Lidge: One bad outing or a red flag?
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Lidge: One bad outing or a red flag?
More than once while in Florida, various Phillies personnel joked before games by asking me what I was writing. "Boring these days, huh?" one said.
For the Phillies, that means full steam ahead. Consistent winning without issues or controversy. Few times this season have we been able to say that.
So it is with that where I begin to try to find something for people to concern themselves with. (That's my duty, right?) We'll start here: Brad Lidge. It was but one outing Wednesday -- 23 pitches in a complicated season for the Phillies' closer.
But it was such a terrible performance that it begs a closer look.
"He didn't have very much," Charlie Manuel said following Wednesday's 10-5 win. "He'd probably be the first one to tell you that."
Another caveat: I was never able to speak to Lidge after Tuesday or Wednesday's games. Tight deadlines for the dead tree edition of The Inquirer prohibited me from spending a great deal of time in the clubhouse.
On Tuesday, Lidge was sharp despite not having appeared in a game for eight days. Originally, soreness in his right elbow stopped Lidge from pitching in two games, but he proclaimed himself ready Sept. 10. But the Phillies didn't need him until the 14th.
His slider was sharp. He threw it nine times and it was a strike six of them. He threw his fastball for strikes, too, and closed out a one-run game with a 16-pitch ninth inning.
Then came Wednesday. The Phillies had a big lead, but Manuel wanted to use his closer on back-to-back days.
"When we got there, I wanted to use him," Manuel said. "He had pitched the night before and we have an off day tomorrow. We wanted him to throw some. We wanted to try and keep him sharp."
Manuel won't say it, but his motivations could have gone beyond keeping Lidge sharp. The manager probably wanted to see what Lidge can actually give his team right now.
There are differences in being healthy. A pitcher can be healthy enough to throw a ball. And a pitcher can be healthy enough to actually pitch.
In the last week, Lidge has steadfastly maintained he is healthy. No problems. The soreness is gone and so long as he doesn't try to overthrow another pitch, it shouldn't return.
And by no means am I saying Lidge is lying. Again, we're talking about one bad outing here.
But there were quite a few red flags. Lidge couldn't throw strikes. There were a few close calls, as Manuel duly noted, but there were a lot that weren't close. Lidge threw 11 fastballs on Wednesday and just two of them were strikes.
From Aug. 1 to Sept. 6, Lidge was at his best (a 0.55 ERA) because he was throwing strikes. In 16 1/3 innings, he had walked just three (against 18 strikeouts). He walked three Wednesday night while facing just five batters.
This season, Lidge's stuff isn't as good as it used to be. We've known this. His margin for error is tighter and limiting his walks is paramount to the closer's success right now.
And not only was he not throwing strikes, but his velocity was way down -- even from Tuesday. Compare:
FASTBALL (Season AVG: 91.8 mph)
Tuesday
AVG: 91.07; MAX: 92.5
Wednesday
AVG: 90.28; MAX: 91.3
SLIDER (Season AVG: 83.7 mph)
Tuesday
AVG: 82.04; MAX: 83
Wednesday
AVG: 81.15; MAX: 82
Yes, Lidge's velocity is down as a whole this season and on both days he underperformed the season averages. But Wednesday's numbers were even worse.
Again, it was one outing. But this is no doubt a situation that bears a close eye.
After issuing his third walk of the inning Wednesday -- this time allowing a run to score -- Manuel decided not to let Lidge finish the inning even with a five-run lead.
"I figured he had thrown enough," Manuel said. "He'll be all right."
Next time just let hime throw 20 pitches at full speed in the bullpen. He can never get his head into games that are blowouts. It's hard to watch. You'd think Charlie and Dubee would have learned this by now.
Lidge is horrible every time he's put out there in a non-save situation. That should be the red flag— djsaitta- Wow, is it your job to try to make something out of nothing for us to be concerned about? It was 1 bad outing out of 17. If it was his first one back from his tight elbow I'd be concerned, but he was fine in that outing. Fact of the matter is you shouldn't put your closer into a game with a 6 run lead. Period.— richards4captain18
- It's a bright red flag. Lidge seems to have no control of his pitches. Phils can't afford to turn over a close game to him for the rest of the season.— pogiepop
- It will definitely be one WILD ride, but we will be having another parade this Fall, and Lidge will be an integral - and potentially combustible - part of the equation! GO PHILS!!— 5NOT4
- I'm glad someone finally wrote about this. I've been wondering about Lidge for the last 2 days. Really curious what happens next time the Phillies go to the 9th with a 1-run lead. Just hope it happens at least once this weekend - before the Braves series. No - I don't think Lidge is sully healthy. I'm sorry, but a good closer doesn't come in and tink that bad - regardless of the score. The 2008 vontage Lidge was never *that* bad - regardless of the score or situation...— CAFlyers
- Wow Matt, it's a good thing one terrible article doesn't carry as much weight.— smfree31
The 2nd of two consecutive days has been a consistent problem for Brad. The coaching staff should be able to see that and should not put him in those situations (especially when there was absolutely NO need to be in that 2nd game). Dubee, what are you doing anyway?
Agreed, he shouldn't have been in the game, there was no "mental" sharpness there... sometimes you just need to change your plans -- in this case, not use him in a blowout.— Ump Al- The Inquirer just keeps sinking lower and trying to stir up controversy. For about nine months it was its policy to refer to Cliff Lee in every edition, lamenting how Lee was now in Seattle, how the Phils were going to miss him, etc... Now Lidge has ONE, repeat one, bad out outing and we get an article talking about if Phillies fans should be worried. I hear Chase Utley has a headache today. Maybe the Inquirer should do a full story about that...— BrianNJ
- he is a closer you can't bring closers into blowouts and expect results— amann08
- I saw some of his fastballs toward the end of his stint clocked at 89 mph. Given the fact that he's got a track record of injury. Plus, he's just complained of elbow soreness... then you combine in the lack of velocity... the big question is how does he feel the day after throwing and how is his velocity his next few outings... I'm sure both he and the phils are more than a little concerned.— terryharmon
- IMO - neither Lidge nor Madson should have been in that game. it was a perfect opportunity to use Zagurski, Worley, Baez. If you have a chance to rest your key pitchers you do it. Lidge would be that much stronger next outing if he had rested Wednesday, Thursday. and I agree that he thrives on adrenaline and with a 6 run lead there is no adrenaline flowing.— hkhund07
- I disagree with the above comments. Yes, Lidge has been much better over the course of the past two months. But his history makes even one bad outing relevant, and discussion-worthy. He could fall off at any moment with his injury history.— willy33
- Who cares??? It wasn't a close situation. Tons of closers who are brought in with blow outs always do awful. Its a different mentality and the game doesn't matter as much. Plus Lidge has a .75 era since August 1st. He is not the 2008 Lidge, but he is a ton better then last year. I'm more worried about the other bums not named Madson and Durbin.— Joe WS
