'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."
dogbiscuityoudope -- I notice that so long as a player is on Phils' roster -no matter how clearly awful he may be --you'll defend him as if he is the equivalent of Ted Williams or Christy Matthewson (you can go look those names up in baseball history books if you havent heard of them and need to confirm that they were truly pretty good) but the second Phils let them go (e.g., Werth and now Lidge) you suddenly not only concede their flaws but suddenly are their greatest critic, as I seem to recall you being a big Lidge defender last year -- I would suspect that if somehow the Phils came up with some miracle solution and got rid of Howard you'd be the first one to say how truly awful he was too, and had they not re-signed Rollins you'd be the first one off his bandwagon as well... oh, and by the way, I noticed that I at least shut you up on your ridiculous disparaging of Mike Schmidt after demonstrating that Baseball Refernce and people with real jobs evaluating baseball players confirm quantititavely that Schmidt was by far the best player in baseball over the period from 1974 through 1987 (and to as to why he "only" had 31 hrs and 91 rbis in 1981 you probably didnt know that it was a strike year and teams only played 2/3 of season and he had almost 10 hrs more than anyone else in league that yr) --you realy seem clueless about anything and just think that an effective defense of anything the Phils organization does is acomplished by calling any and all critics "dopes" --so to paraphrase one of your juvenile rebuttals: are you Amaro's mother or sister or are you the clueless rube yourself?— warbiscuit- This comment has been deleted. — DogBiscuitthedope
- You go Dog! This team may not have the best at every position but they have heart and a chemistry that has meant special team baseball. That is what goes when Lidge,Raul, Madson and even Wilson are gone. Even with the flaws they have been so great to watch. Other than the Yanks only six teams since 1980 have won 2 WS. For some it is all or nothing and there is no place in their hearts for such simple human weaknesses as gratitude or forgiveness. It is stats and numbers, black and white. Heart is a rock band and chemistry a subject you take in high school.
— DUDESKINS - fyi --the reason why I attack the acquisitions of Nix and Willis is because they are --by any standard -- truy awful players, just like Lidge was these past few yrs— warbiscuit
- This comment has been deleted. — DogBiscuitthedope
- Nix still has demonstrated value as a bench player with a little bit of pop. He's an extra outfielder. Look around the league- what fourth outfielder doesn't "suck." Willis actually showed last year that he can be effective, especially as a LOOGY (even though Charlie will fail to use him that way).
And DogBiscuit guy, STFU with calling everybody a dopey tool. Jesus Christ, it's annoying.— the dadsnitch - and dbyoudope since you probably failed "reading comprehension" in last year's class, i've never said Amaro should have signed Werth for what the Nats gave him -- only that any other half-intelligent g.m would have signed another righthanded outfielder last winter to replace Werth instead of thinking useless Ben would be the starting right fielder (both Melky Cabrera and Francoeur were free agents last yr and could have been signed for very moderate cost) ..had Amaro done so he wouln't have been compelled to trade 3 terrific prospects to Astros for Pence, including the guy who would likely have been the heir to Howard at 1st base (and likely a much better player down the road)— warbiscuit
- I'll always remember 08. One truly great year for a championship team. That's more than most players ever have. But arms, knees, etc. don't last forever. It's time to give some of these promising young pitchers a chance.— altoonaaslan
- Brad is one of the great guys in sports and will be missed. Class act. He will always be a Phillie and a hero!— ej610
- Thanks Brad for a memorable time!!— philsfansince1946
- Brad thanks for '08; time for you and Phils to move on. Nats games will be more interesting this year than in a long while.— M60tanker
- I appreciate everything he accomplished in 2008, but lets be honest...he has been an anchor weighing the team down for 3 seasons. Class guy and I wish him the best. But he is a shell of his former self and is more hinderence than help— Neebo
- and dbyoudope-I am sure when Amaro fails to re-sign Hamels you'll suddenly become Hamels biggest critic and will go on these boards explaining to everyone how rube couldn't sign so many aces and how much better Lee and Hallady are -- so let me go on record: Hamels will be a lot better over next many years than Lee and Halladay and is worth every cent if the Phils sign him to a long-term deal (assuming there are no injury issues this yr ) so if cluess rube shocks me and manages to sign him to a long term deal you will not see me critize rube for that signing --just like i did not criticize amaro for signing Lee --just that he wasted a lot of prospects by his multiple idiotic dealings when he should never have discarded Lee for peanuts in the first place (yes, dpyoudope, complete "peanuts" considering that Yanks offered Montero to Seattle for Lee)— warbiscuit
Class guy, but his high-wire act could give even the casual fan (like me) ulcers.
After his injuries, what really was left -- 88 MPH fastball? 82 MPH slider? Below average control? No pickoff move at all?
I really hope he makes a miraculous comeback, but I think we've seen the last of Mr. Lidge as a successful MLB pitcher.
- "... to come back for a 4th season"... does any writer here ever proof read what they write?— sn11
