Eric Gagne Not Entirely Forgotten

Earlier we linked to a Lion in Oil story about how former Dodgers mentioned in the Mitchell Report were conspicuously absent in a research survey of Dodger fans. But now you can vote for your favorite closer at Dodgers.com, choosing from Jim Brewer, Mike Marshall, Ron Perranoski, Jeff Shaw, Todd Worrell and yes, Eric Gagne:

Eric Gagne began his Dodger career as a starting pitcher with mixed results. He would normally breeze through the batting order the first time around and then the opposing team would tee off on him the second time around. A demotion to the minors in 2001 laid in question what would become of the young right-hander in 2002? With the advice of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, the Dodgers tried Gagne out as a closer and a superstar was born. Gagne would go on to have three of the most dominating seasons a relief pitcher would ever have, saving 52, 55 and 45 games for the Dodger from 2002-04. Gagne would win the 2003 National League Cy Young award with the perfect season of 55 saves in 55 chances, make three straight All-Star appearances and help the Dodgers win the 2004 National League West title. Injuries would limit his appearances in 2005 and 2006. Gagne would leave as a free agent the following year.

I guess a poll at the official website of the Dodgers isn't the first place to look for a balanced history of players like Gagne, but pretending they don't exist is a good start.

These Aren't the 'Roiders You're Looking For

From "The Dodgers Would Like To Forget Their Former Steroid Users" from Lion in Oil:

You may not know Frank Luntz, but he's a researcher who tests messages, marketing and polling on what words would work best in order to sell policies or people. He's long worked for the GOP, helping to, among other things, turn "Global Warming" into "Climate Change," allowing the party to soften the debate and seriousness of the issue. And now his firm is working for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That the Dodgers have hired Luntz and his firm is interesting, but that's not really the story. Because I purchased a mini-plan last year from the team I was asked to participate in their survey. And since I love the team, I didn't mind spending the estimated nine minutes answering their questions.

There was one question that stood out, and it's shown above. "And who of the following is your favorite Dodger of all time," it asked. You can see my first two answers above, but as I looked around for my third choice I noticed two notable absences. Just where were two of the most popular Dodgers in recent memory, Eric Gagne and Paul Lo Duca? Oh, that's right. Those two just happened to be prominently named in the Mitchell Report.

Howie Clark: 3*

Because not every player in the Mitchell Report is a household name...

Creative inspiration from abovetheinfluence.com's "I Feel Bad" ad.

Your All-Mitchell Report Dodger Lineup

You may have noticed several ex-Dodgers named in the Mitchell Report. Almost enough, in fact, to field a starting lineup:

• C Paul Lo Duca
• 1B Todd Hundley
• 2B Adam Riggs
• 3B Phil Hiatt
• SS ?
• LF Gary Sheffield
• CF Larry Bigbie (spring training invitee)
• RF F.P. Santangelo
• SP Kevin Brown
• SP Ismael Valdez
• RP Matt Herges
• RP Eric Gagne

I will put this All-Mitchell Report Dodger Lineup against any other team's All-Mitchell Report Lineup any day!

Guilt-O-Meter

I just wasted almost 15 minutes meticulously reading and re-reading every one of the 409 pages of the just-released Mitchell Report. As a service to our loyal readers, I'm saving you the trouble by summarizing the relative guilt of key players via the infallible metric of how many times their names appear in the report. Here goes (former Dodgers in bold):

• Jose Canseco: 105
• Barry Bonds: 104
• Roger Clemens: 83
• Jason Giambi: 53
• Mark McGwire: 46
• Paul Lo Duca: 37
• Andy Pettitte: 37
• Miguel Tejada: 36
• Rafael Palmeiro: 31
• Kevin Brown: 20
• Eric Gagné: 20
• Gary Matthews, Jr: 17
• Todd Hundley: 15
• Adam Riggs: 14
• Alyssa Milano: 4
• Sammy Sosa: 1
• Adrian Beltre: 0