If Lidge Is Off Ledge, Phillies in Business

LOS ANGELES -- What we want, of course, is the bi-coastal, large-market, grudge-wrapped passion play. We crave the Dodgers vs. the Yankees, Hollywood vs. New York, Dodger Blue vs. Pinstripes, Joe Torre vs. the Steinbrenners, a Toxic Twins clash between Alex (Primobolan) Rodriguez and Manny (Gonadotropin) Ramirez, Lousy Ratings Leno vs. Pants Down Letterman, Vinnie Chase Goes Home, a collision of our entertainment and financial epicenters. It's baseball's version of the Lakers and Celtics, and while no one in the PlayStation 3 Generation can relate, the sport never was greater and grander than when the Dodgers and Yankees were in the World Series.

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But on a wild Thursday night in Chavez Ravine, in a game described by the velvety Vin Scully as "a Disneyland roller coaster," the Phillies reminded America that they are the defending World Series champions and one of the best road teams in baseball history. They scored eight runs, six on three-run homers by Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez, while letting their country-bumpkin manager -- just kidding there, Charlie Manuel -- continue his amazingly successful chess-game manueverings with a notoriously volatile bullpen. And in the end, four hours after the first pitch in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, who was locking down the last three outs and notching his third straight save this postseason?

That would be Brad (Bleeping) Lidge, as he's known in Philadelphia, the closer who blew a league-high 11 save opportunities in the regular season while finishing 0-8 with a 7.21 ERA. Because this was the same pitcher who converted all 48 save chances last season, seven in the postseason, Manuel resisted the urge to bury Lidge and, after briefly removing him from the closer's role, attempted instead to rescue him mentally. Old Charlie may not articulate as well as the media-savvy Torre, but that doesn't mean he isn't a shrewd baseball guy. It's still mid-October, with many late-inning scenarios ready to be sabotaged, but so far, Manuel's fine work with Lidge is the biggest development and best feel-good story of the playoffs.

"When I look at him the last couple of nights, he's been more relaxed," Manuel said. "His stuff is there. He's been a tremendous pitcher and, believe me, he'll still be as good as he ever was."

But knowing how torturous the Lidge Experience can be -- even in his ninth-inning glory, he allowed a leadoff single to Matt Kemp and walked James Loney and needed a gigantic double play to secure the 8-6 victory -- can Manuel really say with confidence that Lidge is his closer? "Tonight, Lidge was the guy. He was going in there," he said. "We're pinned down to one closer, and it's always been Lidge. When he was struggling a little bit, we needed to do something and give him a break. But he's going to be in there." This was in contrast to Manuel's comments the other day, when he said his closer would be "whoever you see walking out there." This should define how terrific Manuel is feeling about his team, knowing 14 of the last 17 teams to win Game 1 of the NLCS have advanced to the Series.


Personally, I have more trust in 6-year-old Falcon Heene, who was hiding in his family's garage in Colorado and wasn't in that homemade helium balloon Thursday. But the ongoing drama of Lidge on the Ledge is part of what makes the Phillies a compelling story -- and why they're bidding to become the first NL team to repeat as Series champs since the 1975-76 Big Red Machine. There is no shortage of unity and good vibes in their clubhouse, and not throwing Lidge under the bus is consistent with their camaraderie. "We have the utmost confidence in Brad Lidge. He's been throwing real well, and we know he can get it done," Ibanez said. "This is an entire group of guys pulling in the same direction and pulling for each other. It's incredible."

To psychoanalyze Lidge's erratic career is to explain Britney Spears. In Houston, he was known as soft and brittle, recalling his meltdown after Albert Pujols belted a monstrous playoff homer off him. Then he became The Perfect Closer, piecing together a flawless season for the Phillies. This season, without a mechanical problem and just one health problem, a DL stint in June, he became the epitome of futility. Even in Philly, where they booed Santa Claus, they had initial problems booing Lidge because of his fine deeds last season. But as the season progressed, the boos were hurled. Some thought Manuel should keep him off the postseason roster. Which is why it's astonishing to see him back in his comfort zone, 3-for-3 when the pressure is most excruciating.

"Honestly, for some reason, I feel really locked in," said Lidge, whose 16 postseason saves place him second on the all-time list. "I feel real good mechanicaly and physically. I'm real comfortable. I feel like myself again and I'm very confident I can make the pitches when I need them."

