Now that Eric Gagne has finished his short and ineffective tour of duty with the Boston Red Sox - signing with Milwaukee - I keep hearing what a disasterous trade it was last summer.

Aw, how easy it is to be an expert in hindsight.

At the time, the Gagne deal was a good one. If there was one piece missing from the Red Sox roster back then, it was another set-up reliever. Hidecki Okajima was being used more than he had ever been in Japan, Mike Timlin was showing signs of age, and Manny Delcarmen was not completely dependable.

Gagne had put up good numbers with Texas. Boston gave up Kason Gabbard (a good spot starter who did not figure into Boston's long-term plans), outfielder David Murphy (good player, but another one left out of the plans), and teen-age prospect Engel Beltre (who knows?).

If Gagne does what he is capable of, Boston is better. As it turned out, he was a flop (6.75 ERA). But no one could have guessed that.

Of course, it did not matter. Okajima was rested well down the stretch, Timlin came on and Delcarmen held up.

The only part of the Gagne trade I did not like was losing Murphy, but that is only because he does have talent to be a major leaguer (and he is one of the all-time nice guys in the game). But the Red Sox outfield is full and they figured Brandon Moss to be a better projection for the future.

At least with Gagne gone, the Red Sox get a sandwich pick in the 2008 draft. Maybe they can get another Clay Buchholz.

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