Yes, it’s probably way too early to be convinced that Brad Lidge is back from his struggles, but he may be turning a corner.
In his last two saves, Lidge has faced six batters and retired all six of them. He has looked more like the closer who was perfect in save opportunities last year than the reliever with the highest ERA in the major leagues.
Is this a sign of Lidge finally coming around? Has he finally regained his dominant form from last season? It’s still not possibly to tell. His first two outs were very loud, and he wasn’t exactly overpowering the hitters.
He did manage to lower his ERA down to a bit over 7 at 7.03 for the season. Still extremely high, but when you’re a reliever who only pitches an inning at a time, that number can go up and down dramatically with a few good or bad outings in a row.
Brad Lidge is obviously an important part of this Phillies team and they need him to be the Lidge of ’08 as opposed to the Lidge of ’09, but that will be impossible. However, if Lidge can manage to hold the lead and finish out the game, which is his job incidentally, then the Phillies will be even more dangerous.
When Lidge comes into the game, it should send a message to the other team that the game is over. He hasn’t been doing that so far this season, but he’s taken a few steps towards getting there in recent days.
As I’ve been saying, Lidge is the best closer on the team, and he looks like he’s out to prove it finally. It’s about time Brad.
