Lidge gets closer
Brad Lidge made what might be his final rehab appearance today, pitching a scoreless eighth inning for Lakewood in a South Atlantic League game.
Lidge gets closer
Daily News staff
Brad Lidge retired the side in order in his inning at Lakewood on Wednesday. (Ryan McFadden/AP Photo, Reading Eagle)
Brad Lidge made what might be his final rehab appearance today, pitching a scoreless eighth inning for Lakewood in a South Atlantic League game.
Lidge, who has not pitched all season for the Phillies, retired the three batters he faced with two groundouts and a strikeout. He threw 10 pitches, seven for strikes.
Lakewood scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to win, 8-2.
"Everything feels good, finally,'' Lidge said. "My slider feels great right now. As I always say, that's a real important pitch for me. That's normally how I get guys out.''
Lidge has made eight rehab appearances, four with Reading and four with Lakewood. With Reading, he allowed two runs in 3.2 innings pitched. With Lakewood, he allowed one run with four strikeouts in four innings.
Lidge expressed confidence in a fastball that has lacked velocity throughout his rehab stint.
"One of the most important things for me is not just velocity, but the downward angle on the fastball and obviously command of it," he said. "If I've got those two things going and the velocity goes up even one mile an hour when I get back to Philadelphia, I'll be fine.''
He is hoping to rejoin the Phillies when they return home Friday to face San Diego.
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Comments (31)
Anything on his velocity??— FABER- oh no!— Mark1npt
- Buckle up fans, it's going to be a bumpy ride!— jimyd0315
- Can Lidge and his 88-mph fastball possibly be worse than the three stooges (Herndon, Baez, or Carpenter)?— Danielson
- Agree, Danielson, he has to be far better than those three clowns...— M60tanker
- @Danielson, a pitching machine would be better then those 3. Hopefully this doesn't preclude RAJ from getting a little more help for the 'pen.— paulNC
- Actually, I would rather have Valdez come in to pitch than Baez, Herndon and Carpenter. — jimyd0315
- just don't put this guy anywhere near a situation where the game is on the line in late innings.— AlexSp
- Thanks for the Great Year, Brad. Please move on.... I cannot afford anymore Alka-Seltzer, Tums, or Excederin this year. And, oh yea, the blown Saves. I hear GNC Romero calling, you better pick it up!— NRGjunk
- No fan will ever be more critical of a Philly player than Philly fans. Why not welcome him back (unless you forgot his 2008 performance of zero blown saves) and see if he can make the team better. Or we can waste prospects, after finally getting the farm system replenished, on a reliever from a different team and continue to mortgage the future. Now, I'm not against winning this year, but if you have a piece you can add from the I.R., instead of moving pieces, then you get a win-win. Give the guy a break and act like you remember him helping this team win a World Series!— Bleue
- I agree that he is a walking heart attack, but he's another arm in the mix. Having the best record in the league gives you an opportunity to see if the guy has enough in the tank to help you come October. I hope he does have something left.— Orange845
- Keep Brad at Lakewood, sign the pitching machine to an extension.— NewMick314
- If Lidge can stay healthy, he deserves to be on this team for the rest of this year. He would be a nice upgrade over Baez, Herndon, and Carpenter, but can't see him being used as a closer anymore with the way Madsen and Bastardo have come through for us.— Phillyfan among the NYers
- I doubt Lidge will close. But he could still help this club. The bullpen, actually seems fine. Bastardo and Stutes have been excellent. Madson is working his way back. If Oswalt comes back, Kendrick can go back to the long relief role that he was doing well in.
