Brad Lidge, Key To Bullpen

When Brad Lidge came into games in 2008, you could kick back and relax knowing that the game was in the bag. Brad Lidge was perfect in the regular season saving 41 games in 41 opportunities. He even carried it through to the post-season where he went 7 for 7 in save opportunites. 2009, different story. In the regular season last year Brad Lidge went 31 for 42 in save opportunities blowing a career high 11 games for the Phils. He went from being one of the most dominant pitchers in the game to one of the worst. The Phillies in 2010, if they want to win another World Series, need the 2008 Brad Lidge to return. The fact of the matter is that in baseball, no matter how good your starting pitching is, there comes a time when you need to turn it over to your bullpen. Roy Halladay, as good as he is, will not be able to throw a complete game shut-out every night. There are gonna be times in the regular season and especially the playoffs when the Phils are gonna need someone to come in and close a game. Brad Lidge is that guy. In 2008 he showed that he was capable of being a dominant lights out closer. So what can Brad Lidge do to return to his 2008 form? Well first off he needs to be healthy. If you recall, Brad missed all of June last season dealing with a nagging knee injury. When he returned he was never fully at 100%. He dealt with the injury as best he could, but he was never fully healthy. During the off season Brad had surgeries on his elbow and knee. These surgeries should help Lidge and enable him to perform at the highest level possible. The second thing Brad Lidge needs to do in order to be successful in 2010 is forget about last year. He needs to throw 2009 away and pretend like it never happened. The final thing that Lidge needs to do is focus on just being a solid MLB pitcher. We don't need him to be perfect like in 2008, but we also can't have him blowing 11 games. If he can settle somewhere right in between the glory of 2008 and the disaster of 2009, I think Brad and the Phillies will be just fine.