Happy to see Lidge get a second chance in the World Series with the Phillies. Its amazing how much a change in scenery can do for someone's career.
yea, too bad he's gonna be 0-fer in the WS. Longoria's gonna take him deep, the gas can will re-emerge, and Brad will just need another 'change of scenery'
LOL, you're a riot. The guy has just completed one of the most historically dominant seasons in the history of closers. What more does he need to do? Hell, even if he were to give up a run in the World Series, what does that change? The guy has seriously been perfect, and proven you wrong month after month, game after game. Are you really going to get this trivial?
how has he proven me wrong? I have never said that Brad would fail this year......not once. although I have always defended the trade of Brad. I don't think it was injury, I don't think it was mechanics, Brad was falling apart before the WBC, and before the Pujols bomb. I think there was some 'mental' aspect to it, though not nearly as bad as other believe. Brad wasn't working out here for quite some time and his trade value was declining everytime he took the mound. I'm happy for Brad, I wish him the best, I just don't think the Phils can beat the Rays.......
The I-TOLD-You-So'ers are a necessary karmic balance to offset the doomsayers and know-it-alls. And, really, Cat called it and *should* bask in it. 90% of people were droning this stupid "mental" BS, despite a ton of facts. 7 or 8 more % were talking about mechanics and tipping pitches. A precious few folks said, "he's hurt. Wait 'till his knee is better."
If the I-TOLD-YOU-So'ers said Lidge would have a bounce-back year, they are correct. If they're saying he'd perform like this in an Astros uniform, it would be nothing more than speculation. Lidge's delivery and mechanics have changed. Would they have changed like that in Houston with different coaching around him?
That's the thing -- they already had! Take a look at Lidge's 2007 results until late July. He fixed the mechanical flaws in his delivery, and suddenly, he was dominating to the same extent he had before. Then, he injured his knee, basically walked around on one leg before and after games... and his performance went downhill. Lidge in 2008 is roughly the same pitcher he was in 2007 in Houston, before the knee injury. That's why this was so easy to see coming. Unfortunately, some media and fans ignored that reality because it wasn't a sexy enough story.
I'm trying to convince myself that he'd would've been great with us this year, but I can't. When I said change in mechanics, I meant a different pitching delivery he's using this year than he ever was last year. It's a subtle difference, but still visible. Who knows what advice the Phillies' coaching staff, catchers, etc. told him that helped him out. Maybe that could've been the difference in his success. All that is also speculation, but possible. I just can't assume that he'd be this good in an Astros uniform.
Very true. I actually was directing it more about the know-it-all types who EXCESSIVELY in every thread have to remind people they predicted 3 years 7 months and 19 days ago before something happened that "they said it first", even on the most minor of points. Though I do it too Its different when its one main individual point to prove, like in this thread. I support The Cat's opinion on Lidge. I already mentioned any mental effect would mean an extra 1.5 runs or so on the ERA, not total and complete collapse. I never went with the Lidge's life got rocked by Pujols belief. I SAW for myself like everyone should have that Lidge showed little to no after-effects on his behavior, or looked like some basket case Shawn Chacon on the mound after the incident. So it had to have been a combination of things.
Honestly, does this even matter? A 1.90 ERA is a 1.90 ERA! Unless, of course, you're alluding to the age-old edict about how its a "different ballgame in the 9th inning..." In that case, you must think Lidge is still scarred mentally, and didn't have the intestinal fortitude to pitch that inning as an Astro. So why even bring up a possible "change in mechanics" by Phillies coaches, or some other hypothetical made-up scenario that you don't know is true? What we do know is that Lidge went back to throwing out of the windup (after getting bad advice to throw from the stretch), and was pretty damn good with the Astros again before he got hurt. That is an absolute fact. This year, he's perfect in saves... also an absolute fact. Finding theories for why a guy turned it around isn't going to change the fact that Brad Lidge was far from done when many fans declared him so.
I don't think ERA is a reliable stat for relievers. WHIP is more important, because he may enter a game with runners already on base. What was his WHIP? I'm going to guess it was higher while he was a closer than when he was pitching in earlier innings. And yes, there is a difference between pitching in close games and pitching in games that have already been decided. It seemed Lidge was very effective last year as a MIDDLE reliever, but when we put him in the 9th, he was more shaky. Once he was taken out of the closers role for good, did we even put him in there with inherited runners? Probably not too often because of how volatile he was. His location was flat out terrible with his fastball. I'm going to guess he started off innings in most of his later appearances because we weren't willing to put him in there in difficult situations. It's pretty plausible, because there's a clear difference in his pitching delivery than it was in Houston. He didn't magically change it himself. The logical guess is he was working with the Phillies' staff. Didn't he also develop a cut fastball? Most fans probably declared him done as a CLOSER for us, and they had plenty of evidence for their concern. He was a ticking time bomb in the 9th but did much better in the middle innings. We didn't want to pay all this money for an effective middle reliever, so we traded him.
And what about games that were close, but still in the middle innings, where Lidge came in and performed admirably? (in some cases in a more pressure packed situation than the 9th inning 3-run save)? When they started using him in those situations, prior to re-instating him as closer, he really showed some fortitude that only accelarated his ascent back to the closers job. The Astros only babied him for about 3-4 appearences (bringing him in during blowouts)... and it wasn't the fastball that was Lidge's biggest problem, it was his ability to execute the good slider consistently. Once he got the feel for that pitch back, everything else fell into place... until the injury started contributing to him being unable to execute that pitch as well. The cut fastball was abandoned in 2006, as it was another failed attempt to get Lidge to change everything that was once working for him (with the belief that he needed to mix it up.... pitch from the stretch, add a cutter... rather than simply fix what was wrong with his slider). Also, if you compare his windup now with tapes of him from 2003-2005, there is not much difference. When he first became closer (in 2004), his delivery changed to add a little bit more life to his fastball (started throwing 97 instead of 93). Now, he's back to throwing 93 more (sacraficing speed for control), and still executing the slider consistently. When he wants to, he can throw 97 all he wants (like he did to the last batter in LA). And most fans were wrong... hence this thread. His "ticking time bomb" year was 2006, where his mechanics completely fell apart. 2007, he had mostly turned it around... and an injury slowed down his respectable turnaround. He definitely looks worth "all that money"...
