And So The Destruction Continues
Make that 6. Yes, Brad Lidge has blown his 6th save so far this year in the bottom of the 9th for the 2nd straight appearance.
With one out in the bottom of the 9th inning, Lidge gave up a solo shot to Rafael Furcal.
For the second straight night, Lidge has blown back to back saves. One has to wonder if Charlie Manuel is considering pulling Lidge out of the closer spot in favor of Ryan Madson. With J.C. Romero back after serving his 50 game suspension, this would be the perfect time to make the move.
Put Lidge on the Disabled List, send him down to the minors, or just simply do not play him, I do not care, and neither do many other Phillies fans. The fact is that Lidge has blown saves mostly against the top teams that the Phils have faced, so maybe send him down to Triple-A to figure out his stuff, and get his confidence back.
One things for certain, something needs to be done to get Lidge back on track. I admired Manuel’s trust in Lidge to work out if his slump, but that just did not work out for the team. Charlie needs to take the team into consideration, and now that the All-Star break is coming into view, needs to switch things up a little bit.
Madson and Romero have certainly proved to Manuel that they can succeed at any position that Manuel puts them into.
With the success that Antonio Bastardo has had in the minors, you could even put him into a setup role instead of Romero, similar to what the New York Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain in his rookie year. The Phillies have a lot of talent down in the minors to bring up a pitcher in a jam to start. Andrew Carpenter did it already this year, and performed well.
For the sake of the Phillies championship chances, Lidge needs to get back on track. I do not care if it is early in the season still, if Lidge continues on the pace that he is on, the Phillies will be the new New York Mets, and that is a comparison that I cringe at when I hear it.
One thing is for sure, something needs to be decided about Lidge’s future, and quick.