One of my favorite Astros of all time. Maybe we should pick him up for cheap? Can't be worse than Rhiner Cruz of Wesley Wright? http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8063023/brad-lidge-washington-nationals-designated-assignment
I think the idea is to develop talent ...all Lidge would be doing is blocking someone from getting a shot. He had a good run, however. Too bad most Astros fans remember his 2006 meltdown more than anything else.
He would turn around alright... ......Over his right shoulder as he watches countless balls get launched over the Crawford Boxes
Maybe. Or maybe we can remember the good times, like that sick bullpen with Lidge as the 7th inning guy followed by Dotel and Wagner.
I remember in 04 he was getting national recognition for how dominant he was in the playoffs. Prior to the Pujols meltdown in 20.1 innings pitched he had a 0.89 ERA, he even saved the first 3 wins of that series. Taking away those 4 bad games he had after the pujols HR, he had a career 1.32 ERA in 40 innings pitched. He was a great postseason pitcher, but your usually remembered for the worst you did.
I'd love to have him back but it would be counterproductive for the franchise. Even if his career hasn't had near the longevity of other dominant closers, he's had a lot more success than many others. Many people though he was done after the Pujol's blast, and while it took him awhile to figure things out, he did and came back even stronger.
Yup. I like Brad as much as anyone, but there's no real fit here. Myers is the veteran "closer" being developed as trade bait. Even if Lidge were to sign as a 7th/8th inning guy, there's not nearly enough time between now and the deadline for him to fetch anything of significance. The minimal upside of that is far outweighed by taking away innings from younger pitchers who need experience and evaluation time.
bring him back for the sole reason of his entrance when he is called to pitch. "TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!"
I agree with most of you on this one. I would personally love to have him back just to root for him again. Unfortunately, it's just not a good fit for what the Astros are trying to do right now. Looking back, even in his post-Astros years, Lidge has had a bizarre career arc. He had his dominating years with the Astros, then the Pujols home run happened. He followed that up with a bad 2006 season. His 2007 season was not great, but it was good enough to convince the Phillies he could be their closer. He proved them right in 2008 when he was once again the dominating Lidge of old. He then had yet another 180-degree turn and was absolutely terrible in 2009. In 2010, he had one more great season as the primary closer and in 2011, he had a good, albeit short, season as a middle reliever/setup man. It's just really rare that you see someone alternate between being dominant and terrible as much as he did. With the exception of his 2007 season with the Astros, he was never just mediocre or "pretty good." He was always one extreme or the other.
So guys..... should we take a flyer on Lidge or something? I'm not sure how much longer I can take seeing Fernando Rodriguez out there...
After we ship off Myers at the deadline, Lidge can serve as a temporary closer. If he does well, trade him at the waiver deadline.
lol. how about convert him back to starter? actually, let's let him close, and let jason lane set him up.
I would like for the Astros to pick him up. Why not? We are bad and we can't get much worse. Go for Lidge signing a vet min. deal.
You know whats funny, i have NOT followed the Astros closely since the end of the 2009 Season. But what i can tell you about Brad Lidge is that homerun he gave up to Albert Pujols in 2005 was and is still WAY overblown People forget that was the year Jim Hickey messed with Lidge's mechanics, because they wanted him for some ODD reason to develop a 3rd pitch(which till this day i dont know why). But somewhere along the way that whole 2005 season with Lidge was up an down, he wasnt the same as the previous year( 2004). He was wilder around the strikezone, and had a LOT more full counts and walks. Jim Hickey ruined Lidge in my opinion Even in 2005 i knew something like this might have happened, because something about Lidge WAS NOT right. Im not saying im a psychic or anything, but anybody who followed the game could just see it. Pujols gets credit for "destroying" Brad Lidge. But i say he was already faltering up until that point, but only diehard fans of the Astros who watched him everynight could see it Lidge in 2004 and the Lidge in 2005 are 2 totally different pitchers Jim Hickey for some reason wanted Lidge to develop a 3rd pitch. Which was stupid in hindsight, because Lidge was so dominant with his fastball and slider( and they were literrally hard for the hitter to pickup). When Jim Hickey worked with him, it messed up his mechanics( and he began tipping pitches) People will say OHH he won a World Series with the Phillies in 2009. Yes thats true, but he still wasnt the same pitcher, even though he had a great year. He was more confident in a different setting, but if the going go tough he would crack.
