Kuzul

APPRECIATING RAUL

Raul Javier Ibanez won’t draw any NL MVP votes this year, and he may not even be in the top five of the Phillies’ team MVP vote, but the Phils’ left fielder should be commended for his 2010 season.

His numbers, at first glance, are not extraordinary. In fact, they’re rather pedestrian. Okay, bad idea…on to the next story.

But wait—there’s more.

It’s easy to look up stat lines these days, and here are the numbers for Raul: .266 BA, 14 homers, 72 RBI, and 66 runs scored. With 15 games left to play, Ibanez will end up somewhere in the neighborhood of .270, 16 HR, 80 RBI, and 75 runs scored. These are numbers that you can more than live with for your No. 6 hitter. More on that later.

Doesn’t it seem like Ibanez has been here much longer than (almost) two years? In this brief amount of time, most Phillies fans have probably gone through an evolution of thought similar to this.

1. QUESTIONING RAUL

When Pat Gillick acquired Ibanez from Seattle, many wondered why we were parting ways with Pat Burrell, who became (somewhat inexplicably to me) a great hero in this town.

Baseball fans (perhaps even bigger MLB fans than this columnist) knew that Ibanez was a late bloomer who did not get a chance to be an everyday player till he hit age 30 and the Royals made him a regular. It paid off for them: In each of his two seasons in KC, he hit a solid .294. In 2002, he smashed 24 homers and knocked in 93; the following year, his power numbers dropped a little, but he scored 95 runs.

Seattle reclaimed him in 2004, and he gave them five very solid seasons. Although he toiled in a pitcher’s park, Ibanez averaged .293 with 23 HR, 98 RBI, and 86 runs.

On the other hand, late bloomer or not, he was about to turn 37, and could he keep it going for all three years on his contract? And what about that right-handed bat (and his bulldog) we let leave for Tampa?

2. LOVING RAUL

Think back to the start, even the first half, of the 2009 season. It didn’t hurt that Ibanez was arguably the Phillies’ best player—this on a team with perennial All-Stars Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins and an emerging star in Jayson Werth. He was that good, and a season approaching .320/40/120 did not look out of reach.

It did not hurt that Ibanez had that great first name, and it soon became commonplace to see Phillies fans wearing No. 29s, along with all of the 6s, 26s, and 11s (and for a brief moment later in that season, some 34s.)

That great Ra-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul chant soon filled the air at Citizens Bank Park.

It also did not hurt that Ibanez was/is the ultimate good guy, a consummate professional, and he fit right in with his defending world champion teammates. Oh yeah, and Cholly could leave him in left field in late innings and not have to fluster himself with those pesky double switches.

3. CHEATING RAUL?

An unfortunate byproduct of this PED era of baseball (not completely over) is that players face allegations when they: a) overperform (for their age), b) underperform, or c) start to suffer through injuries. All three of those red flags attached themselves to Ibanez’ numbers.

Raul could not keep up that amazing pace after the 2009 All-Star break, and there were whispers involving the “S” word.  There were sloppy reports and a lot of innuendo, and some Phils fans couldn’t deal with the uncertainty.

I don’t care to dignify those rumors, but it had some effect on how Ibanez—still new to Philly baseball—was perceived by many. Despite a second-half drop-off, Ibanez finished 2009 at .272/34/93, with 93 runs scored in only 134 games. His .899 OPS was a career high, and he had a good postseason with two homers and 13 ribbies in 15 games.

4. EATING RAUL (or his contract, anyway)

The start of this season saw Raul mired in that slump, and by the end of June (almost halfway through the campaign), Raul was hitting a low .220 with an anemic six homers and 36 RBI.

The numbers most discussed were his age (he turned 38 on June 2) and his contract (he is making over $12 million this year and is due $11.5 mil in 2011).

To say Raul has not had an easy 2010 is an understatement, and with a most promising corner outfielder named Domonic Brown tearing it up in the minors, the Ra-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuls were being replaced with Boooooooooooos, and Phils fans were wondering:

“What can Brown do for us?”

6. APPRECIATING RAUL—once again

Domonic Brown has all the makings of a five-tool player and may become our Jason Heyward (or maybe our left-handed Jayson Werth.) One has to love his promise.