Old Charlie may not articulate as well as the media-savvy Torre, but that doesn't mean he isn't a shrewd baseball guy. ... So far, Manuel's fine work with Lidge is the biggest development and best feel-good story of the playoffs.
When he entered in the ninth inning, in a ballpark where fans began to leave an inning before after Manny Ramirez dribbled out against a scuffling Ryan Madson with two runners on, the TV screen flashed his new ERA: 0.00. "There's no question that having a zero ERA next to your name is a lot nicer than the other one, whatever that was, and I haven't looked at that one in a while," Lidge said. "It definitely is nice to have that fresh start." It's also nice to have his lethal slider back in his arsenal, along with a recent addition: a cut fastball.

"Any time Brad Lidge gets people out, it breeds confidence," Manuel said. "In big moments, that's very big for this ballclub. He regrouped and regained himself."

"I really feel it's the Brad Lidge from last year, when he was so confident," said Ruiz, his battery-mate. "Now we're pitching. We tried to force it before, but now he's more relaxed."

The pitcher who wasn't so relaxed was Clayton Kershaw. At 21, he was the youngest pitcher to start Game 1 in a League Championship Series, and after early success, he unraveled in the fifth with a record three wild pitches. The Phillies lit him for five runs in the inning, which will bring criticism to Torre for starting the kid over veteran Randy Wolf. "It looked like he tried to overthrow the ball, got frustrated out there. Unfortunately, it got away from him quickly," Torre said. "As far as the pressure of the game, he certainly can handle it, but sometimes things get away from you."

The night's electric moment came in the fifth when Ramirez, who had hit one homer since Sept. 9, crushed a Cole Hamels pitch high into the left-field pavilion. The two-run shot trimmed the Philadelphia lead to 5-4, and 20 years after the Bay Area earthquake, I thought we were having another one on the fringes of downtown L.A. That's how much they still adore Manny, Mr. Steroids, despite the slump that brought September boos. They chanted his name, rocked the stands and demanded a curtain call that never came. He had a chance to be a hero twice more, but in the seventh, he grounded out against the amped-up Chan Ho Park with Andre Ethier on second base and left two runners stranged in the eighth with his weak groundout. Fact is, he can't get around on the inside fastball.

Not that the Dodgers or anyone else can match the Phillies when they're scoring eight runs. And when the Dodgers are walking seven hitters. "We do have the talent and just that sort of fight, that we're going to do everything we can to get those big hits in those big moments," Hamels said. "Our offense is really what's setting the tone." In the last series against St. Louis, Torre only had to worry about solving Albert Pujols. In this series, he must deal with 1-through-8 hell -- Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, Ruiz.

"The Phillies are good. We certainly respect what they've done, what they did last year and what they continue to do this year," Torre said. "Tonight was a prizefight. We came up a little short."

My sense is that the Dodgers will come up short again in this series, as they did last autumn against the Phillies. Maybe this warm, cuddly L.A. story isn't so warm and cuddly, incidentally The ballpark buzz involved more than baseball: Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie, announced they have separated. The problem? His attorney says he is the outright owner of the team, while her attorney says she owns 50 percent of the franchise. Stunningly enough, Torre had to answer pre-game questions about the bizarre situation.

"You know, it's a very private thing, and I respect that," he said. "I think we've all had -- not necessarily all of us, but there have been personal issues that should remain that way, and I respect that about the McCourts. It's not going to affect anything that we do. My players and myself, we have a job to do, and whatever is going on there is certainly not going to affect what we do here. As I say, it's unfortunate, and I feel badly, but it's one of those things that happens in life."

Torre also had to deny a report that he isn't happy with ownership, which purportedly is the reason he says 2010 will be his final season. "Don't know where that came from," he said.

The same can be said for Brad (Bleeping) Lidge. Where oh where did he come from? If his renaissance is for real, aren't the Phillies headed for another World Series, if not another World Series trophy? "We're going to find a way to get it done," he said. "Our guys don't just have the talent, but they believe in themselves, too. It could be a six-run deficit, and our guys still have the audacity to feel that we're going to come back."

Dodgers vs. Yankees would be the fun World Series.

Phillies vs. Yankees would be the best World Series.