he's blown 6 saves all season. i think he set an expectation in 2005 that few can live to. Rivera has blown 3. Wagner has blown 5. Papelbon has blown 6. No one is going to be perfect. And few have converted their save opportunities as well as Lidge has this season. You can say he hasn't had control. You can say he hasn't been effective at all when he's come in with his team tied or behind. But give him a save opportunity, and he's closing it out 31/37 times this season. It's not fair to say, "that's Brad lidge...he blows saves."
I don't understand how people can still argue for Lidge. He's sporting a ~5.21 ERA. Yikes. I wish Garner would stick to his word and remove him from the closer spot. M. Rivera 1.90 B. Wagner 2.17 J. Papelbon 0.92 Not even a comparison. Lidge has been awful this year.
Funny how no one was complaining during his last 6 outings where he got 5 saves and a win, or all through August where he had a 2.6 ERA. It must be fun to just wait for someone to fail and then rail that it was obvious he shouldn't have been out there, neverminding the month+ that he did just fine.
The ERA has to be considered when weighing the effectiveness of a pitcher. Also, when watching Lidge pitch, his presence on the mound isn't what it once was. It used to be like having Roy Oswalt out in the 9th inning 70 times a year. One can indeed say his control has been suspect, and control is a *huge* part of effective pitching. As a big Lidge fan who hopes he turns it around, I've got to agree with the poster above that this year there's no comparison between Lidge and the other three you list. I don't think the Astros have any better shot, statistically, of keeping a lead in the 9th with Lidge than they do with Wheeler or Qualls, and I believe the ERA numbers bear that out.
i totally agree with everything you just said. i think lidge set a standard for himself in 2005 that would be hard to live up to ever again. i'm not comparing anything other than save numbers. the point was made that blowing saves is what Brad Lidge does. not so much. and by the way...ERA has its own troubles for a relief pitcher with a smaller sample size of innings. a couple of bad innings and it takes months to bring it back down to a respectable level when you're getting 3-4 IP a week.
you're right max, lidge probably set himself up for failure by being so successful but the simple fact is that is the way the team is built. little offense, defense and relief pitching. if lidge wasn't so good last season, the astros probably don't make the playoffs, and the expectations were for him and wheeler to be rock solid again. its not just he blown saves, if lidge is as good as last season they are right in the the playoff hunt again even maybe looking at a division title.
Lidge is a fine pitcher and a good closer, just not in tight situations, which no matter how much I defend him, is unacceptable at this point in the season. Gar needs to stop experimenting and put the real hustlers out there on the field and bench the screw ups. When trades come up, try to get some younger talent for that we discharge.
That's an oxymoron. A good closer has to pitch well in tight situations. Any pitcher can go out there and close games when you're up 3 runs. And Lidge has been terrible this year, and predictably bad when we've needed him the most. His role as closer is indefensible at this point. Let Wheeler get a shot in the last couple weeks to close games and see how he does.
- Burke fails to move the runner to 3rd w/ nobody out; - Borkowski gives up a 2 out RBI single to their 8-hitter, then gives up a 2-out RBI single the next inning; - Berkman fails to drive in runner from 3rd with 1 out; - Lidge hits Spezio; - Lidge pitched fine to Pujols, tip your cap to the best hitter in baseball. You can't walk him there with Lidge repeatedly firing 57' sliders; - Lane can't field the damn ball, no way Spezio should have scored on that; Ballgame. Disappointing year. Go get 'em in '07.
The thing is, you're referring to a month he was decent. We're referring to the rest of the year where he's been terrible.
If it was so obvious that he shouldn't be out there in save situations right now, why weren't you b****ing that Garner was a moron all during the last month?
why are you guys arguing about last month, if people would have complained about him being out there even though he was successful last month you would be criticizing fans for that.
I'm not whining that he was out there. I'm just saying that he should no longer be our closer. Personally I think Garner's an idiot for pitching to Pujols period, but I can understand his thinking. Why are you so defensive about Lidge? Has he not been terrible this year, especially when compared to last? I could really care less if he "saved 6 games in a row" when he's sporting a 5+ ERA in the bottom of the 9th. There's no arguing that, he shouldn't be out there anymore - but I guess we don't any better options right now. I love the Astros. I used to love Lidge. It's become painfully obvious to me though that he will not be the same. I'm sorry I don't share your hope or enthusiam when he does his job for a few games straight.
It's dumb to b**** about a guy after one bad outing and then act like it was obvious that he should never have been out there. After weeks of b****ing about Borkowski not being used, now everyone b****es that Garner puts him in. Every yelled about using Trever Miller in critical situations early in the season and now whines when he's not brought in. It's just absurd second-guessing, but only after you know the results. I'm sure Garner would be as smart as the fans if we he could choose to only put Lidge out there the times he does well.
I could care less about Lidge. I think all the "garner is an idiot" "lidge should never have been out there" crap is absurd. No one whined for the past month when it worked. It doesn't work once and everything things it was obvious he would fail. Sorry if I lumped you in with that group - there were a whole array of posts like that earlier.
The thing is you can't please all the people all the time. There are people out there that just like to gripe. It's easy to attack someone when they are down. It's easy to like someone when they are on top.
