PHILADELPHIA — So, Charlie Manuel was asked Tuesday afternoon, who is your closer for Game 1 of the National League division series?
“Hard to tell,” Manuel said. “I’ll answer that when we get there. Who-ever you see walking out there.”
In all likelihood, Manuel knows but doesn’t want to say. Then again, the way things have been going for the Phillies’ bullpen, maybe he has no idea who he’s going to go with if the game is on the line in the ninth inning today.
This isn’t 2008, and Brad Lidge isn’t Brad Lidge. Lidge, Cherry Creek High’s own, may have had the greatest season ever for a closer in 2008. He converted 41-of-41 save opportunities during the season and 7-of-7 in the playoffs. He also posed for the most memorable snapshot of the season, raising his hands to the heavens while on his knees after recording the last out of the World Series.
“He had a perfect year last year, but that’s a huge setup,” Jamie Moyer said. “The first, second or third time you blow a save, you feel all of a sudden like the world is going to end.”
No, Lidge’s world didn’t end. But he had a lot more than a handful of blown saves too. The final count was 11, the highest total in the major leagues since 2006. Oh, and did we mention his 0-8 record and 7.21 ERA? Or his trip to the disabled list with knee problems? Other than that, it was, to quote Yogi Berra, deju vu all over again for Lidge.
“There’s no doubt, having a 0.00 next to your name is a lot nicer than the other one, whatever that is,” Lidge said on the eve of the Phillies’ playoff opener against the Rockies. “I haven’t looked at that one in a while. It’s definitely nice to have that fresh start.”
He won’t necessarily be the Phillies’ closer today, not after compiling the worst ERA in major-league history for a pitcher with 20-plus saves. Then again, who knows? Manuel has mixed and matched closers for a month now, using Lidge as well as Ryan Madson in the ninth inning. And it isn’t like Madson has put a headlock on the job. His ERA is 3.26, but it’s 5.00-plus as a closer, with six blown saves in 16 chances.
A nugget of good news about Lidge: He finished the season with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in his final three appearances at Citizens Bank Park, where he converted 16-of-17 save opportunities. Not only that, he has redeposited into his repertoire the cut fastball he junked two years ago to concentrate on one of the game’s nastiest sliders.
“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything,” Lidge said. “I’ve thrown it quite a bit in the bullpen the past couple of months, and it’s a pitch I plan on using this postseason. I also feel really good right now about my command of the slider. It’s a lot better than it’s been the entire year.”
