Why not?? he had already started the turnaround (with improved mechanics/numbers) prior to his knee injury.
I think he needed a change of scenary to get his mind right......the Houston fans had given up on him....it just wouldn't have worked out.... I don't believe. DD
I agree, he needed a change in scenery...plus Valverde isn't a bad closer himself, led the NL in saves
Congratulations, Brad! He's a winner on the Phils and he wasn't as confident here. Valverde is fine- the Taveras/Bourn debate is still at the undecided phase and the other players involved in the trades are pretty much deadweight. I was rooting for the Phils in the Series because of Brad. Perhaps his story will encourage other athletes to stay strong and focused and not fold up their cards after being traded to a team with a spotty recent history. And, no, I would not sign Brad for a long term high dollar contract since he battled knee and arm injuries for years in his minor league career. - TV5/CF
Regardless of how you feel about Lidge, that Bruntlett guy sure got lucky to be on that team and get a World Series ring. Sometimes, it's just good to be that lucky guy who doesn't really do much to contribute to winning the World Series but is just there for the glory. Don't get me wrong...I know he's a player who has to play like everyone else...but he's really just a tag-a-long in this case. Did he even have an at-bat or hit in the post-season? I guess he was a runner who scored the winning run in the deciding game. lol
*bump* Maybe Ed Wade isn't such an idiot after all. Bourn this season is looking like a legit leadoff hitter, getting on base 35% of the time and hitting .282, while making $435,000. Lidge has a 9.05 ERA and 4 blown saves so far this season while making $12 million, the first year of a 3 year, $37.5 mil extension. The season has gone as poorly as many had expected, but Bourn, at least, is a pleasant surprise. Dude's 26 and looks like he could be at fixture at the top of the lineup for a long time.
Gerald Young once had a nice season too. I wouldn't get my hopes up unless Bourn can maintain his play for the whole year. On the other hand, we probably would've had to let Lidge go for nothing if he demanded 12 million with us, so I suppose that wasn't such a bad trade.
And, on cue, the natives in Philly are getting restless... You could change the date of this article to 2006 or 2007 and swap Manuel's name for the Garner's, and it would fit right in. It's almost eerie. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports..._allow_Lidge_to_save_face.html?cmpid=16339736 By John Smallwood Philadelphia Daily News Daily News Sports Columnist IT'S NOT LIKE the Phillies have a lot of options. Actually, right now, they have no other option. Brad Lidge has struggled. The closer who was perfect last season during the Phillies' run to the 2008 World Series championship already has blown four saves this season, including two over the weekend against the Yankees in New York. The Phillies rallied to win in extra innings on Sunday, but Saturday's cough-up ended up costing the team an interleague sweep of the Yankees. There is concern in Phillyville. Some have suggested that Lidge be sat down for a while to clear his head. Others have said that with reliever J.C. Romero due to return on June 3 after being suspended 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance, Lidge can be moved to a setup role and Ryan Madson shifted to closer. Fortunately, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel doesn't have rabbit ears. He doesn't let outside talk influence his decisions concerning which Phillie is going to play when or where. "Right now, I'm not even going to talk about that," Manuel said of the Lidge situation before last night's 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins. "I want Lidge to feel we have all the confidence in the world in him, because we do. "He's my guy. Of course, people are going to want to voice their opinion, say sit him down. "What is sitting going to do for him? He's still got to simulate. He's got to pitch and get somebody out. I think what's going to right [Lidge] is to go out there and have a good inning. He does that a couple of games in a row, and you'll see a big difference. Once he gets command, he'll be off to the races." The Phillies can't afford to think short-term concerning Lidge. They have to project to July, August and September, because if Lidge isn't Lidge then, this team is going to have little chance of repeating. It is imperative that Lidge gets right, and the best way to do that is to send him back out to face the challenge, not have him shy away from it. "That's how I'd look at it if I were a player," Manuel said. "If I went up to [Lidge] and said, 'You failed 2 days, so I'm going to sit you 3, 4, 5 days,' or 'slide you down to the sixth or seventh inning.' How would you feel? I'd say, 'Chuck don't like me too good.' " Well, Chuck does like Lidge good. When a guy goes 48-for-48 in the most high-pressure job in baseball the season before, he's going to get a little leeway when he's struggling. "To me, I think about treating Lidge right," Manuel said. "I think he deserves a chance to work things out." Manuel said he doesn't feel that showing faith in Lidge is a risk to the Phillies because he is confident that Lidge, who is 8-for-12 in save opportunities this season, will regain the form that earned him the nickname, "Lights Out." "I