Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -- Albert Einstein
I've had it. And I know I'm not the only one.
Charlie Manuel has to shelve Brad Lidge. I know other options in the bullpen aren't great, but nothing can be as bad as Brad Lidge has been this year.
Let's look just at Lidge's save situations. He has 31 saves and 10 blown saves. That by itself is atrocious. It's even worse though when you look at the actual game logs for those 41 save situations.
In those 41 games, Lidge has a 7.50 ERA and an 8.50 RA. Like in yesterday's game, he has let up at least 1 run in 20 of those 41 appearances. So basically the Phillies have a 50/50 chance that Lidge will let up a run when he comes in with the game on the line. Is there any further proof needed that he should not be in close games?
Looking further, Lidge has a 1.86 WHIP in those 41 games. In only 10 of those 41 appearances has he not let up a baserunner by hit or walk. In 22 of those 41 games he has let up 2 or more. Even if you buy into the notion of a closer, this is not what a closer does. This is what a AA guy does in September call-up mop-up appearances.
With the playoffs approaching, Charlie Manuel has to, as he has told his players countless times, forget about 2008. He has to ignore the weekly claim by Lidge that he's now turning things around. He has to look to the other arms in his bullpen and think creatively about how he's going to get the last few outs of the ballgame. Because whoever else is out there in the bullpen will be better than Lidge has been this year. If they're not, they shouldn't be in organized baseball.
41 save appearances and 148 games into the season, we know what the results are going to be when Lidge comes into the game. Expecting anything else just proves Einstein right.