By David Wilson
It wasn’t long ago that Brad Lidge was the best closer in baseball. It wasn’t long before that that Lidge was thought to be done. And it wasn’t long before that that he was one of baseball’s premiere closers.
Who knows? Maybe Brad Lidge will be celebrating another World Series title, but this time with the Nationals.
What I’m getting at is that you never know what you’re getting with Lidge. In 2008 he saved all 41 of his opportunities and recorded the final out of the Phillies’ World Series victory over the Rays. Of course, the next year he posted a 7.51 ERA before settling down when he was playing over the past two years. He pitched 19.1 innings last year but had an 1.40 ERA.
Another positive is he won’t have to face Albert Pujols! He’s in the AL now, so maybe things will be a little bit smoother for Lights Out Lidge.
The fact of the matter though is that he’s at best the Nationals’ third best reliever. Drew Storen is the closer. Tyler Clippard is the primary eighth inning guy. Lidge will compete to be the second setup guy and take seventh inning duties. Bullpen depth is always important and this is a low-risk, high-reward deal for Washington.
So maybe it wasn’t the free agent signing that Nats fans hoped their team was going to make this week, but this is something they should be cautiously optimistic about. Lidge is still better than most middle relievers in the majors and has a more proven track record. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever recapture even 75-percent of the glory he had in his prime, but the Nationals don’t need that and Lidge doesn’t either. At 34 years old, no one expects Lidge to be a lockdown closer, but all he has to do is a serviceable reliever for this signing to pay off for Washington
