what i can gather from last night's game, per ClutchFans logic: 1. Lidge will give up a HR every time he throws; 2. Qualls isn't nearly as good as we thought from his pitching in the umpteen other innings we've seen him...because in that one inning, he gave up runs...so he'll give up runs every time out' 3. The only reliever we have is Dan Wheeler; 4. Chris Burke will hit 324 doubles this season while batting .500; 5. I'm sorry to report that apparently Carlos Lee won't get a hit all season.
Question: Has a once-dominant closer ever regained his stuff after losing it (either physically, due to injury or age, or mentally)? Hopefully, there is precedent. I'm trying to think.
MadMax I think your getting off the beaten path here man.. This thread is about Lidge now about the Astros Organization...
read through this thread, again. the comments aren't limited to Lidge...and we have a couple that talk about, "see...i told you the astros wouldn't do anything!!" based off this one game. this happens every year with the 'stros here. hell, it happened to the rockets this year after the first game in the GARM. comical.
Sometimes even you get annoying MadMax. People are pissed, but nobody really believes the season is already over. This is about Lidge. He was struggling before Pujols launched that comet, struggled all last season, struggled during Spring Training, and sure enough he opens the season with a piss poor performance where even his strikeout was questionable and up in the zone. It's just one loss for the Astros, but for Lidge, last night was not just another game. It was a just as high a pressure situation as pitching deep in the season to win a playoff spot or even pitching in a playoff game because he's been crap for a while now and he's trying to prove he's still the man. That pressure flattened him. Last season he pretty muched did everything to shorten his leash and if he can't keep the ball in the park, then Garner better yank him in the first month.
Max, there may be a few here that were talking about an issue other than Lidge, but the vast majority of us are purely discussing our once dominant closer. No, the Astros season isnt over. Not even close. However, Brad Lidge is done. Its not just reacting to this one game...its been over a year's worth of him sucking. Its not a knee-jerk reaction. Brad Lidge sucks now and his career as a closer for the Astros is nearing an end.
You forgot that Hunter Pence will hit .500 with 80 HR and 180 RBI's, but ****** is too stoopid and loves Jason Lane too much.
1. no doubt i get annoying. ask my family. 2. ummm...i have no problem with criticizing lidge for last night's game...but this isn't just "about Lidge." and those are the posts i'm talking about..all from THIS thread: It's one game, guys. 161 to go. We may suck. We may win a bunch of games. I promise you, you can't extrapolate from one game how the season will go for any one player.
right. because he did it against the aces in spring training who were pitching their hearts out to capture the much-coveted Grapefruit League Champs moniker.
You know what will make everything better? A d1ck in a box! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dmVU08zVpA
Seriously, can we give Nieve a chance in the late innings? All he ever saw last year was some long relief.
Well I don't know about y'all but I was telling folks around me that he was gonna blow it and then when it happened I just started to laugh (oh I was pissed as hell but what can you do). I mean what's wrong with some people I was getting dirty looks and some woman told me not to come if I was gonna be negative (I just told her to "turn around sweetheart were at a baseball game, bless your little heart"). The guy is done, he has been figured out and he is a mental midget. Everyone needs to bring signs in and boo him whenever he is in the game. Last year we supported him after the rockey 05 playoffs and he blew it. It's time for him to go. F You Lidge and don't let the door hit you in the a$$. Also that stupid triple A manger did not help us out with the lineup he put out there nor his in game moves.
Lidge, once again, choked. However, it's only one game and we have 161 more to go. If he continues to struggle, then yeah, make him a middle reliever for a while. But one bad outing does not make a bad season. I know this is probably wishful thinking, but I think he can turn it around. And if he can't, then adios It's only one game...the Stros have not shown anything yet
To be fair to Lidge, he has been throwing a cut fastball which is slower than his 4-seamer. He was getting up to 96 last night and it's my assumption that the 91-92 MPH pitches were the cut fastball.
Comical? Perhaps, but what I think this is about is the fact that last night was a continuation of what Lidge did in Spring Training which was a continuation of what Lidge did last year so it's not like what happened last night should have come as a surprise to the Astro organization. I confess that I watched this game and I just knew that Lidge was going to give up that lead. Once that happened, it ceased feeling like opening night to me but more like game 163 of 2006. The other thing that PO's folks is the steadfast support for Lidge being the closer by Garner & Purpura despite what is looking like a mountain of evidence to the contrary. I mean seriously - it took him 26 pitches to get out of the inning. If that's not an indication of trouble, then I just don't know what trouble really means. I think it serves no purpose to keep sending him out there in the blind hope that somehow things will be different this time.
