'Disappointed' Lidge says goodbye to Philly
The lasting image will always be of a man on his knees, reaching up toward the glowing sky, teammates swarming and fans cheering as entire city spun on his axis. Brad Lidge says he will always have that moment: will always remember the sound of the crowd, the feel of the grass bleeding through his pants, the incomparable high that comes with being a world champion.
'Disappointed' Lidge says goodbye to Philly
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The lasting image will always be of a man on his knees, reaching up toward the glowing sky, teammates swarming and fans cheering as entire city spun on his axis. Brad Lidge says he will always have that moment: will always remember the sound of the crowd, the feel of the grass bleeding through his pants, the incomparable high that comes with being a world champion.
"I enjoyed the hell out of my time there," Lidge said yesterday from New Orleans, where he was scheduled to take part in a Triple-A Hall of Fame banquet. "I'd thank every fan personally if I could."
He was professional to the end, saying only that he was "disappointed" that the Phillies decided not to offer him a contract to remain with the club for a fourth season. Lidge said that at the end of the season, he talked with general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and left the meeting with the impression that if he could not find an opportunity to close, the Phillies would be ready to offer him a modest contract to help set-up for newly-signed Jonathan Papelbon.
"We thought it was probably going to happen," Lidge said. "Basically when the season ended, I talked to Ruben, and he said, 'We understand you'd prefer something else, an opportunity to close,' but he said 'we'll be here if you don't have the opportunity to close."
A couple of weeks ago, Lidge said he returned to Amaro but was informed they no longer could offer him a deal.
"It was fairly surprising and disappointing," he said. "We were upset about it for a little bit. It's frustrating but its part of the business. They used their judgment and wanted to move on and I respect that, but obvious I thought we'd be able to come back."
Which brings a close to the most memorable part of his career. Lidge signed a one-year deal with the Nationals, which means the Phillies could be seeing plenty of him in 2012.
"It's going to be more emotional when we do actually pack everything up and leave town," said Lidge, who has seen two children born while living with his wife in Haddonfield. "We've spent a lot of our lives here. There's a ton of memories. It will be emotional. I'm real attached to the city. I've grown to love it, so yeah, it will be tough, but it's part of the business."
Thanks for 2008 Brad and wish you well in Washington.— jimmymack- Guy got a ring here. Means he'll never pay for a drink in this town the rest of his life. But it was time to move on, and the numbers showed that.— ejc527
- Can you see him striking out Howard on a Splitter?— farley
- i can see him striking out Howard with a slow-pitch softball. — coloradoeagle
- Good luck, Lidge. Thanks for 2008.— KDH
- Great guy but not worth a million to the Phils. With all the mega-contracts on the books they need to save all they can on the rest of the roster. They also need to get younger. I appreciate all he has given and received.— johnny eagle
- @ farley - I think he could strikeout Howard with a lob ball.
-not bob levy— remyy - Note to sonnybuoy01: Lidge will on the DL before September. Papelbon will likely match or break Lidge's 2008 save record. By the way, have you ever wondered why Fielder signed with Detroit and dissed the Nats? That says a lot about your team.— 1republican
- Glad we had him, we probably wouldn't have won in 08 without him, but it's past his time. It's the problem with closers-they can be unstoppable one season and basically done the next. Keith Foulke up in Boston was a perfect example-awesome in 04 and helped them win, but I think he was in the minors by the end of the next season and staging a comeback with a third rate league a couple of seasons later. You gotta love 'em while they're winning for you, but unless you have Mo Rivera (who signed his soul to Satan btw), you can't count on relievers for a long period. That's my biggest fear with our massive contract with Papelbon. I wish the best to you and your family Lidge, and when you're all finished up with ball, come back to the area!— donde
- amaro got his guy in Dontrelle Willis --figures he can add much of the same excitement in late innings (i.e., a guy to walk a lot of batters and give up lots of runs, giving Chollie an opportunity to bring in another reliver and stretch out the game a bit) for $150,000 less --really shrewd character that rube -- picking up such "rough diammonds" like Nix and Willis (unfortunately they are likely to remain as "rough" as they've been these past many yrs)— warbiscuit
- Offer him a contract for a "4th season"? He knows that he already spent 4 seasons with the team, right? Unless he wants to sign for $1 mil as a set up man, he's gone--it has nothing to do with what the Phils offer him.— bluehaha
Comment removed.- I find it weird that we are all of a sudden pinching a few hunderd thousand $$$ here and there with Lidge, Valdez and other guys we've trusted. I mean, we know Bastardo can set up and we have Contreras as a back up. I get that, too. But we seem to be pinching pennies on the little deals and winging it on the bigger ones, don't we?— eman
- We have 20 pitchers, some very young kids trying to make one or 2 bp spots. A few of these kids are our future. Brad is one of the nicest and classiest players we have had on the team but it is time to see what these young kids have. Nobody will ever forget what he did for us. I hope he has a great year. Pinching pennies? Maybe letting the kids get a shot is more like it.. — pattymac3
- I'm always amazed at how easily folks spend money that isn't theirs. Come on naysayers, Lidge is done. He was barely throwing mid 80's and his slider was average. He has missed large parts of the past three seasons and isn't getting any younger. The question I have is why did the Nats sign him?— 42Homestead
