Mr. Lidge goes to Washington

THE LASTING image will always be of a man on his knees, reaching up toward the glowing sky, teammates swarming and fans cheering as an 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. "I'd thank every fan personally if I could."

Lidge's perfect season had the perfect ending. He was 41-for-41 in save opportunities in the regular season in 2008 and 7-for-7 in the postseason, including Game 5 against Tampa Bay.

Lidge was speaking in the past tense yesterday because he had signed a 1-year contract with the Washington Nationals, meaning the Phillies could be seeing plenty of him in 2012. The deal is reportedly worth $1 million plus incentives.

"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, N.J. "We've spent a lot of our lives [in the Philadelphia area]. 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."

Lidge, who turned 35 last month, 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 fifth season. He made $11.5 million last season - the final year of a 3-year, $37.5 million extension - but was limited to 19 1/3 innings because of elbow and shoulder injuries.

"More clubs should have taken the opportunity to check him out," said Lidge's agent, Rex Gary. "He's healthy, stronger than he was last year. Once he started rehabbing, he got stronger and stronger. The expectation is he's going to be better this year than at any point last year. He had a thorough physical, MRIs, everything they needed to do. Passed with flying colors.

"The priority was to find a place where he would have fun, significant innings late in the game and where his family would be comfortable. All those fit the criteria" in Washington.

Lidge joins a bullpen led by setup man Tyler Clippard, who was an All-Star in 2011, and closer Drew Storen.

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," said Lidge, who is fourth in club history with 100 saves. "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.' "

Lidge said he returned to Amaro a couple of weeks ago but was informed the Phillies 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 it's part of the business. They used their judgment and wanted to move on and I respect that, but obviously I thought we'd be able to come back."

Daily News sports writer Zach Berman contributed to this story.