another Gagne article

[bigbully]

excerpt from Jayson Stark article on ESPN.com (here)

Useless Gagne-Vs.-Everyone-Else Info

In that 23-month period in which Gagne was blowing no saves, all those other, slightly more human, relievers combined to blow 969 saves. In fact, there were 28 blown saves just against the Dodgers during the streak.

Eric Gagne has allowed 49 hits in 100 innings during the streak.

The five closers with the next-most saves during the streak -- John Smoltz, Billy Wagner, Eddie Guardado, Mariano Rivera and Keith Foulke -- blew a combined 34 saves while Gagne was blowing zero. That breaks down this way:

Smoltz 69 of 74

Wagner 63 of 68

Rivera 70 of 77

Foulke 58 of 66

Guardado 65 of 74

So if the best relievers on earth were blowing 34 saves during this streak, just imagine how many some of the more mortal relievers were blowing. These guys blew the most saves during Gagne's streak:

14 Danys Baez

12 Francisco Cordero

12 Jason Grimsley

11 Armando Benitez

11 Damaso Marte

11 Tim Worrell

Useless Domination Info

How overpowering was Gagne during this streak? Incredibly, he totaled more saves (84) than he allowed hits (71). And that just ain't normal.

Next-best on Planet Closer (but not even close) during the same stretch were Smoltz (83 H - 69 SV), Wagner (77-63) and Guardado (79-65).

This guy was so unhittable, a hitter was three times more likely to strike out against Gagne during the streak than he was to get a hit. (Strikeout-to-hit ratio: 207 whiffs, 71 hits). The only other closer with even twice as many whiffs as hits in that span was Wagner (158 strikeouts, 77 hits).

Speaking of unhittable, Gagne had one stretch during the streak (last July 27-Aug. 14) in which he made 10 straight appearances without giving up even one hit. He made another (May 31-June 12, 2003) in which he made eight straight appearances without giving up a hit.

He steamrollered 25 consecutive hitters without a baserunner in the July-August streak, and 24 in a row in the May-June streak. Ridiculous.

Even though almost half of Gagne's saves came in games the Dodgers won by a run (40 of 84), he was so untouchable that just once did he come within 90 feet of blowing a save. The only time during the streak that the other team even got the tying run to third base was last Sept. 18, when Arizona did it.

As loyal reader Eric Orns, president of the Useless Eric Gagne Infomaniacs Assn., reports, Gagne faced the minimum number of hitters in nearly half of his 84 saves (40 of 84, 48 percent).

Orns also reports that Gagne allowed one hit or none in 92 percent of his saves (77 of 84) -- and gave up zero hits in an amazing 60 percent of them (50 of 84).

Strikeout machine that he was, Gagne punched out at least one hitter in 77 of the 84 saves.

He whiffed three hitters or more in 16 of them (19 percent).

He recorded every out on a strikeout in 14 of them (17 percent).

He struck out every hitter he faced in seven of them (8 percent).

And ohbytheway, in one stretch, he struck out at least one hitter in 35 straight trips to the mound.

But in the meantime, his strikeout-walk ratio was an insane 207-34. And only once (April 17, vs. LA) did he walk more than one hitter in any appearance.

Not many strikeout pitchers are also as pitch-efficient as this guy. Gagne got through nine saves in the streak (11 percent) in 10 pitches or fewer, according to Eric Orns. And only twice did he throw more than 25 pitches in a save.

Think this guy got a little stoked when the game was on the line? During just the save opportunities in the streak ...

His ERA was 0.82.

He struck out 14.3 hitters per nine innings.

He gave up only 4.1 hits per nine innings.

He allowed just three homers (to Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Pedro Feliz).

He totaled many more saves (84) than baserunners (61).

He racked up almost 100 more strikeouts (139) than hits (43).

And of the 23 runners he inherited in those games, none of them scored.

Useless Quality-Control Info

You don't have to be Rollie Fingers to know that not all saves are created equal. But in the old saves column, there's not a whit of difference between coming into a one-run game and striking out the side and coming into a three-run game and giving up two runs on six hits, then collecting your save on a bases-loaded line drive.

So the big question is: How many of Gagne's saves were cheapies and how many were of the rarified break-a-sweat variety?

Well, of Gagne's 84 saves, he entered the game with a one-run lead 38 times, a two-run lead 17 times and a lead of three or more 29 times. So that tells us something. But we need to know more.

So the Elias Sports Bureau has devised a formula for something called a "Quality Save." To earn a Quality Save, a pitcher needs to:

Earn a save in a game in which the tying run was in scoring position when he entered.

(And/or) save a game in which he protected a one-run lead for at least one inning.

And if you use that definition, it's clear Gagne didn't just earn the most saves in baseball during his streak. He also earned the toughest.

During Gagne's streak, just 30 percent of all saves qualified as "Quality Saves." But almost half of Gagne's saves were Quality Saves. Here's the leader board, courtesy of Elias:

MOST QUALITY SAVES DURING THE STREAK:

Gagne 38 of 84 (45.2%)

Guardado 21 of 64 (32.8%)

Rivera 21 of 70 (30.0%)

Wagner 21 of 63 (33.3%)

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF QUALITY SAVES DURING STREAK (MIN.: 10 QUALITY SAVES):

Eric Gagne 38 of 84 (45.2%)

Joe Nathan 10 of 23 (43.5%)

Matt Herges 10 of 24 (41.7%)

Trevor Hoffman 11 of 27 (40.7%)

Joe Borowski 17 of 42 (40.5%)

Mike DeJean 10 of 25 (40.0%)

Jose Jimenez 14 of 35 (40.0%)

Of course, there's one big difference between those other guys in the 40-percent group of Gagne. They blew 36 saves in that time -- and Eric Gagne blew nada.

[Kriegz]

I think that Jose Jimenez is more likely to gige up a home run than get a strikeout, that sucks :(