Phillies Notebook: Phillies closer Lidge has heater on full-blast again

BRAD LIDGE will forever be defined by his slider, and rightfully so. It's a pitch that can make the most accomplished of hitters look as if they are swinging in a wind tunnel. But talk to the Phillies' closer and he'll tell you that when his game is at its pinnacle, it is his fastball - and his ability to command it - that serves as a barometer.

Take his six blown saves this season. In four of them, Lidge walked at least one batter, thanks partly to a case of knee inflammation that has hampered his ability to control his pitches.

But in three save opportunities since returning from the disabled list, Lidge's fastball has been electric, and his command of it has conjured up memories of his magical perfect season from a year ago.

"Right now, I feel like I've got that control that I didn't really have for a whole lot of the season so far," Lidge said yesterday after he struck out the side in the ninth inning to preserve a 2-0 victory over the Mets, earning his 16th save. "But it's there now. I can drive the ball to where I need to get to go. If I'm missing, I'm not missing over the plate. I'm missing where it is supposed to be."

Of the 14 pitches Lidge threw yesterday, eight were fastballs, six of which were strikes. His accuracy early in the count put him in position to keep the three hitters he faced off balance with combinations of pitches. He attacked the hot-hitting David Wright with two quick fastballs for strikes, the first called and the second swinging. After a slider for a ball, Lidge came back with a 95 mph fastball that froze the Mets star.

"I thought David Wright was probably looking slider," manager Charlie Manuel said. "It looked like [Lidge] totally surprised him and busted him in."

Against Ryan Church, Lidge started with a fastball for a called strike, putting the hitter in an early hole. Church then missed a slider, laid off a slider in the dirt, then struck out swinging on a third straight slider.

Lidge then faced Nick Evans, missing with a first-pitch fastball, but coming right back with a second fastball for a called strike. Lidge then got Evans to swing through a slider. Two pitches later - one a slider for a ball, the second a fastball for a ball - Evans swung and missed at a fastball to end the game.

Now Lidge's challenge is to stay healthy and stay consistent, two things that enabled him to save all 41 of his chances last season. In his first 29 appearances of this season - 28 before his stint on the DL and one after he was activated, when he allowed two runs in mop-up duty - Lidge threw 60 percent of his pitches for strikes, while allowing an average of 1.94 walks and hits per inning pitched. In his last three games, he has thrown 64 percent of his pitches for strikes and allowed just two walks and one hit in three innings.

But the sample is still small, and Lidge acknowledged that the real test will be to continue his recent success on a regular basis.

"One thing I've done with probably too many hitters in the first half, my fastball really wasn't there so we were throwing a ton of sliders," Lidge said. "And now it's back and we can start using it again as another way to get people out . . . Hopefully it will go well for a while and now that my fastball is back to where I want it, I just need to keep it there."

Raul Ibanez is scheduled to make his first rehab start today at Double A Reading. And this time, it sounds as if it really will happen. Ibanez, sidelined with a strained groin since June 18, flirted with the idea of playing late last week, spending 2 days working out at Reading. But he never appeared in a game as the organization chose to continue its cautious approach with the veteran leftfielder. That will change tonight, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday. The Phillies have said that they would like Ibanez to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 at-bats in the minors before they are comfortable with activating him. But other than the nebulous "day-to-day" designation, the team has avoided setting a realistic date for his return.

Veteran lefthander Scott Eyre was activated yesterday, ending a 22-day stay on the disabled list with a calf strain. Eyre, who is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA, warmed up once in the bullpen yesterday but did not appear in the game. Sergio Escalona returned to Triple A Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies are 6-4 against the Mets this season, giving them a combined 24-15 record against NL East opponents . . . Yesterday marked just the second time this season the Phillies won a game while scoring three or fewer runs. They are 2-26 in such games . . . Since allowing four runs in one inning of a 10-5 win over the Padres on June 2, Chan Ho Park has allowed just four earned runs in 16 2/3 innings of relief, striking out 17 and walking three. *