Brad Lidge pushed many people to the brink last night after coming into the game in the bottom of the ninth with a two run lead only to load the bases. After a couple of wildish pitches, I had seen enough. I've stuck with Charlie's decision to repeatedly go with Lidge, but there had to be a limit and Brad reached it last night. Manuel seemed to think the same and his decision to pull Lidge for Madson paid off. But the closing role moving forward is far from settled.
"Let me tell you something," Manuel said. "When I tell you he's my
closer, I don't tell lies. I don't like to go back on nothing. But the
team and the game is bigger than my heart, and it's bigger than
anything else, if you want to know the truth. Winning a game is what
it's all about. It's baseball and why I manage and it's what comes
first."
But we likely haven't seen the last of Lidge.
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After the game, Manuel told Brad if there's a save situation on Wednesday then Lidge is his man. Phillies fans may not like it but Charlie appears far from giving up on the closer.
"He could definitely be [the guy]," Manuel said about Lidge. "I'm
definitely not going to get away from him. Let me tell you something:
We're going to work with him and we're going to get him back to where
he can get consistent and save games. That's how I look at it. I'm not
saying that he'll closer tomorrow or the next day or whatever, but I
look at him as a closer."
Well, one things for sure: it's going to be an interesting September and hopefully October.
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