But right now, how many Phils fans want to yank Ibanez from the lineup?

In 56 games since the All-Star break, he has raised his batting average from a paltry to .246 to a respectable .266. He has hit seven homers and driven in 33 in that same span to get his numbers somewhat in range with his career averages.

More importantly, in a season where we have struggled to keep our mega-stars (Howard, Utley, and especially Rollins) on the field, and where the injury bug has also hit Placido Polanco, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz, Ibanez has played in 141 of our 147 games, second to Werth on the team.

Most importantly, he guts it out through injuries and is solid fundamentally. He continues to be the ultimate good guy, a consummate professional, and still (at age 38) a hitter that can occasionally ride one out of the park and drive in some key runs.

So let’s hear it one more time for Mr. Ibanez:

RA-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllll.

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81-60. That is the best record in the National League to date and it is currently boasted by the 2008 and 2009 National League Champions and 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

What is it that led the Phillies to back-to-back NL championships and has now led them to the National League’s best overall record with only 21 games left in the season? The answer is sheer toughness.

This Phillies baseball team is driven by a sense of toughness that crumbles your average team. The Phillies have had numerous players take trips to the disabled list this season and at this late point in the season, when they should have been out of the equation, they are currently on top.

That is toughness; having the mental and physical toughness to endure the myriad of injuries without allowing them to defeat the team. How many franchises could endure DL stints by three different starting pitchers, its starting catcher, starting first baseman, starting second baseman, starting shortstop, starting third basemen, starting center fielder, its setup man, its closer, several other bench players and bullpen arms, and still be in first place atop its division and league this late in the season? 

I don’t know exactly how many teams could, but I do know that the list is short and that the Phillies are certainly atop it, if not the sole name on it.

Not only are the Phillies tough enough to endure the rash of injuries that have befallen them. They are also tough enough to endure the pressure of being a target every night. They have represented the NL in the World Series two years in a row and they clearly have a bulls eye on their back because of it. Even with every NL team gunning for them, they stay right in the mix of things.

This is clearly a team that knows how to win in the face of adversity. That’s why late in the year teams like Atlanta, San Diego, and St. Louis are falling apart. That is why teams like the Mets in 2009, who had high expectations but got bit by the injury bug, fall off the map. This Phillies team has a clear attitude that they are supposed to win no matter what. This attitude clearly makes them the best NL team and perhaps, the best team in baseball.

I think Charlie Manuel said it best, the night that the Phillies took sole position of first place this past Tuesday. “It’s always good to be in first place. That’s the only way to live.” 

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Since May 31st, the Atlanta Braves have been all alone in first place atop the NL East.

The Braves have seen their lead rise to as much as seven games this season, but now they find themselves only one game ahead of Philadelphia with just two weeks left to play in the regular season.

With that said, who is really the team to beat in the National League East?

Is it Bobby Cox’s Braves in the legendary manager’s final season or the reigning champions of the National League?

We asked Phillies Featured Columnist Vincent Heck and Braves Featured Columnist Evan Walker to make their cases for their respective team.

Vincent Heck: 

I’m a man of faith and I know that, anytime you lack faith or doubt something great and powerful, you are sorely mistaken. The Philadelphia Phillies are powerful, on the road to great. Even if greatness does fail, it still doesn’t justify your reasoning as to why you doubted most of the time.

If you doubted the New England Patriots would win the Super Bowl in their infamous 18-1 season, you were unjustified in your doubts—period.

A great team overcomes adversity, does the unexpected, even beating the teams they are not supposed to beat—that’s greatness.

The Phillies are special in that they got their stardom as a humble, underdog, wild card team. They know how to win against hearsay—they’ve done it before.

They have since, proved, that they have risen to “powerhouse” status, considered by most to be on the brink of greatness.

The Phils mission hasn’t changed at all: Win another World Series.

The road, however, has definitely changed. This year, the charming Atlanta Braves stand in the path of a team who has always been determined to win and have always succeeded to a degree.

We all know the Braves can’t meet the Phillies in the World Series, so, somethings gotta give.

We know the firepower that the Phillies contain, there’s no need for me to run down statistics. You know Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz.

Those men speak for themselves.

