http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2832996 Brad Lidge isn't happy he has been reduced to a middle reliever in Houston. "I'm definitely upset about losing my role after throwing in two games, after throwing in one save situation," Lidge told The Houston Chronicle. "Garner made the decision, and I will of course stand by it. He's my manager, and I'll do whatever he wants me to do. But that being said, I'm pretty ticked off about it. I guess the only thing I can do is use it as motivation." We as fans are ticked off that you suck so badly. Get over it, you are still making 5 million.
No telling how the season would have progressed had they won the first game. In essence, he would still be the closer had that occurred. He may have blown the game(s) in Chicago. He would not have pitched in Sunday's game against the Cardinals (at least not when it was 5-0). Who knows, they may have come back to win that game. We have no idea what the Astros record would be if Lidge had not blown the save in game 1.
I can understand why Lidge is upset at losing his spot after 2 games. The problem is that Garner should have never given him that role to begin with. At the beginning of Spring Training, Garner should have said that the closers role was up for grabs and somebody was going to have to earn it. Obviously Lidge would not have earned it. I said I couldn't take Garner seriously as a manager when he threw Lidge out there in the closers role to start the season and I think my point was proved. He had so little confidence in Lidge that he pulled him after 2 appearances. If you have that little confidence in Lidge to begin the season, then even Garner knew it was not the right move before the season, yet he still did it. I don't really care if we even name a closer. If we have a closer by committee where we throw pitchers out there in the 9th inning based on matchups, then that is fine with me. Even if it is Lidge going out there based on who is coming up. But to say before the season you were going to throw Lidge out there in a save situation no matter what is just dumb.
my point is that he shd be pissed that he sucks right now...instead of being pissed he got demoted. he has to see that the decision was the right one...if not, he is more mentally gone than i thought
“I need to get out there and get my stuff back to where everyone has confidence in it. I think if it’s one thing right now that’s lacking, obviously there’s not the same confidence in me that there was. That’s disappointing for me, but I understand that the results aren’t there and that’s why. I want to get people confident in me again.... “I was a little surprised just ‘cause obviously I’ve had two outings. So it was surprising, but not totally unjustified. I understand that it’s about results." Yes, that's just a ridiculous mindset to have. BOOOOOOOOOOO WAAAAAHHHHHHHH
I'm pretty disappointed in this response from Lidge. I'm with NJ--he should be ticked that his fastball is straight and has sorry location, and hitters can ignore his slider and sit on his fastball. He should be ticked that he blew a gem from Roy on Opening Day. If he becomes a locker room issue, ship his ass to Round Rock.
I agree with you here ... I don't think he is handling it poorly at all even though I could certainly see how he could be upset.
"I'm definitely upset about losing my role after throwing in two games, after throwing in one save situation," Thats the quote that shows that he doesnt seem to have a clue that he sucks right now...and has for a while (especially if you count this spring)
Good for him, he needs to show some fire.... I would be more dissapointed in him if he just said "I understand" He needs to want it !!! And, he should get NASTIER on the mound.... "Hit the bull" a time or two. DD
You should be more worried if he said, "Ah, oh well." Did you expect a hyper-competitive individual to *not* be a little upset? I think you're picking nits here. "Brad was the first one to say to me, 'Go with it. Don't look back.' That's the kind of guy he is." -- Dan Wheeler
His quote here is weird, because here's his "other" response: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...t_id=1888084&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou CHICAGO -- Brad Lidge has lost his closer's job before, but Monday's demotion happened in record time. It took only two outings for manager Phil Garner to decide to make a change. Garner informed Lidge prior to Monday's series opener with the Chicago Cubs that he would not be closing games for the Astros in the foreseeable future. Instead, Garner will pitch Lidge in the sixth or seventh innings, with Dan Wheeler receiving most of the save opportunities. Chad Qualls and Rick White will be used as setup men. "Brad's not going to close as a general rule," Garner said. "There may be a situation where I may do it, but as of right now, I'm going to pitch him earlier in the game. I want to pitch him more