The Philadelphia Report: Phillies Need To Address Closer Dilema Now!

Brad Lidge continues to struggle on the mound for the Phillies, and that doesn’t make for a good situation as the Phillies make their inevitable entrance into the postseason this year. But to be honest this is par for the course for Lidge. Historically—the past four years to be exact—Lidge has been a big up-and-down guy, which is probably one of several reasons why Houston traded him away. As a member of the Houston Astros, 2005 and 2006 are the only back-to-back solid years in Lidge’s career. In that time, Lidge garnered 74 saves out of 84 opportunities while throwing 207 stikeouts and posting a 1.28 WHIP average despite a 5-9 overall record. But 2006 started what has now become the wild roller-coaster ride Lidge has had to deal with. In 2006 Lidge was 32 of 38 in saves. In 2007 he went 19 for 27. Last year of course, was the highlight of his career going 41 of 41, while this year seems to be the low point of his career posting a dismal 28 of 38. It is clear...