Lidge's injury means someone must step up as Phillies' closer

CLEARWATER, Fla. - So, what have we here? Brad Lidge is headed for the Opening Day disabled list for the third time in 4 years. And aren't the Phillies glad they have heir apparent Ryan Madson, who has been prepping for this opportunity for years like a Broadway understudy ready to graduate to a starring role, to jump right in and save the day.

The twist to this tidy little solution is that, well, er, um, the battered odds-on favorites to represent the National League in the World Series come October aren't ready to commit to automatically handing the ball to the 30-year-old righthander in ninth-inning save situations.

"We'll have to adjust. We haven't made any decisions on who will be closing yet. [Jose] Contreras and Madson would be the candidates, for me," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday morning.

Hmmmm. As Arte Johnson's character Wolfgang used to say on the old "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In": "Verr-rry, int-er-esting."

Madson has been the Phillies' closer-in-waiting for at least 3 years now. So the idea that they're giving even a second of thought to using somebody else shakes up the natural order of things and clearly has dual implications.

First, it reinforces the unspoken reality that this team is built to win today. And, especially with second baseman Chase Utley and rookie outfielder Domonic Brown also destined to land on the DL, this is no time to be messing around. Charlie Manuel will use the pitcher he thinks gives him the best chance to win regardless of ego, age or contractual status.

Second - and there's no delicate way to put this - Madson just hasn't been very good when called on to close. Last year, he had five saves and an equal number of blown saves. In 2009, he converted only 10 of 16 opportunities.

"I would like another crack at it," he acknowledged. "I haven't proved what I can do. I probably put a little too much pressure on myself the last couple times. This year, it's going to be different, just more focus.

"Just learn how to approach it. Don't try to be perfect. Don't try to prove to the world that I can do it. Just go out there and pitch. I tried to have that mentality last year but it didn't work. I didn't bring it to the game. This year, I'm going to bring it to the game."

Manuel was coy when asked how he intended to handle the situation. He said he didn't necessarily feel the need to have a defined closer, but that he probably would identify one anyway.

It probably doesn't mean much, but Madson pitched the eighth inning in yesterday's 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at Bright House Field. He gave up one hit, which was erased on a doubleplay. Contreras pitched a perfect ninth, getting a groundout and striking out two.

Contreras was perfect in four save opportunities last year. Even though he's 39, and that pretty much represents the sum total of his experience in sudden-death situations, he said he'd be happy to stand in for Lidge if asked.

"I feel fine. I'm healthy and ready to start the season. I'm ready to help the team however they ask me to," he said in Spanish, with translation provided by righthander Danys Baez. "Last year, it was a surprise for me to close. My role here, when I signed, was to be a long reliever and possible starter. Then I had a chance to close and I had a good time doing it. I received a lot of help from [other relievers] how to prepare mentally and physically how to do that job. I'm mentally ready to do whatever I have to do. I'm healthy and when you're healthy you can do anything."

The Phillies would like to believe that this is all just sort of a theoretical exercise, that Lidge will take a rest from the old pain (biceps tendinitis) and the new pain (in the back of his shoulder) and miss only a couple of weeks of the regular season. But he was shut down again after pitching in a big-league game for the first time in 2 weeks. That's not an encouraging sign.

Well, anything's possible. But the body language of the relentlessly upbeat Lidge suggested otherwise.

"I'm a little concerned because I haven't had shoulder problems in the past," he acknowledged. "That being said, there's other things in there you can have that can be a byproduct of just straining it and they're not serious. That's obviously what I'm counting on right now, to be honest."

Hope, however, is a thin soup. He'll be examined by the club physician, Dr. Michael Ciccotti, today and will almost certainly have an MRI exam at the Rothman Institute sometime after the team closes out Grapefruit League play and returns to Philadelphia on Monday night.

"We don't think it's going to be a long-term issue, but it could be," Amaro said. "This is all part of the game. Nobody wants any injuries, but we'll deal with it. It's just stuff that happens."

The trouble is, it's happened to the Phillies a lot already this spring. *

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