often, give him more consistent work." "Obviously, [I'm not] getting it done on the field," Lidge said. "And, obviously, at this point, we need to call it. So what I'm hoping for out of this is it will give me a chance to throw more innings more regularly and get myself into a good grove. "It's obviously disappointing, but that's the way I'm going to approach it, as an opportunity to get more work in so I can get back quickly to where I want to be." Lidge blew a save opportunity on Opening Day, and on Sunday, he allowed five runs -- two of which were earned -- in the ninth inning, in a game the Astros were already losing, 5-0. "I feel like some of what he's going through is a little bit of bad luck," Garner said. "And some of it is his own doing. I don't know whether that's a confidence factor or what." Garner pointed to Lidge's outing Sunday as an example. With runners on first and second and one out, Lidge induced a ground ball from Albert Pujols, but Mark Loretta bobbled the ball and instead of possibly turning the double play, the Cardinals had the bases loaded. Scott Rolen followed with a bases-clearing double that put the Cards ahead by eight. "Yesterday, if we make the play, he's out of the inning," Garner said. "Even beyond that, he's good enough to finish off the inning, anyway. While we should have made the play behind him, he should have still gotten us out of the inning. Those are things that I have discussed with him." Lidge said while Sunday's outing was tough, it didn't sting as much as the Opening Day appearance, when he was called upon to protect a lead and instead gave up a game-tying home run to Pirates outfielder Xavier Nady. "I thought I threw, to be honest, a lot of pitches that for me are out of what makes me good," Lidge said of Sunday's game. "It's my fault for throwing those pitches and not throwing them where I want to throw them. It was one of those games where nothing was going right, and, unfortunately, it ended like it did, too with a bad outing for myself." Two games of the season is not a sample to say he's done as a closer, Garner added, but the skipper does feel there is somewhat of a carryover from 2006, when Lidge lost his closer's role twice. "I think he's not been as sharp as he should be," Garner said. "I want to give him first and foremost, more consistent work, and secondly, what I'm looking for out of this is an approach where I think he feels like when he comes out of the bullpen, then the game is over, it's done." Lidge admitted he was surprised that this news came so early in the season. "I was a little surprised because I've had two outings," he said. "It was surprising, but not totally unjustified. I understand that it's about results. Right now, my first two outings haven't been there. They want me to get in a good groove. It's been hard to get consistent work thus far. "Hopefully, as our team plays better, I'll be pitching better. Hopefully this will be a fairly quick thing where I feel good getting my command back fast and get back in my role. But right now, I look at it as an opportunity to work on things that I need to work on." Garner said he wrestled with this decision on Sunday night and felt this decision was best for the team. "We cannot afford to lose any more ballgames late," he said. "I believe in Brad Lidge," Garner added. "It's not a question of whether I do not believe in Brad Lidge. Obviously, I think we're having some issues right now, and I feel we have to make this move for the benefit of the team. I believe he can get back on track. "Brad will find his rightful place. We're going to have to work a little bit more to get there." Wheeler, one of Lidge's closest friends on the team, said Lidge gave him his support as soon as the news came down. "When they made the announcement today, Brad was the first one to say to me, 'Go with it. Don't look back,'" Wheeler said. "That's the kind of guy he is. In my opinion, Brad will be fine, and he'll be closing someday again." Also, here's a lot more from Garner if anyone's interetsed: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...ontent_id=1890908&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp Explains why he did it after 2 games.
Yet the main crux of your argument was that Garner is loyal to a fault. What happened to that? Read the link Major posted, Gar makes it pretty clear what his decision making process was. And I agree about the "bullpen by committee", there's no reason these guys can't adjust to fit a variety of roles.
He should be PO'd...We're all PO'd he sucked the past year...That being said, I'm not sure what he can do to win his roll back...
I don't think there's any way Brad could've reacted that would please everybody. It's not a big deal.
He can pitch well when called upon and have Wheeler pitch shaky in the closer's role. Had Murton gotten on base yesterday, Lidge would have come into the game, so there will probably be opportunities for Lidge to still close.
