pulling Lidge out is gonna be all the talk on sports radio tomorrow. i still can't believe Garner had the nuts to do it.
He's only blown 4 saves this year, which is fewer than virtually any other closer out there this year. We also won 1 of the games he blew. So really, you're looking at 3 games all season as far as closing games goes. He's also 0-3, but 2 of those were in the same games he got a blown save for. Granted, he's sucked in non-save situations and has cost us victories there - but as far as closing, he's been as good as anyone except a few guys like Trevor Hoffman, oddly enough.
Yessssssss Is anyone else laughing over the fact that Pettite gets the win? QUALLS AND WHEELER TAKE US TO THE PLAYOFFS!
yea, no one in the league is really better than lidge. every other closer has blown the same amount or more saves than him. it's just fustrating for us when we see him on a daily basis giving up hits, walks, wild pitches and runs. still, i'm glad Garner didn't leave him in there against Griffey.
There is no doubt that this will be all over sports radio! Maybe this Garner move will really push them to trade him for another bat?
I'll admit it I was questioning Garner's decision to bring Miller in to face Griffey with runners on 2nd and 3rd. The decision worked, but whether it did or not, you got to like his thinking here. Lidge wasn't getting it done and Garner took a risk and pulled him before he imploded and cost the team the game. In the past he'd remove Lidge after he gave up some runs. I think that sent a clear message and I like it.
When Lidge entered the game, the Astros win probability was 96.3%. After the wild pitch, it had dropped to 81.3% .
I don't think pulling Lidge will be as controversial as alot of people think. Garner was just trying to play the matchups. Griffey sucks against Miller. I still have faith in Lidge.
I'll admit when I'm wrong. As bad as I felt Garner was last night, he was that terrific tonight. He took the risk and let Lance play, and he delivered. And, instead of letting Lidge complete his meltdown to show faith in the "closer" as has been done before, he took him out before he got the chance to go up against a good power hitter. I don't like using Miller in that situation - I would've gone with Wheeler starting in the Griffey AB - but I had more confidence with Trever than I did with Brad. And he did remove Miller after that one at-bat.
I haven't been able to watch many Astros games until moving back to Texas this month. I just noticed Kevin Bass is on FSN for post-game comments. Looks like he is struggling and also Kevin Eschefelder seems impatient with him. But I will always be a Kevin Bass fan!
