Phillies Should Re-Sign Lidge

If you are a die hard Phillies fan, you probably want nothing to do with Brad Lidge.  You are grateful for his perfect 2008 season, but your mind flashes back to blown leads and wasted opportunities in his past 3 seasons and thus you want him outta here.

I understand if you don't want to bring back Lidge.  But you really have to analyze the stats before you jump to a decision about Lidge's future with the Phillies.  As I stated before, Lidge was perfect in the 2008 season.  He went 41 for 41 in save opportunities during the regular season, and a perfect 7 for 7 in the post season.  But in 2009, things turned south in a hurry.  Lidge followed his perfect season by going 31 of 42 in save opportunities and recorded just 3 saves in October.  And after posting a 1.95 ERA in '08, Lidge's ERA skyrocketed to 7.21 in '09.

Because of Lidge's drastic shift from perfect to pathetic in the course of just 2 years, many people write off his 2010 and 2011 seasons.  But in 2010 Lidge was actually pretty good.  He went 27 of 32 in save opportunities and posted a 2.96 ERA.  He also picked up 2 saves in the playoffs and didn't allow a run.

Plagued by injuries, last year Lidge posted a 1.40 ERA in just 25 games.  So while Lidge certainly isn't the closer of the future, he is a great reliever that could add depth to this bullpen.  Lidge would be more than willing to return to the Phillies and I think he would be open to giving Ruben a hometown discount.  The Phillies have expressed interest in Kerry Wood, but he is demanding a price somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 million dollars.  If Lidge is willing to come back for a price around 2-3 million dollars then the Phillies should seriously consider resigning him.

With the addition of Jonathan Papelbon, the Phillies have an extremely talented bullpen.  Add in the fact that they have the best starting rotation in the game, and the Phillies really have all the arms they need.  But Lidge could be a great set up man for Papelbon and his return would really solidify the bullpen.  If the Phillies are smart they will get a deal done with Lidge and really go for it in 2012.