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It's not as if the word "bloviate" was invented the day of the Congressional hearings on steroids, but it sure seems that way. People are jumping on the bloviate bandwagon faster than they hopped up to go hayriding with Valparaiso in '98. Writing about Congressmen bloviating has become a bloviation in itself.

That's not to say we did not endure quite the Bloviathon last week in Washington D.C. Whatever your views on steroids are, "bloviate" was a perfect word to use with regard to the many of the participants, and I understand why people fell in love with it even and began using it even though it wasn't part of their normal vocabulary. Just noting here that the word's tipping point has sprinted by with the speed of a bloviate-powered missle. It has gone from clever to clich

While most appeared pleased with Eric Gagne's second exhibition game appearance Wednesday - including the man himself - the following comments alarmed me:

"The last time," Gagne told MLB.com, referring to Monday, "I tried my regular mechanics, which I'm not ready to do. I backed up today. I don't care about the velocity, I don't care about the result. I just want to be comfortable, where it won't bite. I did that today better, it only bit once when I got my cleats stuck."

I understand the idea of going only 75 percent, but I'm not used to pitchers consciously avoiding regular mechanics. Kevin Modesti of the Daily News was also perplexed, asking "whatever happened to the idea that you don't pitch with an injury because you might favor it and hurt something else?"

And on Baseball Prospectus, Will Carroll offered this downer assesment.

"The Dodgers pitching staff has problems at both ends, but appears to have the depth to cover for it," Carroll said. "Most worrying is the way that Eric Gagne is dealing with his knee injury. It's one thing to go at a reduced rate - Gagne said he pitched at around 75 percent at his most recent outing, though it should be noted that pitchers are very inaccurate when self-analyzing their effort - but entirely another to consciously alter mechanics. Sources are telling me that Gagne is completely out of whack, even tipping his vaunted 'vulcan change.' He'll need to get it together quickly or the pressure will increase on Yhency Brazoban."

Ultimately, one wants to give the benefit of the doubt to the Dodger coaching and medical staff, although their denial of injury reality with such players Hideo Nomo and Shawn Green in the past calls for some scrutiny. On the other hand, Adrian Beltre thrived in 2004 on his bum extremities.

Personally, I have faith that Gagne will be fine this season. But I've learned over time that just because a Dodger tells the media that everything is okay doesn't mean that it is.

Just a real nice piece on listening to Vin Scully by ESPN.com's Eric Neel, taking the Designated Hitter slot today on Baseball Analysts. A sample:

It's a vast stretch between the coast and the desert, and thanks in part to a tangle of freeways, a history of water grabs, and great geographical diversity, the L.A. area is a spread-wide place, with communities distanced and often cut off from one another. That's part of the charm of the place, for sure; you get great variety and, at the margins, some fantastic cultural, culinary, and political m