We all know that Brad just signed a 3 year 37 mill extension with the Phils – he’s pitching like it’s 2004 again. Did he need to get out of Houston, or did he just need to have surgery on his knee?
A whole lot of fans insisted that Lidge had been permanently mentally destroyed by the Pujols homer and would never ever be an elite pitcher again. They offered as proof the fact that†over the†subsequent times Lidge faced Pujols, he gave up a double, 2 walks, 4 outs and a K – that and the fact that he still gave up home runs and blew games here and there, which no other closer does DEFINITELY meant that the cause HAD to be Pujols.
After Lidge was traded for the supposed†Tim Raines/Kenny Lofton†Redux, some of those self same fans,†upon having to recognise and admit that Lidge was, after his knee operation, performing at his former elite level, insisted that when Lidge had to face Pujols, he would disintegrate.
Yeah, surrrrre.
July 8 – a non-closing situation in the 9th, man on second, 1 out, Pujols is IBB to pitch to Glaus. Mariano effing Rivera would IBB Pujols to pitch to Glaus.
July 9 – a save situation in the 9th – man on first, 1 out – Pujols flies out.
July 10 – Brad doesn’t pitch in the 9th, and Pujols doesn’t have an AB anyway.
Well it’s a good thing we have our leadoff guy who can’t leadoff for spit as well as our middle reliever. Can’t have too many middle relievers, hunh Ed??????
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I really just believe that he needed the change of scenery. It was obvious that most fans at the juice box had totally turned on him, and would boo him out of Texas if he faltered even once, not to mention he had a manager/owner/GM who really had no faith in him.
Also, the Pujols homer never really upset me, because the Astros were lucky to be ahead, since Berkman hit the quintessential crawford box pop-up homer to take the lead. Also, since he gave up the homer, we got to see Roy-O shut down the Cards, and earn his rightful place in Astros lore.
I was always more upset about the World Series Lidge, in which he was the losing pitcher twice. His worst mistake was giving up a walk-off HR to a guy who hit 0 in the regular season in Podsednik. Giving up that HR was pretty inexplicable, but giving up a HR to a future hall of famer is not a big deal.
Knee surgery? I don’t recall ever reading about him being injured while he was here. I read a number of Astro’s blogs and I know for fact that all I ever read about was his mental weakness.
james,
after the ASB last year after he was closer again, he started having rouble again and it was reported by the beat guys that brada’s knee was hurting. brad insisted that had nothing to do with anything and it could wait until the end of the year. i know i talked about it more than once.
the mental weakness stuff was from fans who really REALLY think lidge should strike out the side on 9 pitches every time he goes out there. that giving up a popup into the CBoxes from jack wilson means he has lost it.
daniel,
much as i hate to admit it, i think lidge deserved to be traded. just because of the silly ass attitudes of the astros fans. but he should have brought a HECK of a lot more in a trade than a willy taveras clone and a middle reliever and a lousy minor league 3B.
like i have said for a long time, lidge’s troubles pre-dates That Homer. and he was horrendous in the WS. among others. and phil mismanaging every game was sickening to watch too
I agree that Lidge should have gotten more in return, but could he have. Every club must’ve known that Houston was shopping him freely, and that probably put his price down. I’m not sure many other teams would have given much better. All the huge spending teams that have good prospects have solid closers (Yankees, Sox). What we got in return was a travesty, but I’m not sure if we could have gotten close to equal value overall.
Lisa,
Didn’t you also bad mouth Lidge last year?
angela,
i never believed that lidge was mentally destroyed by giving up a homer to uncle albert. i always thought that was a steaming load. and i wrote a couple of entries talking about his month long struggles BEFORE the post season, as well as his not being able to pitch for a couple of weeks in july/august because of some sort of soreness in his arm – and i wondered even then if it had affected his throwing.
i DID wonder if he had screwed his mechanics to the point that he wouldn’t be effective – until i read that he had knee problems.
and i did think that he should be traded. sometimes even the best employee needs a job change. even if houston WAS shopping him, it didn’t make him less valuable – actually i would think it would increase competition
I was one of the few Brad Lidge fans that never turned against him. (I proudly wore my Lidge jersey with pride to every game I attended!) I always believed he was an amazing pitcher even though he was going through a rough time. I love his passion for the game and the fact that he is a stand up guy that doesn’t try to push the blame on others. I didn’t want him traded but I think it ended up being what was best for him. Reading your articles about him (while he was still an Astro) always made me think that you thought differently of him. I’m glad you always saw how valuable he is. Brad Lidge continues to be my favorite MLB player…I just wish he was still a member of my favorite team!