Gagne Wishes He Could Help

DENVER â€”  He cheers for his team. He diligently performs his rehabilitation exercises. But with the Dodgers short of reliable arms in the bullpen, the highest-paid pitcher on the team is not available for the playoff push.

And that is what frustrates closer Eric Gagne most of all, in these final days of his two-year, $20-million contract. His statistics in that span: nine saves, two elbow operations, one back operation.

“I got paid a lot of money for two years and didn’t do anything,� he said Thursday. “That’s what I feel bad about. I feel like I let the team down. I feel like I let the fans down. But I can’t control injuries.�

Gagne, the 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner, said he expects to start a throwing program within three weeks and has no doubt he will be ready for spring training. He is encouraged, he said, by so many excellent veteran comebacks around baseball -- Nomar Garciaparra with the Dodgers, Magglio Ordonez with the Detroit Tigers, Frank Thomas with the Oakland Athletics.

Thomas, like Gagne, sat out most of two seasons because of injury, then signed with Oakland for $500,000 in guaranteed salary and the chance to earn another $3.5 million in incentive bonuses, tied to appearances and days on the active roster. Would Gagne accept that contract to stay with the Dodgers?

“Not like that,� he said, indicating that he considered the guaranteed salary too low.

The Dodgers can buy out his 2007 option for $1 million, freeing themselves of what would be a $12-million guaranteed salary. Gagne said he would prefer to stay with the Dodgers but does not expect to sign anywhere until he can work out for teams this winter and prove his arm is sound.

“We’ll see,� he said. “We’ll look at the market.�

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The Dodgers would not be in playoff contention if they had not dominated the Rockies. The Dodgers finished the season series against Colorado 15-4, so they’re 70-70 against the rest of the league, with their playoff fate riding on three games at San Francisco this weekend.

“It’s all about what you do right now,� pitcher Brett Tomko said. “It doesn’t matter what anybody did the first 5 1/2 months. It’s all about the next three games.�

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The Dodgers will return to the California League in San Bernardino next season, moving a Class-A team there from Vero Beach, Fla.

Their rookie league team is expected to remain at Dodgertown as long as the Dodgers hold spring training there. The Dodgers are in discussions to move their spring home from Vero Beach to Glendale, Ariz.

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