Lidge Continues Rehab in Lakewood

On Thursday night, Brad Lidge appeared in his second game this week for the Phillies Class A affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws. On a rehab assignment, Lidge started the game, throwing 13 pitches (6 fastballs, 7 sliders) and striking out two Kannapolis Intimidators batters in a perfect inning of work.

Previously, on Monday, Lidge tossed a scoreless frame against the Hagerstown Suns, while surrendering two hits.

The outings in Lakewood have been quick. Lidge's road back to the Citizens Bank Park mound has not been, however. The 34-year-old former All-star closer has been sidelined with injuries since spring training. After initially working his way back from a rotator cuff strain, Lidge began experiencing elbow discomfort while pitching with the Phillies' extended spring training team at the end of May.

The right-handed Lidge was clear about needing at least a few more rehab outings, but he is not sure when he could be activated by the Phillies. Lidge says that the way his fastball velocity progresses will help to determine how soon he could get back to big league action.

"We'll take a look where my fastball's at in my next outing or two. That'll be a pretty good indicator," Lidge said. "I know that when this process started, (the Phillies) said seven to ten outings. I'm hoping it's on the shorter side of that."

Lidge is slated to return to action with the BlueClaws on Saturday, in a relief role. What comes after that is not yet determined, but Lidge is happy, as long as he is pitching without setbacks.

"Every time I go out, I want to progress. I know it won't be an exact straight line up, but tonight I felt real good about my control, about my slider. I want to keep working on my fastball. I know I have some work to do on that yet, but being out there to work on it is a great thing for me right now."

The digital board designated to display pitch speeds at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park has not been functional during either of Lidge's innings this week, but Lidge's fastball has been reported to range from 86-88 MPH in the two outings.

Having spent time on the disabled list in each of his four season with the Phillies, Lidge knows there are improvements to make and anticipates an additional velocity jump upon his return Philadelphia, thanks to the adrenaline that comes with pitching there.

"I'd like to get (my fastball) back up to somewhere around 90, 91 maybe. I think last year when I started a few rehab games, I started around 87 and every outing it seemed to go up about a mile an hour until somewhere to around 90, 91 then I got back in Philly then it magically jumps up two (more) miles an hour when you get out there in those situations."

Despite knowing what it will take to make it back to the active roster, and be a contributor for a potentially postseason bound team, Lidge remains anxious.

"It's gonna be very hard to be patient for that, though because I've been out a long time and I want to get back as soon as I can."

_________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog