Nothing personal against Milwaukee Brewers closer Eric Gagne, but his placement on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis Friday served as sweet, sweet relief for all parties involved. Manager Ned Yost, his teammates who can feel safer with ninth-inning leads, and fantasy owners, who have suffered through a 6.98 ERA, can turn the page on ugly chapters in their teams’ histories.

Maybe temporary replacement Salomon Torres takes control of the closer role in Gagne’s absence, or maybe Gagne immediately re-claims the job upon his return. Either way, we’ll get a better, healthier (physically and mentally) Brewers closer when Gagne is due back in two weeks. Of course, it couldn’t have gotten much worse with Gagne issuing walks and base hits to every Tom, Dick and Harry who grabbed a bat against him. Read more »

I can’t think of a time when closer situations have been uglier, but I’m sure that they have been. Two contenders - the Cardinals and Brewers - are working through some bullpen woes in their pursuit of a National League Central crown. Two other contenders await - the Braves and Indians - await the return of their full-time closers from the disabled list.

There will be more upheaval as the season wears on, but here’s a closer look at five turbulent bullpen situations and what we think will unfold in the coming weeks. Read more »

This bullpen situation could culminate in the end of manager Ned Yost’s tenure in Milwaukee. Every night is a mad scramble to the finish, and every night Yost presses the wrong buttons and costs the team ball games.

Eric Gagne, after a 24-hour demotion, is his closer, but no one else in the bullpen seems to understand what his role is. Gagne was unavailable on Wednesday night, and Yost put his trust in Guillermo Mota, who stumbled in the ninth to blow a 4-3 lead. Read more »

Struggling closers Eric Gagne and Jason Isringhausen lost their jobs over the weekend, bringing an end to charades that both were going to break out of their funks anytime soon.

Blown saves against one another prompted the action. Isringhausen lost his job on Saturday to a pair of veterans, 35-year old Ryan Franklin and 39-year old Russ Springer. Gagne was removed on Sunday, which created a wide open committee that was seen immediately in the Brewers’ 5-3 win over the Cardinals. Read more »