Those aren’t the men, on Monday the 20th through Wednesday the 22nd, that the Braves should be concerned with. It’s these men:

Monday: Cole Hamels
Tuesday: Roy Halladay
Wednesday: Roy Oswalt

The Atlanta Braves, a superb team, a relentless team, a talented team, have to contend with an offense known to put up nine run comebacks a couple times each season. And bat against three bonafide aces.

Now, as I said before, I am a man of faith, but men of faith don’t choose who they put their faith in frivolously. No—if you’re going to put faith in something, make sure it’s proven and tested.

That my friends is the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the same core from 2008 and 2009, with upgrades.

I like the Braves, but the truth is, their best chance in beating Philadelphia is as a wild card. Then, possibly, they may catch the Phillies “smelling themselves” too much.

But if the Braves win the division, there is no doubt in my mind the Phillies will take it to them in the NLCS.

Because a great team overcomes adversity, does the unexpected, and beats the teams they are not supposed to beat—the Phils are “not,” necessarily supposed to beat the New York Yankees—I’m not quite sure I’m ready to throw the Braves in that discussion yet.

Evan Walker:

The Philadelphia Phillies are a good team.

Last year, they were great. The year before, they were great, but I am not convinced that the Phillies are the same team from 2008 and 2009. They’ll need to be that team and more to avoid the tomahawk in 2010.

As we all know, this year will be the last year of the Bobby Cox dynasty and if they’re anchor Chipper Jones departs, it will be the end of the “Team of The 90’s.”

Welcome to the team of the 2010’s.

Only one word can describe the most walk-off wins in baseball, the transformation of a talented rookie into a keeper of the flame that ignited baseball’s postseason for 15 seasons, and incredible pitching in a year certain to be remembered for incredible pitching

Magical.

The Braves need no superstars. They have no Howard’s and they have no Utley’s.

Instead of a team full of Subway commercials stars, the Braves have a team of 40 different baseball players, any of whom can don the hero’s cape on any given night.

The big three pitchers in Philly are dangerous, but three pitchers do not make a pitching staff.

You need at least four pitchers to be successful in the playoffs.

Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick both have ERA around five, so although Hamels, Halladay, and Oswalt are almost guaranteed great performances, Kendrick (4.72 ERA) and Blanton (5.25 ERA) make the rotation questionable with a 3.70 combined ERA.

Cy Young candidate, Tim Hudson anchors the Braves rotation along with Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurjens, Derek Lowe, and Mike Minor. All of them combined have a 3.53 ERA and none of them have ERA above 4.50.

The Braves are statistically the better team in just about every category, but the reason that they have been in front of Philadelphia for the majority of this season is not about statistics.

This season is about giving a legendary manager a deserving high note to end his Hall of Fame career.

This season is about the stewardship of a baseball legacy and the beginning of a new baseball dynasty.

No matter who wins the division or who wins the wild card, the Braves and Phillies will meet in the postseason and it won’t be pretty.  But it will be great baseball.

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On the fourth day of September, our true love gave to us,
four games unbeaten,
three aces pitching,
two straight World Series,
and a game back the NL East.

It feels like a holiday doesn’t it? So I figured a song would be appropriate.

It literally is a holiday weekend, with a Halladay on the mound, and don’t look now, but those guys we voted to be less confident in, even writing them off at one point, are making that surge we knew, deep down, would come.

Of course the polls have switched now, because the Phillies are showing us signs that they are still every bit as resilient as they have ever been.

Four games into the September push, the Phils will not take no for an answer. Heck, they won’t even accept a maybe. They are gunning for the top spot.

They may, in fact, have their eyes set on No. 1 overall in the NL. They’re only a game and a half back, and they’re the hottest team in the National League right now with five consecutive wins.

What we’re seeing here is a beautiful compliment of pitchers and hitters. When the bats were down, the pitchers held down the fort. With Halladay in line to lose his third straight start on September 4, 2010, the bats exploded.

The Phils rallied again, to win another close game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday evening 5-4.

The Phillies seem to love the tight games, boasting a 24-14 record in one-run games. They show us a healthy mixture of long balls like we’ve seen on Thursday night to the small ball comebacks we’ve seen today. This is what the Phillies possessed all of these seasons.

