I think you should stop watching the rest of the season if you think they are not trying. In many cases (including Lidge), I think they are trying too hard. Its not like basketball where extra energy is often good.
The team is not gonna get anything of value for Lidge; we've already seen that this offseason. And Garner saying in press conference he believes Lidge will get it done is just to give him a vote of confidence. He's not gonna publicly give Lidge an ultimatum after the first game of the season. But I'm betting and hoping that things are churning in his head and a plan B is in place should LIdge continue to struggle. But he's not gonna come out and bash Lidge; he'll keep praising him until he yanks him.
I can understand Garner not pulling the plug one game into the season, but I do wonder what it's going to take for Lidge to actually lose his job. He sucked for an entire season. A season during which the 'Stros twice said they were going to "closer by commitee". They never really did. Lidge gets lit up all spring and blows the first game of the season. I'd like to believe that if Lidges stays this way they'll remove him from the closers' role, but with Gar and Pup I don't know if that will actually ever happen.
I agree with you here. I said before the season that I didn't take Garner serious as a manager because he threw him out there in the closers role when he hasn't done anything in over a year. HOWEVER, I would take Garner even less seriously if he took Lidge out now. He made him the closer and I think he ought to give him a couple weeks and re-evaluate, but I'm guessing he is going to get at least a month or two with how stubborn Garner is.
Lidge=Carr Both are/were getting too much time to prove their worth. I'll give him a few more chances, but if he doesnt correct it soon, its time to pull the plug. I still cant believe he blows a save in the first game of the year
By the time Garner realizes that Lidge is no longer a closer...the Astros will not be in the running for the division anymore. The sooner we pull the plug on that guy, the better off the team will be.
Say what you want about Lidge, but I think this one falls at the feet of Garner. What kind of lineup has Biggio & Everett batting at the top? Their combined OBP last year was under 0.300. Meanwhile, you have Ensberg, who nearly had a 0.400 OBP in 2006 despite batting in the 0.230s, and Burke (0.350 OPB - good, but not great) batting down in the order. The icing on the cake was when he decided to let Ausmus bat for himself in the 10th inning, even though he had Lamb still available. You can argue that Tracy would have gone with the lefty, but I still like my chances better with Lamb than Ausmus. One thing's for sure - it didn't take long for the crowd's pity ovation for Lidge during player introductions to turn into raucous boos.
