Anytime your closer comes in you should feel that the game is over. It was like that with Wagner and it was like that with Brad last year. Whether it's a save situation or not, every time Brad comes in, every Astros fan hopes for the best and braces for the worst. Not only do we have little confidence in Brad getting it done on a consistent basis, but it is readily apparent that he doesn't have any confidence either. I really don't think that Brad "turns it on" in save situations and doesn't when it's not. He's thinking too much and it's causing him to play head games with himself. He's got the ability but he's losing a battle with the demons in his own head.
We should have TRADED LIDGE for ANYBODY we could get before the deadline ...... we probably wont get anything for him this winter after this season 0-7 6.59 ERA??
Just got back from the bar.... thank god the Astros won, now I can go to sleep.......... my wife thinks I am crazy
lidge to the waiver wire anyone? yes if he comes back like his previous 2 saves i'll recant this question until he screws us again.
Acehigh, I'm still waiting for your spin. How can you explain Brad Lidge allowing a run in 20 of 53 appearances? I've got another one for you. Find me ANY relief pitcher in the majors that has allowed a run in 20 appearances.
oh man, that was funny reading all those willy t bashing statements and then seeing his hr become the gamewinning run! how ironic? first biggio, then willy t... i wonder if it will work tomorrow? everett needs to be benched... or ausmus? lets go for the series win tomorrow!
A couple of observations, since I turned the game off after T. Miller got out of the 8th inning... 1.) Good to see Willy starting to prove the doubters (myself) wrong by putting together a complete game... I don't doubt that he works pretty hard on his swing, and it is starting to pay off (the ball is coming off the bat better... which is also why he has less infield hits, and that can be another reason why his batting average is much lower). My reasoning has always been that he's just not ready to be a team's leadoff hitter... he's still young, he's still raw in many aspects, and this team needs somebody on base so their one truly dangerous hitter can drive them in. Another factor is that he still probably should have been at AAA this year... but he's here, learning on the fly, and he hasn't succumbed to failure yet. If he can have more games where he simply works the count (doesn't have to neccesarily get on base... just don't make easy outs, and make the pitcher throw lots of pitches)... and continues to be aggressive on the basepaths, he's gonna be fine. 2.) The bullpen: as expected, the biggest story here is about Lidge's inability to get the third out... and undoubtedly, this is a problem that is just lingering around (appearing randomly every 3rd or so game). I just think lefties are seeing his pitches better than ever... and combine that with his tinkering with the cut-fastball, and he's been his own worst enemy when it comes to facing the LHB by walking them. I also thought Qualls once again allowed the D-backs (who's bats had finally been calmed by Roy) to gain new life. You may think its okay for set-up men to have bad outings from time to time... but if you look around the league at guys who are brought in as often as Chad in the 7th or 8th (with a lead), they really don't blow it as much as he has this year. The problem with him has always been inconsistency... and instead of walking guys (like Lidge), he hangs his slider/sinker when he blows it. Finally, Wheeler is the only guy we have in the bullpen who may have intestinal fortitude (even though he walked in a run)... the problem is, he has the worst stuff, and will get beat eventually the more times you run him out there. Its a functional problem... meaning, the team is still going to win games playing through this.... but this just goes to show you to not get too attached to a bullpen from year to year. We'll see what Nieve brings.
Typical emotional clueless clutchfans bandwagon jumpers. Lidge shuts em down in two save opportunities in a row and its "Lights out lidge is back!" "He's the man! etc". Then he gets in trouble and it's "Cut his ass!" "I never want to see Lidge again!" "He's horrible, send him down now!" You guys are hilarious.
If Lidge is only able to convert 66% of his saves in "Light's Out" form and he eats sh*t in the other 34%, I still want his ass traded for a bottle of Soul-Glo. How's that?
But it isn't as simple as "Lidge should be lights out all the time, or else." We've been spoiled the last two years by seeing a guy on top of his game in such a way that they were whispering that he was the next Mariano (and that was NEVER said of Wagner, Izzy, or any other lifetime closer... Gagne flirted with immortality, but his injuries caught up to him). Now, he's still striking out guys at a leage-leading pace... but his control has dissapeared. Its a lot of mechanical issues, some mental issues, and he's got no cushion for error since he's "the guy." Nobody remembers him in 03 or half the season in 04... where he was a good pitcher, but wasn't expected to be dominant. Frankly, that form is the one he needs to try to get back to... his ERA was in the 3's, he wasn't called "lights out", but he still go the job done. EDIT: Actually, going back and watching the end of the game (I didn't see the end last night), Lidge looked pretty good... up till he walked Hudson. His pitches had zip, the slider had bite, and credit Hudson for taking close pitches and fouling off the tougher ones. There's no excuse for him falling apart and walking Drew, but Lidge's stuff is still very much there.
Not only that, but Qualls' problems aren't simply mechanical/mental... its just that he's an inconsistent pitcher who gets burned when he loses focus. I stand by Lidge simply because he's at least been dominant over an extended stretch in the past (which Qualls hasn't), and because he's progressively looked better as the season's gone along in certain outings (indicating he's fighting to find the reasons that cause him to go into spontaneous funks)... it still doesn't mean that Lidge can be fully trusted as a dominant closer, but at the same time he doesn't have "Steve Blass/Mark Wholers disease" (as those guys were never able to look dominant at any point again). Nobody can get a read on Qualls right now... sometimes he looks great with pressure, sometimes he looks horrible with pressure, sometimes he looks great with no pressure. The only thing that's certain with him is that when he hangs a pitch, it usually gets nailed for a HR.
What channel was the game on last night, I couldn't find it. We have dish and the Rangers were on FSSW and none of the alternates were showing the Astros.
Boy, do the Brave suck... then again, we do control our own fate against Cincy with 5 games left... might as well knock out some other WC pretenders in the mean time.
I don't need to ever be "Light's Out" in the sense of dazzling me with his saves. I don't care if every out is a ground ball after a 3-2 count. However, I do need for him to be consistent. Having 2 great outings followed by a crapping session is unacceptable as a trend. I totally agree with you that he needs to go back to 2003 form, where he got the job done. He wasn't spectacular, but we got what we needed. I don't care if 2003 form is the best we get out of Lidge. That's good enough for me. I don't need glamour, but I do need reliability.
That's because Qualls is Qualls and Lidge is Lidge. Our expectations are clearly different for the two. If that's a fault, then so be it.
Word out of RR is his career as an everyday catcher is over, shoulder won't let him do it. Hope he makes the team next year as a RH power bat off the bench, backup 1B, 3rd (emergency) catcher.