Now on top of that, they’ve got three aces. Is it now apparent yet? These guys have a knack for winning, and it won’t stop until they break up or get too old.

After September 5 2010, the rest of the season is in house—all NL East folks.

I’m going to go ahead and make a bold statement: by time October arrives, the Philadelphia Phillies will be the No. 1 seed in the National League.

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After a tough 120 games, a major league team can be beat up or even fatigued. An expanded roster is always just the boost needed to help that team over the hump.

For a team like the Phightin’ Phillies, who are known to take the hard route to success, September call-ups are absolutely crucial.

The Phillies have an amazing group of talent in the farm, and with the amalgamation of that and the amazing group in the big leagues, you can be sure the Phils will not be easy to hold off.

As of late, the Phillies have been struggling to score runs, and their bullpen has never been known to scare anyone off, so more than likely the team will need to think about those few areas.

Being that the Phillies are famous for their firepower, I don’t believe there should be much concern about the offense. More attention, however, should be on strengthening the bullpen.  

This called into my mind a few prospects that could help the Phils hunt down the Braves and hold off the Giants.

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There are two schools of thought when it comes to hiring a general manager for a Major League Baseball team: Either you hire a businessman or a baseball man.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have gone the businessman route with Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein and have been successful.

On the other side of the coin there are the Chicago White Sox and general manager Kenny Williams, a former MLB player who worked his way up from scout to the top of the front office and has done a solid job in Chicago for the past 10 years.

What we have here in Philadelphia is an incredible combination of both.

Ruben Amaro Jr. is a third generation baseball man. His grandfather Santo was a feared hitter in the Mexican League for 17 years, and his father Ruben Senior was a Gold Glove shortstop for the Phillies, as well as first base coach on the 1980 World Championship squad.

Amaro Jr. has been around baseball all his life. He was a batboy for the Phillies from 1980-1983 and played eight years in the Majors. This alone is impressive, but add into the mix that Amaro went to school at Penn Charter and then on to Stanford University, where he graduated with a B.S. in Human Biology. Along the way he was a star on the 1987 NCAA College World Series championship team.

Ed Wade brought Amaro aboard in 1998 as assistant GM. He remained in this position through the three seasons that Pat Gillick led the team. As an assistant from ’98 to 2008 he was involved in a nice turnaround that had a lowlight of a 65-win season in 2005 and finished with a World Series win in 2008 under third-year general manager Gillick, who retired after the season, handing the keys over to Amaro.

This combination of a lifelong baseball man with a quality education is evident time after time in the moves that come out of this front office. Amaro goes out and gets Raul Ibanez and Chan Ho Park and re-signs Jamie Moyer.

Down the stretch in 2009 Amaro brings in Matt Stairs, who was a big contributor in the postseason, by giving up Fabio Castro to the Blue Jays. The day before the trade deadline Amaro pulls the trigger and brings in Cliff Lee by giving Cleveland three marginal players and Jason Knapp; Lee finished 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA. With a National League pennant in his first year in the big chair, Amaro was off to a good start.

The 2010 season has had some ups and downs in regards to personnel moves but seems to be fairly steady right now. Trading the rights of Cliff Lee didn’t sit well with most people, and it looks worse now that the top prospect that the Phillies got in return, Tyson Gillies (who is legally deaf), appears to have some legal problems in front of him.

That move was countered by signing Roy Halladay, with Kyle Drabek being the big name given up in the trade. Placido Polanco, a Gold Glove second baseman with the Tigers, comes back to Philadelphia, a place that he said he never wanted to leave, to play third base. Polanco was a huge sign; he is an excellent fielder and was the second best clutch hitter on the Tigers behind Miguel Cabrera.

Add Roy Oswalt, who the Phillies acquired from the Astros, and I would say that the positives outweigh the negatives in the trade category.

The Phillies have been plagued by injuries this season and have done an incredible job fighting though it. Amaro’s decision to bring Domonic Brown to the majors was probably not going to happen until the September call-ups, but it appears to have been the right move.

The Detroit Tigers have been in the same situation this season as far as injuries go and haven’t reacted the same as the Phillies; they are in third place, 10 games back. Good teams react differently than great teams, and the Phillies are a great team right now.

