Saturday, March 07, 2009

Eric Gagne Has a Bum Shoulder

According to a story found on MLB.com, Eric Gagne is going to get a second opinion on the MRI performed on his right shoulder. The Brewers' physician noted damage to the labrum and rotator cuff. The physician wanted to give Gagne a cortisone shot (which is like giving a guy with a concussion a lobotomy). Good grief. Gagne wants this other doctor to tell him if he needs surgery or not.

It's too bad about the career path Gagne has fallen to after his brilliant years with the Dodgers. Of course, most fans will say that those years were drug aided and it's hard to argue. But for us in northern Maine, Gagne is a bit of a hero. He was born just an hour from here in Montreal and many of our neighbors bear his last name. Except up here, it's pronounced sort of like: "Gongyah" or "Gonyer." Face it, not too many baseball stars come from this part of the world. Heck, you have to play baseball underground for most of the year. So when we do have a star, we all take pride.

Many up here were thrilled when Gagne joined Boston, the team most people around here follow (thanks to its New England ties, good marketing and NESN). But he was so bad in his brief time with Boston that many around here wore black for weeks.

The saddest part of this story is that Gagne was starting to put it together last year and finished the season with eleven straight scoreless appearances, reminding folks of his once and mighty streak. The Brewers only signed him to a minor league contract and it is unlikely they will wait around for him to get fixed up. Their stance, according to the story linked above was that Gagne will either pitch in the majors or hit the road.

Sad. Sad for all the Quebequa up here who root for him.

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