A Cold, Diminished Crowd Showed Lidge the 2008 Love

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Waking up in a post-Memorial Day haze of summer beers and BBQ, who
knew that a day that started off looking like the apocalypse and never
really got any nicer would actually feature an on-time baseball game
with zero delays? When I got to the park early and grabbed a beer at
McFaddens, the rain wasn't much, but it still looked like they might
keep that tarp on all night. There just weren't any signs of it
breaking. Oddly enough, it did, right before game time, and I don't
think another drop fell after we were seated.

The game sailed along quickly enough, with the Phils getting on the board early and Joe Blanton decimating the Marlins to the tune of a career-best 11 Ks and no earned runs. Everything looked great for the Phils, who really needed a home win. Until the bullpen phone rang a second time.

Ryan Madson had just relieved Blanton and pitched a perfect 8th inning. But when Chad Durbin came out to start the 9th (Madson's spot was coming up in the bottom of the 8th), things got really ... interesting. After getting a quick out, Durbin walked two and gave up a single, loading the bases for a 5-0 save situation for Scott Eyre. Eyre looked to have induced a double play, but Ryan Howard threw the ball into left field, just his first error of the season. Howard had also dropped a ball he probably should have dug out earlier in the game, which was surprising given how great he's been at closing infield outs with his glove work so far this season. With errors being considerably a mental demon, we're all hoping Howard doesn't get knocked off of his amazing fielding performance to date after tonight's mishaps. Happens to everyone, Ry.

Two runs scored on that error, and Eyre's night was done. Enter Brad Lidge.


Brad Lidge, originally uploaded by Brendan Sullivan.

Charlie Manuel kept his word, trusting Lidge in the very next closing opportunity that came his way after blowing two saves in New York over the weekend. The weather-thinned crowd seemed a little nervous (with good reason), but Lidge got a loud cheer when he ran out of the bullpen.

There were a lot of held breaths as Lidge proceeded to walk the first batter he faced on four pitches, reloading the bases. You could see that "Not again..." look on everyone's faces, but I didn't hear any booing, and it was hard to blame Lidge for that walk. With the Phillies up 5-0 to start the frame and the Marlins looking
fairly powerless for much of the game, Lidge shouldn't have needed to take off his jacket, and he barely had any time to warm up in the bullpen before getting the call on a very chilly night.

Jeremy Hermida worked a solid at bat, and the crowd was on its feet, cheering Lidge on. Hermida knocked in a run though, grounding out to first. Short of striking him out, Lidge couldn't do much more to prevent the inherited run from scoring. Next up... the Phillie killer—Wes Helms. After Lidge's last two outings and Helms' game-changer last night, the scenario had storybook FAIL possibilities written all over it.

But again, the fans were on their feet, loud as a crowd twice their size, cheering Lidge on.

K.

Game over.

The Lidge Question
Brad Lidge more than likely still has a few things to work through, but hopefully tonight was a step in the right direction. Fan reactions to Lidge's ineffectiveness so far have varied significantly, from total support to a total lack thereof (like some guy calling WIP asking about trading for Huston Street). I think most people are in between, wanting to believe but still understandably worried about a closer whose ERA entering tonight's game was over 9.00.

Nothing gets an instant reaction quite like a blown save; although wins and losses more often hinge on single plays or performances that can happen at any point throughout a game, few if any are more pronounced and dramatic than a pitcher taking the hill with his team winning in the 9th inning, then leaving with a loss.

But it doesn't make you a Lidge hater or non-believer to suggest that he might have needed some help getting back on track. I know I definitely questioned whether Lidge needed some way to reset his season, something other than simply working through it. If he was hurt, which is doubtful at this point, a trip to the DL would have been the easy move. There has been speculation about some discomfort leading to a flawed delivery, but the Phillies have previously been quick to rest Lidge or DL him in any such case, so they probably would have done that by now. Suggesting that Manuel temporarily move Lidge out of the closer's role or mix in someone else in a few save situations isn't quite the typical end-of-the-world Negadelphian reaction. It happens all the time in baseball, because even good closers have a tendency to struggle, with wildly varying final results if they're left in the role or taken out. A move like that isn't so much a total, irreversible lack of confidence on the part of the manager as it is a temporary adjustment to let a guy work through a slump from a different perspective, like when JRoll was dropped from the leadoff spot for a few games earlier this month.

I like that Charlie will get credit for sticking with his guy in Lidge, a move that had a beneficial result Tuesday night against Florida. Manuel also got credit for being unafraid to move down his struggling star leadoff man just two weeks ago, a very visible move on the local and national baseball stage, with which Rollins clearly wasn't happy. Fans calling for similar action with Lidge weren't necessarily too quick to forget 2008, at least not most of them (some will always fall into that overreaction category).

I assume most Phillies fans are like the thousands of people who stayed for the whole game on a cold and rainy night and cheered their asses off for Lidge, even after he walked a batter to load the bases. There may have been some agita, but everyone seemed to be willing that final strikeout to happen.

Regardless, Lidge showed why he's earned Charlie's trust on Tuesday night; hopefully he'll continue on that trend. And most reasonable fans will continue to trust in Manuel. Hearing Charlie's vote of confidence went a long way to relax those of us who were worried about the closer situation. What's right for one player's slump isn't necessarily right for another's, and Charlie has shown a keen ability to know how to get his players through their struggles.

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