Gagne sidelined by more surgery

Dodgers closer Eric Gagne will have surgery today to remove a nerve from his pitching elbow, his second arm operation in less than a year.

Team spokesman Josh Rawitch said there was no timetable for the return of Gagne, who saved 152 games from 2002-04 and was a near-unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young Award in 2003.

Rawitch said surgery on the 30-year-old righthander will be performed by Dr. Frank Jobe and Dr. Ralph Gambardella of the team's medical staff at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. It's the same nerve that was moved during an operation last June.

''I'm very disappointed because I thought this would be behind us," Gagne said in a statement issued through the Dodgers. ''It was a decision where I wanted to be 100 percent and be myself and enjoy it because I can't pitch with that kind of pain."

Gagne had eight saves in as many chances in 14 games last season. He didn't pitch in the Dodgers' first three games this year, sitting out an 11-10 season-opening loss Monday to Atlanta in a game Los Angeles never led, and serving a two-game suspension after that.

The Dodgers acquired Danys Baez from Tampa Bay during the offseason. Baez saved 41 games last season.

Gagne, who will be replaced on the roster by 36-year-old Takashi Saito, gave up five earned runs in 10 exhibition games.

With an eye on the future, New York Mets officials stirred up the past when they unveiled a stadium design reminiscent of Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. One day after the City Council approved several key aspects of an $800 million stadium for the Yankees, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and team officials announced plans at Shea Stadium for a new Mets home to be built in the parking lot of the existing ballpark. Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a Brooklyn native, has long desired a new home for his team that evokes memories of the glory days of the Dodgers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Eight years ago, Wilpon unveiled a design for an Ebbets Field-type ballpark for the Mets, but it wasn't until last summer that city officials and the team agreed on a plan to replace Shea Stadium . . . Shortstop Julio Lugo was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Devil Rays . . . The Yankees claimed catcher Koyie Hill off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Hill hit .218 with six RBIs for Arizona last season . . . The Nashua Pride voided an agreement with former Red Sox pitcher Dennis ''Oil Can" Boyd for this season, less than a week after announcing a tentative deal.