It's been a rough ride...you had your heart crushed when Pujols put a dent in the glass on the retractable roof. Then no-home run hitting Scott Posednik shocked the world in Game 2 of the 05 World Series and hit a walk off on your first pitch. 06 was just as bad. You couldn't find your grove. You were the next Mitch Williams. A re-incarnation of Mark Wholers. But the front office had faith in you. You worked hard. You had a rough start this year, but stay focused. On April 22 your ERA was 10.13...as of yesterday, another great outing, you're 2-0 with a 4.02 ERA and only one ER in that stretch. Wether you're the setup or the closer, this team needs you to succeed. Welcome back.
lol no joke the guy's not back yet. hell he's had good runs before and then mailed it in. not to say the pitching hasn't been pretty impressive as of late, but i'm not ready to re-crown him as the closer just yet.
i'm with you on hoping he's back but let's not get ahead of ourselves. we were playing golden state before game 7 and we all know how that worked out.
For the record Pujols is like 2-13 in the reagular season with 7 k's vs. Lidge. That's off the top of my head. I'm pretty good with stats.
eh, no. This was only time this entire season he pitched at least an inning and didn't put someone on base. Only the second time he's not given up a hit. He's improving, and the Astros could really use Lidge-as-a-buzzsaw again - but lets not get ahead of ourselves eh? The journey of a thousand miles begins by throwing that slider for strikes.
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS GIDP AVG OBP SLG OPS 14 3 1 0 0 3 2 3 0 0 0 .214 .294 .286 .580 apparently this is lifetime regular season. not strikingly great numbers by any means. doesn't really display very well. http://fe38.sports.re4.yahoo.com/ml...kJmd1DMdxz.JODiFCLcF?year=career&type=Batting
I was thinking "this can't be right." I mean, I knew he sucked but thought that surely he'd had at least one 1-2-3 inning this season. Nope. He's given up hits in 13 of his 17 appearances. His WHIP is 1.95 and still has a .302 BAA. It's nice that he's gotten his ERA down, but it's not like he's back to his old dominant self. Keep him where he is. Hopefull he continues to make strides towards being his former self.
eh? Canadian? Welcome to Texas buddy. That journey has begun...He's having a great May so far. 1-0, 1.42 ERA, 2 H, 6.1 IP, 7 K, 2 BB. Keep up the good work Brad, I'm pulling for ya.
I know it's early, but seeing Lidge mow down batters in the 7th and 8th like that made me feel all tingly. I half-expected Dotel and Wagner to trot out next.
Nope... not as simple as just throwing it for strikes. Hell, the slider he threw Pujols was a strike. Its just throwing the good slider... period. The one that breaks late out of the zone that hitters can't distinguish whether or not its a fastball right out of the hand. If he's throwing it right, they swing... its the one pitch that makes him special, and he has to execute it.
whether he comes back as a closer or not...he's made HUGE strides. you can't minimize that. most of you were ready to send his butt elsewhere or cut him. if he can be an effective pitcher in the 7th or 8th inning for the 'stros with Wheeler closing, i'm fine with that...that's real value.
He may not be "back", but I sure enjoyed reading that line in the box score after getting home from work last night. Just like the Lidge-Dotel-Wagner days!
since the 9th inning meltdown in milwaukee, he's made 10 appearences: 10.1 IP; 8 H; 2 BB; 15 Ks; 1 ER whip: .99 era: .891 he'd thrown 5.1 innings prior (and been unbelievably awful in every one of them), accounting for the numbers being so off the charts bad. i'm not ready to proclaim him back, but... he seems to be on the right path, at least.
Ideally I would like to see Lidge start dominating again so he can increase his trade value. I still think he's mentally shot and another move back to closer or into a clutch situation he'll fold. Either way it's nice to see him contributing again.
