by Josh Bard. special to BostonMikeWorld.



I woke up this morning with an odd feeling that I couldn’t place. I recognized the feeling, I’ve awakened to it before. I immediately sensed regret, and after four years of college I knew to check for the obvious signs of a late night mistake. After quick walk through my apartment I confirmed that I was alone, but there were some empties auspiciously scattered on my coffee table.

The mystery in the air could be cleared up with one final test: a check of the cell phone call log. Who did I call or text last night in the wee hours of the morning?

(Side note: Technological patent idea! I wish my phone had a Breathalyzer device on it like DUI offenders get on their cars. Where I must blow less than a .08 to place a call or text).

When I got to the inbox, it all made sense:

Received at 1:01am from Brother: I cant breathe right now. Gagne? Whyyy?

Sent at 1:06am to Brother: Did Jon Lester die? Why is Gagne coming in?

Received at 1:13am from Brother: I cant watch this anymore, its not healthy.

And so I was right and wrong. It was a late night mistake, egregious to the very core. It was a familiar mistake, although not the kind I was expecting to wake up to.

Why was this happening? Terry Francona isn’t stupid; we always talk about how he’s a good coach. Yet Francona brought in Eric Gagne in the 11th inning with guys like Jon Lester and Javier Lopez staying cold in the bullpen. Granted both Lester and Lopez stunk, but they were brought in with inherited runners and against Indians who had momentum up the wahoo.

Gagne had less chance to succeed than the god-awful looking movie The Comebacks. First, he had pitched last night against the same first two batters he was facing last night. Why would we give them a pitcher they had just seen? Second, he had throw 25 pitches the night before, allowing a hit and walking two. Thirdly, what has he done for us this season? Not much besides allowing runs in 7 of 20 appearances and sporting a 6.75 ERA and a WHIP over 1.8. He sucks. The end.

Meanwhile, I remember the pangs of this mistake in the past. On September 18, the Red Sox, or should I say Eric Gagne, blew a game to Toronto, during the pennant chase. After the game, Francona defended his decision to bring in Gagne (who let up walk, single, walk, walk, double in the loss) over Papelbon by saying that he had to find out if he could trust Gagne in the end of the season. Don’t believe me? Check it out.

So who is to blame? Gagne doesn’t just blow games now, he blows, period. For Francona it’s a “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” situation. I don’t know who sucked more.

However, I am a solutions-oriented guy, so lets finish vomiting, rinse with mouthwash and move on. Besides hoping that momentum hasn’t completely shifted in the series, the Red Sox can only make one logical move. Thanks to a new rule this year, teams can remove a player from its roster and replace him. The caveat is that the replaced player may not return for the next series, if the team moves on. With that said, goodbye Gagne, welcome back Bryan Corey.

The easiest way to avoid a late night mistake is by removing the problematic person from your cell phone contact list. In the case of the Red Sox, its about time to erase Gagne.

(Photo courtesy of CBSSportsline)