think his stuff is there and it's just a matter of him making more quality pitches and cutting down on walks and things," Manuel said. "If he were throwing 85, 86 [mph] and I didn't see a good slider, maybe we'd be talking different. "His stuff is still there and it will play out over 162 games. That's what makes him a good closer. Will he blow a few games? Yeah. But his stuff will play out." The options people think the Phillies have aren't anything more than quick fixes. The only viable solution is for Lidge to figure out what is wrong and correct it, ASAP. After Sunday's outing, Lidge said he was encouraged because even though he gave up two singles that tied the game, he felt he made good pitches. "[New York] got two ground balls that weren't necessarily hit that well, and the stolen bases," Lidge said. "That's a recipe for a run." Obviously, four blown saves before May is over isn't what you want from your closer, but I wonder if Lidge is a victim of his success last season. Perfection is an unrealistic expectation from a closer, but Lidge did it. And now it comes as a shock to see him fail, even though we know it is an occupational hazard. "[Lidge] was perfect last season," Manuel said. "How's he going to top that? He had to have some letdowns this season. That's baseball. "I think sitting him would just kind of prolong things. If you sit him, then the next time you send him to the mound, he might be thinking about it even more. "I think getting him back out there and letting him pitch is what you do. Take the ball, throw it, and see what happens again." *
Definitely early, and I,for one, hope he turns it around. Some his recent blown saves look a lot like some crappy luck (sound familiar). But the chatter has really picked up here in Philly. Here are some other recent columns: Lidge, Moyer Deserve Our Patience Brad Lidge Loses Battle With A-Rod
I don't think anyone thinks Brad Lidge is an all-time great closer, including me, obviously one of his biggest supporters. What this season goes to show, yet again, is that it's not the mental issues and never was. He's had both injury issues and mechanical issues from the get-go this year, and that was coming off a World Series title and one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the sport. All the looney tunes/armchair psychologists tried to blame his awful start to 2006 on how the 2005 season ended (Pujols/Podsednik)... I'd love to hear their take on his even worse start to 2009! Was he ruined forever by that World Series-winning strikeout? Here's the bottom line, with Lidge: His stuff is filthy, and when he's on, he's just outstanding. But because he's a two-pitch pitcher, his margin for error is significantly less than a lot of guys, and the little stretches with mechanical flaws and/or injuries that every pitcher goes through have a much more pronounced impact on Lidge's performance because there isn't much diversity to his game. Here's the other bottom line, with the trade: It's May, in a sport where fluke seasons (especially among relievers) occur all the time because of the incredibly small sample. Lidge will be OK. I hope Bourn will be too and I certainly hope the trade looks respectable, but I'm still very cautious until we get late into the second half.
Great post, Cat. I definitely thought about the two-pitch pitcher thing when I read this quote from the Phil Sheridan column after A-Rod homered off Lidge. Basically, Lidge thought that, after 6 sliders, A-Rod was "set up" for the fastball, but in reality A-Rod was just showing incredible plate discipline and sitting on the fastball. (Not sure if the fastball got out over the plate; I didn't see the game.) Pretty interesting description of that confrontation, though.
Lidge made a good pitch....high and borderline outside.Good hitters hit good pitches sometimes. Basically, Lidge thought that, after 6 sliders, A-Rod was "set up" for the fastball, but in reality A-Rod was just showing incredible plate discipline and sitting on the fastball. (Not sure if the fastball got out over the plate; I didn't see the game.) Pretty interesting description of that confrontation, though.[/QUOTE]
Problem for Lidge is that it's not a one-time thing. He's given up runs in 8 of his last 11 outings. You can explain any one game as a fluke, but it's a pretty ugly pattern. It will be interesting to see if they really stick with him as closer or move him to middle relief to sort things out. That said, I'm pretty sure they have no regrets about the trade. They won a World Series as a result of it, so that pretty much makes it worth it no matter what happens from here on out.
Lidge was a big contributor, no doubt, but it's a stretch to say that he was the reason he won the Series. I'm surprised at the hyperbole, coming from you. The Phillies won the division series 3 - 1. They won their games by margins of 2, 3 and 4 runs. They won the NLCS 4 - 1, by margins of 1, 3, 2, and 4. The World Series was won 4 - 1, with 3 one-run victories, and an 8 run blowout. Through the first 2 rounds, it would be hard to say that Lidge made a significant difference. And in the WS, the 3 saves were definitely nice, but the series still ended up lopsided. There's every reason to think that J.C. Romero,who wasn't scored upon in 8 postseason appearances, allowing 2 hits and striking out 7, could have done an adequate job if Lidge wasn't around. He had a 2008 ERA of 2.75 and a 2007 ERA of 1.24.
