Lidge Returns to Houston

I almost called this post “Lights Out Lidge”, but I hate that phrase with a passion.  I hope I never start using it.  The thing is, it’s incredibly accurate right now.  Brad Lidge has been nothing short of spectacular.

Watching Lidge pitch the 9th tonight against his old squad, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the ghosts of closers past.  So often with pitchers, we talk about their ability to keep their composure on the mound.  And yet with closers, for some reason that’s out the window.  Instead, we tend to think of them more like hockey goalies: Head cases with incredibly fragile psyches.  But Lidge seems to have a coolness about him so far this season that’s just incredibly calming.  It’s like when he comes in, thousands of Phillies fans all think to themselves, “We’ve got this.”

Pitching against your old team, in their park no less, is a hard thing to do.  Almost every guy on that team wants to be the one to take you out.  Want some proof?  As good as Billy Wagner has been in his career, he’s never been able to pitch against his former teams.  When he was a Phillie, Wags struggled against the Astros, and I don’t need to tell Phillies fans that he’s had his share of struggles against this team since going to the Mets.

Pitching against your old team also comes with a burst of adrenaline, and that can really affect a pitcher in a bad way.  I think about Brett Myers on opening day of last year.  He was pitching against the Braves late in the game, had two strikes on Edgar Renteria, and wanted to go for the strikeout.  He overthrew a fastball, and Renteria crushed it.  The Phillies lost that game, and that was one of the major factors in their slow start.

But with all of the mental troubles closers can have, with all of the struggles they go through against their old teams, and with all of the adverse affects their adrenaline can cause, there was Brad Lidge tonight closing the door once again.

The adrenaline was there; his fastball topped out at 97 mph, about 3 mph faster than his average so far this year.  The emotions were there, too.  His last out came at the expense of one of his best friends: MVP candidate Lance Berkman.  But he was able to use it to his advantage.  His calm personality on the mound ended up winning out, and instead of overthrowing pitches, he simply had more zip on them.

Any doubts I might have expressed about the Lidge deal before the season are gone.  This guy has been better than most Phils fans, myself included, could have ever anticipated.  Who knows, if he keeps this up, I might have to start calling him “Lights Out Lidge”.