his prime. Eric Gagne has reportedly signed a $500,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a minor league deal, but with Spring Training coming up he could earn a spot on the team's major league roster.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers closer could earn up to $1MM, with $500,000 in performance bonuses. 

Former Dodger closer Eric Gagne can represent the best of times as well as the worst of times for Dodger fans.

Some would say strains of "Welcome to the Jungle" still reverberate around Chavez Ravine. Others still feel disgust from the disclosure of his PED usage.

Wash away all the sweet and bitter and one fact remains, Eric Gagne's last dominant season as a closer is five years in the rear-view mirror. The chance of him recapturing anything close to that form is approximately equal to that of Tommy Lasorda passing up a free dinner.