Phillies Nation

I think this is a coincidence to be honest. The difference between ’09 lidge and ’08 lidge that I have observed, he hasn’t been striking people out with the slider, for some reasong uys don’t seem to be swinging at it. Could that be because they aw him pitch too many times last year? and then on the world series, seeing him make eric hinske looklike a fool couldn’t have made it more obvious what he tries to do. I am worried about Lidge, there doesn’t seemt o be an easy answer to his situation, for example, coste or ruiz catching him, or an injury.

OH concerning the slider – it only is effective when it is as fast as his fastball…

IN ADDITION – he did give up some runs last year – but luckily only in situations that were not save situations. So the question is this: Was he less than perfect last year and we set expectations too high OR is it Puljos over again?

Brad – I am your #1 supporter – get it in your mind you are the best in the business. Know it and pitch like it.

Yes he gave up runs last year, but what concerns me this year is not the blown saves, as devastating as they are to the Win column. It is the 7+ ERA. That is unbelievably bad. Like so bad that we have to expect him to give up a run every inning he pitches. Blown saves can happen in many ways (errors, coming into a game that was a 4 run lead but now the bases are loaded, fluke hits/bad calls), but an earned run is an earned run. Those can be placed primarily on the pitcher, and when your closer (who should almost never give up runs) is running out there with a 7+ ERA that is a huge problem.

the mets are going to win. we will beat you.

Didn’t Charlie put Ruiz in for the 9th on Friday night? Just wondering…

Francisco – Jeff G was calling you a shoeless pacifist.

Francisco–see you in the postseason. Actually, probably not… haha!

Tim, I was hoping someone would break down those stats. I notice a look of panic/fear on Lidge’s face when Coste is calling the game. Right after he gave up that HR to Ethier on Sat, Fox showed a close-up of him and he mouthed “f*cking ——-”, couldn’t read the lips on the last part, but I don’t think he feels comfortable with Coste. Of course I’ve always been a HUGE Chooch fan, so the stats don’t surprise me that much.

EVERYONE SHOW THE LOVE FOR THE CHOOCH-VOTE RUIZ!!!!!

Jeff G,

I think David Wright is a little better than horrible.

Maybe Lidge doesnt trust Coste to block his slider in the dirt as much as Chooch, so he doesnt bury it, hangs it, resulting in a few more bombs.

I never said Wright is horrible. Everyone else in that infield. Wright is a great defensive player. The only problem with him is clutch hitting. Can he get it done. I say NO. I would hate to be a Mets fan because they are boring. There players have no heart and they play for money. The have no team chemistry. If your not a Phillies fan fine but how could you not like this team. Ibanez, Utley, Howard…Just class.

I forgot Utley Class???? I guess its classy to say f F U to fans at the home run derby isnt it.

oh look a Mets troll

I knew mr. met fransico rod over there would bring up the utley thing. your an idiot. that makes him have no class. lol…he showed some emotion boy. your whole team is hurt. first off baby reyes is horrible. show off who does nothing. delgado is full of class like when he did not stand for the american anthem. steroids taking affect. even mikey F on WFAN said that the Mets are not in the class of the phillies. Raul and Ryan have more homers then the whole Mets team. you guys suck franco y boy…

I know Don, you can always tell when a Mets series is coming up, they crawl out of the woodwork like termites or something.

A ‘team’ that has Delgado, Castillo, Sheffield – that is not a team. It’s a group of (once) talented individuals who in the case of Sheffield, still thinks the world owes him more money, honor and glory – who cannot rally around key players like Reyes or David Wright (still the only mutt I think would look great in red pinstripes).
P r i m a d o n a s – all of them. Whiners, not a team. And basically, that is why they will finish behind the Phils – a team!

To all those who suggest Lidge may not have confidence in Coste’s ability to block a burried pitch in the dirt:

Correct me if I’m wrong but so far Coste hasn’t given Brad a reason to worry, at least when he’s catching him. If a ball gets by Coste and costs the Phillies the game, then that is all on Chris Coste. It’s no excuse that Lidge “doesn’t have confidence in him.” Brad just needs to worry about himself, throw his pitches and not worry about who is behind the plate.

Easy way to solve our troll problem: Beat them. When we beat them, the trolls hide. Let’s go Phillies.

the bottom line is, brad lidge is not getting the job done. the catch has NOTHING to do with it. chris coste does not take brad lidge’s velocity away. chris coste does not make brad lidge throw sliders in the dirt constantly. if people are dumb enough to believe this ridiculous claim that coste is the reason for lidge’s struggles, then they should be embarrassed. how many more excuses can we come up with for the reason lidge is stinking this year?