On a staff that features three aces, the most important pitcher still might be the guy who gets the last three outs.
Brad Lidge is vital to Philadelphia's postseason success because he's the one the Phillies rely on to close out wins for Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.
It doesn't matter how well the starters pitch if Lidge can't protect the lead. The big three have been outstanding, but Lidge is throwing even better right now than all of them.
After blowing a save at Washington on July 31, Lidge converted 17 of 18 chances the rest of the season and posted a 0.73 ERA in 26 appearances. He allowed just 11 hits and 10 walks while striking out 25 in 24 2/3 innings.
Overall, Lidge finished 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA and 27 saves in 32 opportunities. It was quite a turnaround after a miserable 2009 season in which he led the majors with 11 blown saves and went 0-8 with a 7.21 ERA.
Lidge credits his improvement to being healthy and regaining his confidence.
“Last year when I look back, when your health goes then your control goes and because your control is not there, then you really start to lose confidence because you don't know where the ball is going to end up,” Lidge said recently. “For me, it was a whole season of trying to throw my slider in the dirt and leaving it right down the middle or vice versa, and trying to throw a fastball and it ends up away.
“You just don't know where the ball is going to end up. It makes it a lot tougher. But right now I've been fortunate, my knee feels good and I can push off my back leg again and I at least have a pretty good idea of where it's going to go, so that helps a lot.”
The Phillies (97-65) finished with the best record in the majors for the first time in franchise history, captured their fourth straight division title and are trying to become the first NL team to win three consecutive pennants in 66 years.
They're seeking their third World Series championship and second in three years. Lidge was right in the middle of it when the Phillies won it all in 2008. He was 48 for 48 in save chances, including seven in the postseason. The Phillies wouldn't even have won the NL East without him that year.
Lidge's problems began early in '09. He blew his first save on April 19 against the San Diego Padres, snapping a streak of 54 straight conversions, including the playoffs. By the time he landed on the disabled list with a knee injury in early June, Lidge had six blown saves in 19 chances.
He returned from the DL in late June and nailed down seven straight saves, but then regressed. After a blown save against Florida on Sept. 23, Lidge didn't pitch in a save situation until the playoffs. Then he turned it on in the postseason. He was 1-0 with three saves in three tries and didn't allow a run in five games in the first two rounds.
But he gave up three runs in one inning and took the loss in a pivotal Game 3 in his only appearance against the New York Yankees in the World Series.
The Phillies hoped a healthy Lidge would emerge and return to his dominant form this season, but he began the year on the disabled list and struggled with inconsistency the first half.
He was 1-1 with a 5.57 ERA and four blown saves in 14 chances through July 31. Right before the trade deadline, the Phillies explored the possibility of acquiring another closer.
But they got Oswalt instead and stuck with Lidge. He rewarded their faith by transforming back into that lights-out closer he was two years ago.
“I feel real good right now. Everything is coming out of my hand the way you hope it will this time of year,” Lidge said. “I think our bullpen as a whole is throwing well. It's been a fun year. The last couple months, we've all been confident with what we're doing. We're fortunate to have these horses in our rotation. It makes it easier for us.”
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