We're talking about on-the-field performance here. So Lidge was hurting... he still pitched. And pitched poorly in the closer role. It just was not an effective 2007 season, regardless of the reason for the diminished performance in the 2nd half. He looked alot like the Lidge of 2006 after July.
I disagree with the last sentence. The results were similar, but how he got there wasn't. 2006 was full of missed spots, poor location and terrible mechanics. In 2007, his mechanics were rock solid and his location was spot on. He was able to throw the slider for a strike. The results headed south, but it wasn't all that comparable to 2006. I'd also disagree that it wasn't an effective 2007 season, given that he pitched about 70 innings with an ERA of 3.3 and an ERA+ of 131. Perhaps not an effective season as closer, because that to me is an important distinction to make. Anyway, the bottom line to me isn't to argue whether Lidge was an effective closer in 2007. He wasn't. But, the reason is important because people keep tossing out the "change of address" or "change of scenery" like it was necessary, and that's not necessarily the case when you consider the injury and the corresponding timeline.
Well, Lidge protects a 1-run lead for his 27th save of the season. And, guess, who he faced first in the bottom of the 9th? You guessed it. None other than Mr. Pooholes, himself, who grounded out. He did walk Ludwick and threw a wild pitch after that but, overall, another solid save for the former Astro.
Since the blowup (which wasn't a save situation), Lidge has gone a perfect 5-for-5 in save opps with only 1 hit allowed in all those appearances combined, putting him at 27-for-27 on the season. Tonight was even more impressive -- one-run lead in Busch against the Cardinals, with Pujols at the plate. The result? Weak groundout to short, followed by swinging strikeouts of Ludwick and Ankiel to end it. I'm not trying to single out anyone, because a lot of people wondered how he would respond to adversity -- i.e. after he had his first bad outing, important games late in the season, or when he would face Pujols as the tying or winning run in the 9th. Well, here's your answer. EDIT: Man, you beat me by like 2 seconds, Brooks.
Hah, was flipping back and forth between games. And, yes, I had my doubts about Lidge. I'll man up and admit he's a stud. I still would like to see him struggle mightily down the road in situations where it helps us. For this season, since we are not contenders, I hope he finishes strong and helps the Phils make the playoffs.
Yeah, if it helps us, I agree he needs to have some meltdowns. For the time being, though -- assuming we can't get back in the race -- it's awesome to watch him do well and help them win. One, because he's a great guy -- and two, because the Phils' main competition is the Mets, who suck by definition and are even more easy to hate than usual because of Beltran and Wagner.
Wanna try again? CLUTCH. Ask those Cardinals how they feel about Lidge, now that he's closed them out on back-to-back nights. 28-for-28.
Yeah, he did. The HBP was on Lidge, but he had some ****ty luck that inning. Miles made a defensive swing on a two-strike count and blooped a pitch to left. And if Ryan Howard wasn't such a ******, the chopper from Ankiel was a routine 3-6-3 double play ball to end it. (Or if Miles doesn't have his fluke hit, Howard is further from the bag and that's an easy play.) Either way, those were bad luck more than anything else, and Lidge showed a lot of composure not to let that get the best of him.
What the hell is your problem with Bill Wagner!? He was a great player when he was here and he gave 100% There is no reason to hate the Mets becasue of Billy Wagner. He never wanted to leave to here.
Quite simply, he's an idiot. Wagner had criticized Astros owner Drayton McLane for not making a move to get another quality starting pitcher for the 2003 season and expected more of the same for next season. "It's going to be a tape job," Wagner said after the season finale. "It's not like we're going out there and getting any marquee pitchers." http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1652893 That's just a sampling. Wagner BLASTED McLane and this organization before he was even gone and predicted doom and gloom. It wasn't a comment after the fact -- it was while he was a teammate. Completely classless, and turned out to be completely wrong as well. Only months later, the team went out and signed Pettitte and Clemens and had the two greatest years in the history of the franchise, culminating in a trip to the World Series. Good call, Billy.
That's YOUR reason!? Wow, get a life and get over it. Woody Williams wanted to come home in '03, but Drayton didn't want him and Woody had a career year and was an All-Star. That's why Billy made that statement. You think Berkman is an idiot too for questioning the moves Ed Wade/Uncle Drayton mde this year, too?
