Lights Flickering Lidge

I'm going to switch gears here and talk about baseball. As noted in an earlier post, Paul and I made the long trek out to Pittsburgh on last Tuesday to watch the Phillies almost win against the Pirates. Aside from the fact that Lidge used that opportunity to blow his 9th save of the year, it was totally worth the trip.

Brad Lidge was a god among men... last year. Think Eric Hinske:


This year, he's been more like a squirrel among bobcats. Think Adam Eaton:

His perfect 41-for-41 saves per opportunity last year amazed almost everyone. Just about every hitter in the major leagues was afraid to step to the plate when Lidge was on the mound (even those who were juicing... and I'm not talking Jack Lalanne juicing). Every pitch he threw last year was worth it, and even if it was hit, there was usually a Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley or Shane Victorino (among others) right in the way of the ball.

This year, though, Lidge is 26-for-35. He went from perfect to suck this year. Now, to be fair, he's had health problems, but he says he feels fine now. When he pitched a total of 5 pitches to three batters, including giving up a first pitch walk-off 2-run home run to Andrew McCutchen (that scrawny little center fielder the Pirates have), I began to wonder what happened to Lights Out Lidge. One of the 14 Pirates fans in attendance at PNC Park on Tuesday said something as Lidge was walking to the mound (before the mess) that caught my attention: "Alright! We won! Light On Lidge is in the game!"

See, now looking at last night's game, I saw something more reminiscent of the Lidge of last year. He used his slider and threw it for strikes. He worked around the plate a little, and didn't put the ball anywhere near the hitters' "wheelhouses". He kept them looking, and mixed in fastballs every couple of pitches to keep the hitters on their toes. He was even confident enough to move a hitter off the plate, which was awesome to watch. He faced three batters, and got 2 ground outs and a strikeout to save the game. That sounds a lot more like the Lidge of last year than the Lidge of this year. I like that. I'd love to see him keep that up.

For now, though, Lidge has been so hot or cold (kind of like the Phillies' offense, but they've been a little more extreme on the hot side) that I don't know how to refer to him. In Lidge's house, the lights seem to be flickering... I can only hope that he'll fix whatever it is and turn the lights out on everyone for the rest of the season.