The Texas Rangers are going to ease Eric Gagne back into the closer role:

Washington and Daniels proved they're in control of the club Sunday, when Washington revealed Gagne will work his way back into the closer's role.

No matter how much respect management has for a player, it can never let him dictate his situation, because it sends a bad message to his teammates.

That doesn't mean management needs to be dictatorial. It simply means management must work with the player to reach a compromise that's best for the team.

Having Gagne pitch in non-save situations for a little while is as good as it gets. It's not what Gagne wants, because he yearns for the pressure and the responsibility of pitching the ninth inning.

Of course, as we saw in last night's Texas game, there can be plenty of pressure earlier than the 9th inning. Just because the Rangers are going to bring him out to start the ninth for a while, there's no reason they can't use him with the game on the line in the seventh.