Manual Would Have Been Wise to Address the Closer Situation Sooner

With the postseason quickly approaching, skipper Charlie Manual has a major issue looming over his head. Or maybe it's more of a headache. If he has the lead in the ninth, who does he call on to save game come playoff time? Manual and the Phillies now find themselves using a "closer-by-committee" to finish games with a little over two weeks until the NLDS begins. And while Philadelphia holds its collective breath over which poison Manual will go with on any given night (Madson or Lidge), it would seem the entire situation could have been avoided. Midseason it was evident that Brad Lidge was not in his 2008 form.  His ERA was at least four runs higher than the year prior, his strikeouts were down, and his hits and walks were up, and more importantly, he was blowing games. Not only had Lidge lost his "lights out" status, his bridge, the "Mad Dog" Ryan Madson, didn't perform much better in the role after Lidge was sent to the DL with...