Amaro made an excellent move this week, bringing aboard Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter as a minor league pitching consultant. While this move might fly under the radar of most people, it shows a huge commitment to the future of the ball club. Here you have a man with a 2.83 career ERA working with young talent.

It’s moves like this that separate the better teams in the league from the rest of the pack. This was a move made by the ballplayer Amaro. The contracts and numbers are where the Stanford grad Amaro shines.

The Phillies are in a unique position right now. They are being led by a man that sees both sides of the fence. The future should be very bright with Ruben Amaro Jr., with his vast knowledge of baseball and his knowledge in general, leading the team.

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With two outs in the 9th inning, the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins homered to tie Houston at 2-2.

With two outs in the 16th inning, and two men on, Ryan Howard should have been in a position to win the game 5-4.

But Howard had long hit the showers.

Why?

He was tossed from the game several innings earlier by third base umpire Scott Barry, a minor league replacement ump.

Howard’s crime?

Disagreeing with two appealed check swing calls in the same at bat, the latter resulting in Howard striking out (and going 0-7 on the night).

The first check swing, Howard put his hands on his hips, which Barry mocked right back.

“Unprofessional,” is how Phillies color analyst Larry Anderson described it on the radio.

The second check swing, which was a TERRIBLE call if you’ve seen the replay, garnered almost an immediate ejection after Howard’s reaction.

Howard charged Barry and had to be restrained.

The Big Guy was HOT, pointing at the home plate umpire saying, “Don’t you try to stop me.”

This is the same ump that tossed the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman after throwing his bat to the ground on a swinging strike three (foul tip). The same Ryan Zimmerman that had NEVER been ejected from a game.

The Nats’ Rob Dibble was apoplectic.

“I shouldn’t know these guys’ names,” he fumed, referring to the umpires.

So instead of Howard standing in with a chance to redeem himself for an 0-7 night, Roy Oswalt got pressed into duty. As a left-fielder no less.

This marked the second night in a row that the the Phillies were on the wrong side of an umpire “judgment call.” 

First base umpire Greg Gibson ruled Monday night that Michael Bourne did not run out of the basebath after a bunt attempt, nor did Ryan Howard apply the tag. 

Replays showed both calls were suspect.

Houston would push what proved to be the winning run across the plate with two outs in the inning. A run that would not have had a chance to score had Bourne been ruled out at first.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would eventually be tossed. According to the Phillies radio broadcast, it wasn’t the first time this particular ump had ejected Manuel.

He then cited MLB regulations saying he wouldn’t talk about the call. (Funny how Jim Joyce was able to)

So, two consecutive games. Two consecutive controversial losses.

Perhaps it’s karmic retrobution for the Phillies extra innings win over the Florida Marlins on August 6, when earlier in the game third base umpire Bob Davidson called Gaby Sanchez’s line drive down the third base “foul.”

Replays showed the ball was clearly inside the third base bag, yet Davidson was defiant afterwards, saying he called the play correctly.

There are two problems here.

First, the drumbeat for instant replay is growing louder.

Purists can claim “human element” all they want. I consider myself a baseball purist, and the game needs replay.

More time is wasted with managers arguing the call instead of just looking at the play and making a determination.

The Little League World Series is using replay, and a close play at first base between Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia was reviewed and overturned this past weekend.

It was quick. It was decisive.

It was correct.

The second issue is the attitude problems some of these umpires have. 

Maybe Barry was looking to make a name for himself. He is a replacement, afterall.

Davidson could have asked for help from the home plate umpire on the Bourne play.

He did not.

Nor could the other umps intervene.

Gibson had to ask for help.

He chose not to.

NFL refs huddle when another sees a play differently. They discuss it. And try to get the call right.

And replay is there for the occasions when they get it wrong.

MLB needs to get handle on those that handle the rules.

Because these moments will get replayed-on SportsCenter and other highlight shows.

Over and over and over again.

The game would be better served if those highlights showed its officials getting the call right.

One way or another.

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Uh, one problem, Geovany—you forgot the ball…

When things are going well, this is the kind of stuff that happens.

Obviously things are going really well for the Phillies right now: good defense, timely hitting, and absolutely incredible pitching.

But that’s not all. Anyone who’s followed this team for the last four weeks knows the Phillies have repeatedly capitalized on their opponents’ tendencies to commit numerous fielding or throwing errors that have directly led to big innings by the Phils’ offense.

