Lidge

[RynMan]

People probably should have had Wheeler a week ago.

[chris_dubyuh]

Guardado and Cordero never had real closer stuff. Lidge has ace stuff, but is just off right now. Big difference.

I don't know about Eddie, but Coco throws HEAT and has a nice slider to go along with it, he was just off a little bit too, but look what happened to him...

[Yoda]

:-o Do I try and break a deal for him for another closer? Is this the end of Brad Lidge? We've already seen Guardado and Cordero lose their jobs.

Guardado and Cordero never had real closer stuff. Lidge has ace stuff, but is just off right now. Big difference.

Doesn't matter if you are blowing saves. John Rocker had ace stuff. The only thing that matters is if you are blowing leads and Lidge definitely looks very shaky right now.

[Zito is God]

:-o Do I try and break a deal for him for another closer? Is this the end of Brad Lidge? We've already seen Guardado and Cordero lose their jobs.

Guardado and Cordero never had real closer stuff. Lidge has ace stuff, but is just off right now. Big difference.

Doesn't matter if you are blowing saves. John Rocker had ace stuff. The only thing that matters is if you are blowing leads and Lidge definitely looks very shaky right now.

Wow, Yoda and I agree for the first time, well, ever. I don't care what "stuff" you have if you can't get outs, blow leads, etc. I remmember when the Angels won the WS with small ball while everyone else preached how much "pop" their team's bats had. Herm Edwards said it best, "You play to win the game!".

BTW, John Rocker is one of my favorite players ever. No joke.

[brandnew]

NO

DAN WHEELER

I picked him up for some cheap saves last week, and I get:

0.2 IP 4 H 4 ER

Trashed my ERA!

[johnsamo]

I'm betting its mechanical and temporary. I'm trying to buy Lidge low right now in a trade for a good closer on a mediocre team, Mike GOnzalez... It's a gamble, but if Lidge comes back, it's a major upgrade.

[RynMan]

While I was scared of Lidge, if you don't have him now, this is your best chance to get him cheap. I'm contemplating it. All I would give up for him is a closer like Burgos or Weathers at most.

[Dan Lambskin]

While I was scared of Lidge, if you don't have him now, this is your best chance to get him cheap. I'm contemplating it. All I would give up for him is a closer like Burgos or Weathers at most.

i had an offer to Otsuka and Todd Jones on the table to the Lidge owner (he only has K-rod as his other closer) but pulled it after Lidge got yanked last night. i doubt he would have accepted anyway, but just in case...

[tgalv]

Hes tipping his pitches, plain and simple. I watched the game a couple of nights ago and he has a slight pause when delivering the ball, but that pause comes when he has taken the ball out of the glove already. He did not do that last year and hence hitters are getting a decent idea of what he is throwing. His slider is still filthy and extremely hard to pick up, even if he tips hitters has swung and K'd in that game, but with the obvious disadvantage he has been blown up. This is an obvious mechanics problem and he should work it out during these couple of days "off" with the pitching manager crew.

glad we have experts here that point out things their entire organization is unaware of.

[The Loveable Losers]

Hes tipping his pitches, plain and simple. I watched the game a couple of nights ago and he has a slight pause when delivering the ball, but that pause comes when he has taken the ball out of the glove already. He did not do that last year and hence hitters are getting a decent idea of what he is throwing. His slider is still filthy and extremely hard to pick up, even if he tips hitters has swung and K'd in that game, but with the obvious disadvantage he has been blown up. This is an obvious mechanics problem and he should work it out during these couple of days "off" with the pitching manager crew.

glad we have experts here that point out things their entire organization is unaware of.

Intelligent observers can sometimes catch things that organizations are missing. Especially with pitchers there can be minor imperfections with their delivery that aren't obvious to everyone that watches but explain their problems once you've diagnosed the issue (RJ's arm slot issues in April 2005 for example). It's obvious once you point it out but finding it in the first place is like looking for a needle in a haystack.