That should be enough to get them through most games. Their starters have been so brilliant that the lack of 6th inning guys has not hurt them too badly.— Muckrakers - He will be a mop up guy....Cholly won't call his number in the 7th, 8th or 9th inning, maybe the 18th though.— scootch
- Agree with Danielson and M60Tanker. Spot Lidge into Hernia's spot, trade #Lonewolf for a right-handed bat and a player to be named later, and summarily cut Joan (Baez).— Dadof24
- BTW, velocity reports: FB 89 tops; slider mid-80's; everything else - priceless.— Dadof24
- BTW#2, Editors, nice job on the title of this post - Lidge Gets Closer - whatta hook - most coming on this post likely thought Manuel had lost his mind and moved everyone down a notch in the bullpen slotting Lidge back in old role. We funny, you funny......— Dadof24
- Wow. I can understand not using 2008 as a reason to think that Lidge could help us (it is a long time ago in sports years.) But just LAST YEAR Lidge finished the regular season (Aug-Sep-Oct) converting 17 of 18 save chances and allowing a total of 2 earned runs during that stretch. I'm not saying he should be given the closer's role back, but he's definitely a potential big addition to the pen. And yet some people say things along the lines of "just walk away Brad." or "Shut him down, we don't need him." Huh?— Thon1990
- Fully agree Danielson, however I wish he was testing out his pitching in the spacoius Petco park, assuming he is coming back when we play San Diego...As long as his control is with his fastball, he shouldn't get hurt...— PhilliefaninAZ
- He's another pitcher, a pitcher with closing experience, a pitcher thats had a lot of time to heal and get back up to speed. Bring him up and see what he can do. Whats the big deal? If he's no good, use Bastardo and or Madson.— cupajoe
- Daniel-san, you are too funny. And too right. Positive spin: he's had plenty of rest, so he should be fresh. last year after a shaky start he came on pretty strong. He's experienced with the big moment. He's a good guy in the clubhouse. And he feels good.
But worry: he never has been good in non save situations. Without the adrenaline, he often gets straked. Strafed? Hit hard...— Eephus - It is possible to be effective in relief with one pitch- Hoffman, Rivera. But it has to be a great pitch and you have to be able to place it. I would be surprised if his slider is that good, but let's see. I would really like to see him prove that he has it- in mop-up duty over several games before I would trust him in a meaningful situation. Better than Baez? Yes. Carpenter- too early to tell. Herndon? He hasn't been consistently bad. I hope Lidge has more to offer than Herndon, but I'm not sure.— altoonaaslan
- release baez and herndon. lidge can't be any worse— blaqjaq
- Trade Madson or Lidge for a bat!— DavezMental.Com
- Adios Carpenter.
- Whether you like Lidge or not, if your a true Phillies Phan, you HAVE to like the only Philly reliever to go untouched in 2008 with 42 out of 42 saves in opportunities. Does he still have anything left in the tank? We'll find out. Madsen continues to get better with each outing. Bastardo is comfy in the closer/8th inning spot. Stutes is a real find. Lidge HAS to be better than ByeBye Baez. In fact, if anything comes out of his addition to the active roster, it may be the walking papers for Baez and his flat fastball/bloated ERA. Welcome back world series champions Lidge. Hope you can help.— drhoffman
- Whether you like Lidge or not, if your a true Phillies Phan, you HAVE to like the only Philly reliever to go untouched in 2008 with 42 out of 42 saves in opportunities. Does he still have anything left in the tank? We'll find out. Madsen continues to get better with each outing. Bastardo is comfy in the closer/8th inning spot. Stutes is a real find. Lidge HAS to be better than ByeBye Baez. In fact, if anything comes out of his addition to the active roster, it may be the walking papers for Baez and his flat fastball/bloated ERA. Welcome back world series champions Lidge. Hope you can help.— drhoffman
- Trade him now in package deal for a right handed bat— btsucceed
- He won't close, and he's better than the middle guys we've got. Quit you're complaining. I know no one wants to remember it, but he had a pretty darn good 2010, all told.— cloudkitt
- Lidge will be middle relief. Madson hasn't been returned to closer, so why would Lidge? Just remember a healthy Lidge is trade bait as a healthy Blanton would have been.— andivalspoppop
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