Billy Wagner Throws Teammate Oliver Perez Under the Bus Friday, May 02, 2008 Ya gotta love to hate Billy Wagner. After Mets starter Oliver Perez got banged up by the Pirates on Wednesday, yielding seven runs (five unearned) in 1.2 innings, Willie Randolph had to go to his bullpen early just a day after using six pitchers in extra innings the night before. Perez clearly didn't have his best stuff, but neither did anyone else on the team. So how does Wagner react? By singling out Perez to the press: "Perez honestly has got to step up and know that we've just used every guy in the bullpen the night before," Wagner said. "He can't come in and come out there and decide that he doesn't have it today, and so be it." Helluva teammate, that Billy "Capt. Obvious" Wagner. It's not like he made a bold statement that everyone else somehow failed to comprehend for themselves; he just took a shot at his struggling teammate (their third or fourth starter, mind you) in the most public manner as possible. For his part, Perez said he had no problem with what Wagner said. We'll see how long that lasts if Wagner has already started chirping and we're only a month in. http://www.the700level.com/2008/05/billy-wagner-th.html
Mets' Wagner calls out teammates for ducking media ESPN.com news services Updated: May 16, 2008, 10:02 PM ET Outspoken Mets closer Billy Wagner lashed out at truculent teammates Thursday for dodging reporters and ducking "being accountable" by failing to talk to the media. Wagner, who ripped his teammates earlier this season, caused the flap on Thursday when he questioned some players' failure to make themselves available to the media after the team's deflating 1-0 loss to Washington. Wagner on ESPN Radio Billy Wagner fired a shot at some of his teammates on The Michael Kay Show Thursday for failing to hold themselves accountable to the media. Listen "You should be talking to the guys over there," he snapped to reporters in the clubhouse. He apparently, according to The New York Times, then gestured toward the lockers of Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and, especially, Carlos Delgado. "Oh, they're not there. Big shock," he said. The 36-year-old reliever later added to his furious finger-pointing of teammates during his weekly radio appearance, voicing frustration that he is one of only a few players reporters can interview after a crushing loss. "I didn't even play today, I was not a participant in the game and the guys that had participated were gone," Wagner said in his interview with ESPN Radio 1050's Michael Kay. "David Wright is always there, the same guys are always there. But there needs to be other guys that are accountable. It gets a little old when the same people keep getting interviewed even when they don't participate." When asked to name the specific players he felt failed to meet their media commitments, Wagner replied: "I think that will be recognized tomorrow [Friday]. You need to stand there during the bad times other than just stand there during the good times. That will be something that will be talked about tomorrow by the team I'm sure." The left-hander also insisted to Kay that he was not singling out the team's Hispanic players for criticism. "I think it's just certain guys," Wagner said, when asked if there was a racial component to the issue. "I don't think it's Latin, white or black. I don't think it's a color thing." "It gets frustrating for some of the guys that are there," he added. "Whether I'm there, or David Wright or whoever is there constantly, it comes a point that they don't need to be answering the questions that should go to someone else. And then it causes that tension because of my opinion of something that may not be something the way that it really was." Wagner's remarks come two weeks after Mets manager Willie Randolph told Wagner to keep critical comments in-house after he had criticized pitcher Oliver Perez following a blowout loss to Pittsburgh. Wagner criticized Perez after the left-hander lasted just 1 1/3 innings in a 13-1 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday, a night after the Mets exhausted their bullpen in an 11-inning victory. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3398790
Thanks for covering me in my absence, Brooks. With Billy, a big part of the hate is that it's a pattern that happened over and over and over again. Also, the "Drayton is cheap" excuse is a particularly annoying and stupid one -- and to my knowledge, Berkman hasn't played that card.
Bill never threw an Astros player under the bus. He called out Drayton for not making a move. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's not the first or last time it will happen in MLB. Berkman called out the front office and said it was like he was being traded to the Astros and he said the ddin't like Valverde's antics. Like I said, there is no reason to hate Billy Wagner. He is one of the best ever to don an Astros uniform.
