Lidge has definitely outstayed his welcome.

by Joseph Birmingham

Wednesday September 9, 2009 

Lidge has definitely outstayed his welcome. thumbnail

Tonight’s headline is not about a Phillies closer blowing another lead. Wednesday was Clippard’s turn to come into a game in the late innings with the score tied and give up two long balls to the first two batters he faced.

The Phillies are back on track. Cliff Lee is still the man. The Phillies continue to crush the long ball just when they need it. After watching another lead vanish in the bottom of the 7th, the Phillies came up to bat in the top of the 8th inning and jumped on Washington’s relief pitcher, Tyler Clippard. The first two batters who faced him, Werth and Ruiz, both went downtown and all of the sudden, the Phillies had a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning.

Tonight it was not the typical 3-4 hitters doing the damage, tonight Ibanez, Werth and Feliz combined to go 6-10 with 4 RBI’s in support of Cliff Lee. Lee pitched 7 more strong innings en route to his 6th win with his new ball club.

The only real fly in the ointment was Alberto Gonzalez who had three doubles in three at bats. For some reason Jim Riggleman chose to pull Gonzalez with the bases loaded in the 8th and sent Orr to the plate instead. I understand wanting to have the right handed batter face the right handed pitcher, but why pull the guy with the majority of your team’s hits and runs with the bases loaded and the game on the line ? For whatever reason, we will thank Riggleman for this win. He is probably just now realizing he over thought his strategy and possibly cost his team the game.

For that matter, why did Manuel have Cliff Lee bat with one out in the top of the inning, only to pull him for Chan Ho Park in the bottom of the same inning ? Wouldn’t that have been a good spot for a pinch hitter ? Maybe Matt Stairs, woefully underutilized this year ?

This was a strange contest where it almost appeared as if neither manager wanted to win it. But at the very least, Manuel resisted trotting Lidge in for the save. I don’t know if my heart could have handled that at this point ! I have been saying Lidge needs to be replaced, just as many of my earlier predictions and comments from the spring and summer are coming true.

J A Happ is missing a start and Jamie Moyer is coming from the bullpen to start in his place.

As I said, Moyer deserves this, he earned it, and has been valuable to this team all year long.

Lidge is self destructing after his perfect season last year, after I commented on how he looked a little scared and tentative even as he helped the Phillies win the world series last year and predicted he would have a much less successful fall in 2009.

The two mid season Cy Young winning pitching acquisitions have combined to go 10-2 with a combined ERA around 3.

The Phillies became the 12th club in MLB history to have 4 30 homer players, and the first to have three left handers achieve the feat in the same season.

The Phillies are in fact the most well balanced over-all scoring machine in this generation.  Put their runs, RBI’s and home run totals up against any one and they are better than or equal to the task.

And the Phillies will be going to the World Series again in defense of their title, but I am no longer sure they will successfully defend it.  It is nice to know some things I observed have come to pass, I just hope Charlie Manuel stays with Madsen at this point.   Having a closer with a 7+ ERA who allows more baserunners than innings pitched will not enable the Phillies to get through the rest of the year and win in the post-season.

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