Lidge

[Mashug]

So, if Texas had their way, they would have given up:

Alex Rodriguez (for Alfonso Soriano (for Brad Wilkerson)) and Rod Barajas.

And they would have gotten in return:

A mediocre future middle reliever.

No wonder they never contend.

Hahahaha.....Good point.

[KillaBees800]

From Houston Astros website:

Try the cutter: It's undeniable that Brad Lidge is having his share of struggles this year, and on Friday he gave some insight as to what he's doing to try to right the ship.

Lidge is experimenting with a cut fastball, a project he took on during Spring Training but hasn't pursued in earnest until recently. His struggles, especially against left-handers, has prompted him to try to mix things up a bit.

Entering Friday's game, left-handers were hitting .413 against Lidge, whose ERA is 4.95 in such situations. He understands these numbers are not acceptable, and he's hoping he can find some success with the cutter in an effort to offset his problems.

The decison to try out the cutter stemmed from his performance against the Reds on Wednesday. After allowing a hit, hitting a batter, throwing a wild pitch and striking out the next hitter, manager Phil Garner called upon left-hander Trever Miller to face the left-handed hitting Ken Griffey Jr.

"If I would have stayed out there [Wednesday night] closing, then I wouldn't have worked on [the cutter]," Lidge said. "But I realize I'm not getting left-handed hitters out as well as I should be. There's no doubt. The stats don't lie. That's a fact. I'm trying to come up with something."

He mixed in the cutter with his usual fastball-slider routine in the ninth inning on Thursday, with poor results. Lidge vowed to continue to look for answers as to why he's not having the same success he enjoyed in '04 and '05.

"I know I'm struggling," he said. "I know I'm not throwing the ball well. I'm trying to do everything I can to right the ship."

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060728&content_id=1580210&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

This sounds REALLY desperate to me.

And as a long-time Astros fan, also very disconcerting.

[dc928]

There is 2 articles on Lidge from Roto:

Brad Lidge-R- Astros Jul. 31 - 12:28 pm et


The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice reports that Astros owner Drayton McLane has ordered GM Tim Purpura to trade Brad Lidge.

The Rangers are the team getting mentioned in connection with Lidge, but if he has to go, there will be more interested parties, starting with the Mets and Red Sox. The Astros could turn over closing duties to Dan Wheeler if they move Lidge.
Source: Houston Chronicle

Brad Lidge-R- Astros Jul. 31 - 2:35 pm et


ESPN's Buster Olney reports that a team calling the Astros this morning regarding Brad Lidge was told the closer wouldn't be traded.

Interesting. Also, ESPN's John Kruk is reporting that Minute Maid Park will institute a 50-cent price hike on both beer and hot dogs next year. Hurry back, Peter.

I am not sure he will be traded now. But if he does he probably have no more value because he won't be a closer anymore.