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The Dodgers made what might have been their best move of the offseason, by avoiding salary arbitration with Eric Gagne. In an otherwise hectic offseason, it's reassuring to know that Gagne and his ugly goatee will grace the Chavez Ravine mound for at least two more seasons. Paul DePodesta hates salary arbitration, and even though the Dodgers have an arbitration-dynamo in Kim Ng, some things are better left avoided. The last thing LA needed was a hearing where Ng would bring every negative instnace in Gagne's history to light, in an effort to save a few bucks.
Gagne was steamed after he lost his arbitration hearing last year which cost him $3 million. After all he's done for the organization, he deserves to be fairly compensated. Sure, $19 million over 2 years is a lot of money, but Gagne is the Dodgers' most marketable superstar, and right now he's the face of Dodger Baseball.
