If our bullpen is this lousy then the Astros are toast. On a sidenote: how good does Mariano Rivera look in light of the the shocking collapse of Lidge and Gagne's injury problems? I think he's one of the top 5 players in the last 20 years. Best reliever of all time.
They can call it what they will, but what I'm seeing with my eyes appears to be less a mechanical problem and more a mental problem stemming back to the Pujols mash over the tracks. In this game he didn't seem to have his control, but I think it runs deeper than that.
He is... but I know tons of Yankee fans who were ready to groom another closer after his meltdowns in the playoffs in 2001 and 2003. In fact, many believe they'd have at least one (if not two) more championships since 2000 if Mariano "the great" hadn't blown some ridiculous saves. That's the life of a closer... you're really only as good as your last save. Whenever a guy like Rivera (and formerly Lidge) blows one, its always front-page news... it takes a ton of moxie to be able to handle that pressure well. If Lidge has an injury that he's not telling anybody about... that would be worrisome. Otherwise, the pattern of his control looking great in some games/to some batters (see Milwaukee last week)... and then dissapering on any given moment (tonight) seems more of a pattern of mechanics just going haywire, and not some "mental block" (you'd have seen a few more meltdowns if he really needed a shrink).
If you're addressing me, then you're dead wrong! I've been raising questions about Lidge's mental toughness and advocating the "sell high while you can" position well before the season even started. I like the Astros and I think they're a solid team, I just have my opinion about Lidge.
can you read my mind too? please. its location, location, location, when his location is right he's unhittable. when his location is off, he's hittable(as is every pitcher in baseball).
Has he even gone 1 , 2 , 3 in an inning this year???? It seems like walk after walk after hit after hit and then some lucky double play to get him out of a jam. This guy has been in a jam sandwich all year!! He stinks!
Well, how can I argue with logic like that. I've seen Lidge face batters this year looking pretty damn good... then its gone at a moment's instance (and manifests into deep counts, pitches fouled off, and eventual long balls). They've all seen him be so out of whack mechanically that they made him scrap the windup. There's a good chance that he's doing something wrong from the stretch also... Hell, I'd venture to guess that in the last two years, he's had more 1-2-3 saves than the vast majority of MLB... meaning he was constantly pitching from the windup. Why else would they scrap it, unless they knew something was wrong with either his arm-slot, or where his legs are landing.... something just purely mechanical.
well. Even though that one hurt so badly, to the point where i was cussing like I don't normally do when watching the stros. Hell, my damn knee hurts, I smashed it against the desk when I saw the contact Nomar had. After all this pain etc, it's still only one game. We'll take this out of our memory as soon as we win the next 2 and continue our winning ways of series. We were all gloom and doom when we got shelled by the Brewers (IIRC), but look at us now. We'll come out tomorow swinging...and connecting I hope. GO STROS!!!!
Just look at the difference between Mariano's blown saves and Lidge's. Rivera's blown save against the twins last week was filled with broken bat bloops and 2 blown strike 3 calls. The hit that did him in went about 6 feet. As with his "blown saves" in the postseason. When's the last time Rivera gave up some devastating bomb in the playoffs, well in the season for that matter? Lidge gave up more homers in the world series than rivera did the entier year. Please don't mention Lidge and Rivera in the same sentence.
7 out of 8 saves is not bad for a guy who is struggling. As soon as he starts locating his fastball, and throwing his slider for strikes he will be back. Everyone struggles...Joe Sambito did, Dave Smith did, Billy Wagner did....everyone. I have faith in Lidge, and being 13-6 to start the season is not bad. The Astros could have made it easier by scoring more runs earlier........ It is a team win and a team loss...... Just shake it off and come back strong tomorrow. DD
I wasn't addressing you in particular... just look at the 3 pages before of people summarily saying "lidge is done" (a statement that was probably itching to be said as soon as he was going to blow his first save, no matter where it was). Of course, you comparing him to an average basketball-player role-player didn't help your appearence. If you had said Lidge = Wholers, or Lidge = Kim, or Lidge = M. Williams... that would have still been extreme, but would have made a semblance of sense. You didn't make much sense otherwise... and coming on here saying "I told you so" is a silly comment to make in the 19th game of a 162 game season.
A blown save is a blown save... Mariano blew TWO saves in a series where his team was up 3-0. He blew a save in game 7 of the world series. He's great... phenominal... but he does blow them too (even in the playoffs). The thing that makes him great is that he works on his problems, and comes back stronger... exactly the same thing that Lidge has been trying to do all season. (scrapping the windup, working on new pitches, and analyzing the hell out of himself).
No "I told you so", just reaffirming what I have already made clear in the past. Anyways, the Lidge-Anderson comparo is only concerned with the mental aspect of the game, not talent or anything else...I thought that was obvious. I will admit the Anderson comparo is a little extreme, but the point stands. All I am saying is that Brad Lidge's stock won't EVER again reach what it was pre-demoralization last season. Could Lidge get over it? Possibly, but his stock has fallen big time compared to what it used to be. I don't think anyone will argue with this point. Just ask any great player and he will tell you that the game is 90% mental...all a guy has is his self-confidence and if you take that away a lot of former greats would be nothing more than average Joes.
I still have faith in Lidge, he is struggling for sure, and I am not going to say I am not completely worried that this guy has lost it, but he still has his fastball in the upper nineties. I just think the book is out on him. Hitters know to lay off those sliders. His slider isnt as nasty as it used to be either. Now it is time for Lidge to adapt...all the great ones do.
can you teach me to see fear through a tv? really, his location has been spotty the first 3 weeks of the season, and he's still 7 of 8 in saves, he and the stros will be fine. what was the difference between the other saves he had this year in which he struck people out or got double plays in pressure packed situations and tonight? the only difference was the result. lidge is not "different" on the mound, he just isn't hitting his spots.
No, I can't. But I can sure as hell show you a pattern of shaky outtings late in games since the Pujols blast.
