Skip to main content

Lidge Not Sure Thing For Opening Day

It is beginning to look like Brad Lidge may not be ready to be on the big league Phillies' opening day roster. Lidge is not expected to see his first Grapefruit League game action until this coming Monday, March 15th. Obviously, that places him behind the pace of the rest of the team. There's no certainty in Lidge's status at all, but all that does is stir speculation. The main concern of phans and media alike would be- if Lidge isn't ready to start the season, who will close games? The most like candidate is Danys Baez.

Baez has closed in the past and has 114 career saves in the Major Leagues. His save conversion rate is 76%. By comparison, Lidge's conversion rate in save situations is 83.7%. For those who feel Ryan Madson should be the first option to fill in for Lidge, consider that Madson has more career blown saves than he does actual saves. Granted, Madson's blown saves have mostly come in innings earlier than the 9th, but facts are facts. In 2009, Madson saved 10 games in 16 chances. That's a 62.5% conversion rate.

Lidge took his first big strides toward getting in game shape and proving he's healthy, on Wednesday, when he threw to live batters, two Phillies minor leaguers, Ozzie Chavez & Chris Duffy.

The Phillies are slated to compete in two games on Monday against the Pirates. The regularly scheduled game in Bradenton and a "B" game in the morning. There is no official word on which game Lidge will pitch in.

With the Phillies expecting JC Romero to not be ready for opening day, the team's relief corp might be a thinner, downgraded version of what the team is paying for, with the likes of Dave Herndon, Scott Mathieson, Mike Zagurski, Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo striving to be on the bubble to earn a roster spot, should one become available.

A healthy Lidge should be leaps and bounds better than he was in 2009, when his mechanics were altered by multiple ailments. So phans, if Brad the closer isn't ready to go, on opening day, just remember that Lidge was also not on the opening day roster in 2008, when he was perfect in save opportunities and the Phillies won the World Series. If Lidge needs an extra week to get his velocity where he, and the team, want it to be, it won't be the end of the world...it could be the best thing possible.

-----------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE for unique trivia, stats and other updates!

Lidge picture- Getty Images




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This Guy Speaks For All of You

This individual, interviewed by FOX 29 on Friday as the Phillies arrived back at Citizens Bank Park, said it best. When asked how he felt regarding the Phillies, he told Steve Keeley that he was, "Stoked, baby!" The unidentified phanatic then proclaimed, "We are talking about the Fightins here, the Fightins! Said!" Check out the media player below, as the transcribed version certainly does not do this phireball of phandom justice. The Phillies forced game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday night. Game 6 will feature Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez in a return pitching match up from game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 7:57 pm EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Be sure to tune in on 97.3 ESPN's Weekend Sports Guide with Tyrone Johnson this afternoon around 1:15pm to hear me chatting about the Phillies! 97.3 is based in Atlantic City. You can listen live online HERE . _________
Post a Comment
Read more

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rol
1 comment
Read more

Phillies minor leaguer Burch to use health scare as fuel

Tyler Burch, image- MiLB.com I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to exclusive interviews plus early access to features and news such as this. A missed baseball season wasn't the only challenge facing righty pitcher Tyler Burch this summer.   With persistent symptoms that began prior to spring training it was ultimately discovered, after the 2020 season was shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, that the 22-year-old had developed an autoimmune disease.   As symptoms that included dry mouth and frequent trips to the bathroom worsened, Burch's situation left his doctor puzzled.  And even the physician that conducted his team physical examination at the outset of spring training jokingly referenced diabetes, but did not take the possibility seriously.    The physical impacts subsided somewhat during spring training, as being more active and adhering to the team diet helped alleviate what he was experiencing. Once the base
Post a Comment
Read more