[Prediction] Brad Lidge has just made his last appearance as an Astro

i really don't want to see brad lidge go. i've had the opportunity to meet the guy on a couple of occassions and he's just a great guy. heard him speak at the baseball dinner in the offseason. an easy guy to root for. he never runs from the criticism...he spent all offseason answering questions about homeruns he gave up in the 2005 playoffs. i think he's a tremendous pitcher who's battling through mechanics and "tipping" issues. he will ultimately make corrections. meanwhile, he is still converting save opportunities left and right. we were all very spoiled by the way he pitched in the 2004 playoffs and the 2005 regular season. good luck finding a pitcher who closes out games that effectively any time soon.

 

my mistake. err Weathers is 16/43 so actually .4% worse. Still I think the point is made.

 

it is a culmination of things

1) over-usage
2) being owned
3) being owned again
4) being owned again and again
5) the booing
6) the media
7) lack of mental toughness
8) taking advice from billy wagner
9) being owned again and again and again
10) walking off the field being booed and crying

end of story. lights out for lidge....

 

Because, we need a Buckner-type character to put all the blame on.

 

For those using Nick Anderson as an example. I think he struggled for a year afterwards and was pretty much back to being an impact player. I remember him, Darryl Armstrong and them made a pretty nice run for a 3 seed after Shaq left. I believe Philly beat them as a 6 seed in the first round though.

 

I was actually thinking about that last night with him and Everett. If we have to give those guys up to get a superstar bat, then I'll do it, but I will really miss both of these guys.

One of the reasons I love the Astros so much is because who they are. No matter what they do on the field, these guys are class acts.

 

I also hate to see Lidge go, but I have to agree. Even so, I think we have a tremendous closer in waiting. Qualls is awesome. Lets just hope he gets in some save situations.

 

I still like Lidge. He has some outright nasty stuff. However I feel it will take a change of venue for him to possibly get his stuff back.

It is sad to see him have such a fall from grace.

If he leaves us here I hope you gets "it" back and tears up the AL.

 

If Lidge has to go as part of a deal in getting a big stick, then I am all for it. I have not given up on him, but in getting a good player, we are going to have to give something up, and I am pretty sure he is going to have to be part of it. I certainly don't agree with the people that want to just get rid of him for a bag of peanuts. He may not be the same player this year, but I believe he is going to have some huge years in coming seasons. If we have to give that up to get someone like Tejada or Soriano, then I think it is worth it.

 

i only think it's worth it if we keep whoever we pick up past this season.

 

That's exactly how I feel about the guy, even though I curse him when he is stinking it up. I really hope he does well somewhere else. It's kind of like a crummy relationship that was good and you know could be better but never will, and you just end up wishing them good luck and letting them go.

 

Nice guys finish last.

 

should i keep going?

 

Who would trade for Lidge? I would not want to bet my job on a trade for Lidge with the assumption that a fresh start and different coaching would return Lidge to form.

We may be stuck with Lidge, unless we set him free.

 

I don't hate the guy but when he gave up the game winning homerun to SCOTT PODZEDNIK that was the last straw for me. I mean come on, that guy has no power whatsoever and you give up a homer to him in the World Series. The Pujols home run was totally understandable but that is pathetic that scrubs like Aaron Miles are getting game winning hits off of him. It was sad last night because the hits he gave up were unlucky but we can not keep putting an unlucky closer out there. I hate the saying "he made a good pitch".

 

If you look at his fg% and ft% after that, you can see something happened...

Year Team G Min Pts PPG FGM FGA FGP FTM FTA FTP
1989-90 ORL 81 1785 931 11.5 372 753 .494 186 264 .705
1990-91 ORL 70 1971 990 14.1 400 857 .467 173 259 .668
1991-92 ORL 60 2203 1196 19.9 482 1042 .463 202 303 .667
1992-93 ORL 79 2920 1574 19.9 594 1324 .449 298 402 .741
1993-94 ORL 81 2811 1277 15.8 504 1054 .478 168 250 .672
1994-95 ORL 76 2588 1200 15.8 439 923 .476 143 203 .704
1995-96 ORL 77 2717 1134 14.7 400 904 .442 166 240 .692
1996-97 ORL 63 2163 757 12.0 288 725 .397 38 94 .404
1997-98 ORL 58 1701 890 15.3 343 754 .455 127 199 .638
1998-99 ORL 47 1581 701 14.9 253 640 .395 99 162 .611
1999-00 SAC 72 2094 781 10.8 306 782 .391 37 76 .487
2000-01 SAC 21 169 38 1.8 14 57 .246 0 0 .000
2001-02 MEM 15 219 60 4.0 21 76 .276 5 9 .556

Now as to the couple of weeks before the HR, maybe it was a lead-up to the straw that broke the camel's back. And Nick did have a few good games after that but overall I'd say his best years were behind him at that point and he only had a couple of years left before "it" was all gone.

 

Lidge ain't the only one blowing saves guys...

hoffman blew one last night, gave up a 2 run hr with 2 outs in the ninth to tie the game!

 

I agree that Lidge needs to be shipped out (hopefully for a big bat) and that trading him would be best for both the 'Stros and him. Please though, don't hate him for having a bad stretch and PLEASE don't compare him to Dotel. Dotel never had us knocking on the door to a freakin' World Series. Without the dominant closer that we had in Lidge, those two playoff runs get a lot harder, maybe impossible... Yes, this is business, this is life, etc., but I know that I will always remember Lidge for his redonkulous stuff and nerves of steel during those two playoff runs, not a few months of lousy pitching...

 

I blame Milo!

If Lidge gets traded to Baltimore, he will tear it up...AL hasn't had time to see that he tips his pitches yet...and then everyone here will complain when Tejada doesn't have a multi-HR game every day (yes, even off-days).

 

Lidge has also struggled in interleague play this year, I believe. His location is the biggest problem.