i dont get it, i mean, not like lidge has a sub par fast ball, he has a 96+ mph fastball, and a pretty damn good slider!! either he fixes his control or hes outta the league in a hurry.
Even though he has good velocity. There must be something about his fastball that makes it extremely hittable. Maybe it's extremely straight and has no movement at all. Maybe he doesn't hide the ball well during his delivery and the batter gets a longer look at the ball. That would negate the velocity. I can't tell you exacly why his mid-90's fastball isn't effective. I just know it isn't.
Actually, I didn't ask. And if you are going to throw out numbers, how bout getting them right? Or can you just not do simple arithmetic? How you get 15.2 innings pitched is beyond me. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?statsId=6913&year=2006 Converting 11 out of 13 save opportunities down the stretch. In September he was a bit shaky but still getting the job done. And in August, he was pretty much the lights out of old. I was at each home game. There was a marked change in Lidge's performance. You can remove your head from your ass now.
Typo? 25.2 v 15.2 August was pretty good. He pitched so well that he almost got his ERA down to 5.00! But he absolutely sucked in September. A 6.75 ERA and giving up runs in 7 of his 12 appearances ins't good. In his 5 save ops in September, he gave up runs in 3 of them. He also gave up runs in 2 of the 3 holds he recorded. One good month out of 6 doesn't cut it. And pitching well in August only to suck again in September doesn't equate to being good down the stretch. You may now remove your lips from Lidge's bunghole.
Maybe he should start throwing a 2-seam fastball like I've been saying for the last 2 years. It has to be the ball is too straight, it shouldn't be his delivery, hitters don't get to see him enough because he's in the bullpen.
No and the reason I didn't then is the reason I don't now: poor hitting. I just don't know what it is with the Astros - before it was the fact they played in the cavernous Astrodome which was not conductive to offense so they trotted out a group of guys who lacked superior offensive skills. But MM Park is not the Astrodome so that should no longer be a reason for what we are seeing. Whatever it is for some time now the lack of hitting has been a consistent theme that has extracted a big burden on this club. It has to weigh on the pitchers who are under all sorts of pressure not to make mistakes and give up any runs because this is not a team that has the hitting to come from behind. Yesterday, even though they were only 3 runs down, by the time the 6th inning rolled around, you could sense that the game was over as batter after batter was retired without much effort. And I don't need to go into what has happened to Clemens during his last 2 years here. They have become the poster boys for offensive futility. This season they have a lopsided lineup in the middle, 2 black holes aka automatic outs at C & SS and Biggio is a shaky at bat no matter where he hits. I guess that I wish it wasn't so for once - I'd like things to be different for a change. I do expect them to eventually start hitting - it's just that I hope they aren't buried in the division behind several teams by that time. Of course with their luck by then their starting pitching will be in trouble.
Where they got swept if memory serves. But it was really nice to see them in the Big Show. It would be MUCH nicer to see them win it all but if just making it there is satisfying for you then I am pleased that it made you happy.
come on. in baseball, this kind of thinking falls woefully short. did the cardinals really put together such a better team last year than the tigers that would make you think their organization isn't fielding a championship team? that they didn't give their fans a shot?? are the yankees really not trying hard enough?? are they not giving their fans a shot? baseball doesn't work that way. a bounce of the ball this way or that changes everything. a bad start by an otherwise reliable pitcher costs you a series, sometimes. the mariners finish with a record for regular season wins...a great team, without question...and then get bounced in the divisional series. this isn't basketball...the hard part of baseball is GETTING to the playoffs. after that, it's a crap shoot. it's who is hot at the right time. by the way...did you seriously just say the Astros were a poor hitting team in 2004 and 1998??? that's an absolute joke.
My two cents, but the Stros' always start off slow and come back with a vengence...I suspect that yes, it'll be a long year, but we'll be stumbling into the playoffs...It's early...
by the way: Carpenter will be missing his next start...his 2nd missed start of the season...he's having an MRI on his elbow today.
Umm, did you even watch the 1998 or 2004 teams? The 1998 team certainly struggled offensively in the postseason, but they were a fantastic offensive team. That was probably the best all-around team in the NL that year, and was considered to be the one team that could beat the 120 win Yankees. The 2004 team featured an offense that included Kent, Berkman, Beltran, and Bagwell. It had the best closer in baseball, and a starting duo better than any in baseball. It mashed the crap out of the ball in the postseason. If those teams didn't have a legitimate chance to win the World Series, then no team outside of New York in the last decade ever has. Oddly, some of them did, so I'm not sure how that works.