Please know that I’m not saying that the Phillies don’t deserve to have as good a record as they have now. They DO deserve it. Remember, there’s a reason why teams like the Nationals or Royals never seem to win games like this. Bad teams always let the competition off the hook.

Good teams, like the Phillies, truly make the opposition pay for their mistakes, and that’s exactly what the three-time defending NL East champions have been doing for the past month.

Enjoy this look back. You just can’t script this stuff…

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Last Thursday night, in the midst of the Philadelphia Phillies’ comeback against Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton, Dodger manager Joe Torre came to the mound to speak with his closer.

Television cameras picked up what Torre was mouthing to Broxton. Simply put, Torre asked, “Do you trust your stuff?”

Minutes later, meltdown completed and Phillies victory in the bag, Broxton sulked from the mound. The Dodgers had just lost a seven run lead with two innings to play.

Unfortunately, it’s a feeling that fans of many teams go through during a season. When the man known as the “closer” doesn’t close, it’s ugly.

It’s a feeling many Phillies fans have experienced over the past two seasons with Brad Lidge.

Often times, there have probably been people yelling at their own television sets to Lidge, screaming, along with a few obscenities mixed in, “Do you trust your stuff?”

For Lidge, 2009 was an unmitigated disaster. Mark McGwire would be proud to know we won’t be talking about the past in this article.

This is about the present, and the final month and a half of the 2010 baseball season.

While the Phillies will likely get Chase Utley and Ryan Howard back in the lineup this week, and while quality starting pitching is paramount, many teams only go as far as their bullpen allows. The Phillies experienced that first hand in 2008 when Lidge delivered perfection, 48 saves in 48 opportunities including the postseason.

Since then, things for Lidge have not gone as smoothly. As recently as two weeks ago, plenty questioned Phillies manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to continue trotting Lidge out there in save situations.

On July 31, Lidge allowed a three-run walk off home run to Ryan Zimmerman as the Nationals stole a 7-5 victory from the Phillies. Suffice to say, that sinking Groundhog Day feeling was there again.

These days, with all the advancements in baseball statistics and data tracking, few things are more impressive than the PitchFX tool available on numerous websites. A few clicks here and there and you’ve got yourself a bunch of data about what a pitcher threw, where he threw it, what kind of break the pitch had, and so on.

A look at the chart from that fateful night in Washington D.C. paints a sad picture for Lidge, pitches scattered every which way around the strike zone. The end result looks like target practice if you gave someone a gun for the first time and then blindfolded them.

That night finished off an ugly July for Lidge, one in which he blew two saves, posted an ERA of 6.00, and walked ten while striking out ten. It also finished off a July in which Lidge threw 89 fastballs and 87 sliders. 

Everyone knows the slider is Lidge’s best pitch. When Lidge is on, it’s usually because his slider is on.

August has been a different story for Lidge.

Thus far, in his seven August appearances, Lidge has thrown the slider 55 times and the fastball 27 times, an astounding 67.1 percent of his deliveries resulting in his nasty breaking ball.

In his August 11 appearance against the Dodgers, which looked like Lidge’s best outing of the year, he threw eleven pitches. Nine of them were sliders. The end result was an easy-as-pie 9th inning and Lidge’s 15th save of the season. He has since added one more.

In August alone, Lidge has struck out seven and walked none, racking up six saves.

Does Lidge’s performance hinge on the success of the slider?

Last year, Lidge’s worst season of his career, he threw the fastball just over 50 percent of the time. In 2008’s perfect season, it was just 43.4 percent of the time. This year, he has thrown the fastball 41.6 percent of the time, which would be the lowest mark of his career if it holds through the end of the year. 

As Lidge gets older, he must also become wiser. He does not have the same velocity he used to have on his fastball. Indeed, the numbers show he has averaged 92.2 MPH on his fastball this season, down from an average of 95.4 MPH just three seasons ago.

Through natural wear and tear, a few nicks here and there, and age, he just can’t get the fastball to the same velocity as he used to.

However, the slider is Lidge’s great equalizer. He is still an above-average strikeout pitcher, posting an 11.2 K/9 rate this season. Control has been a problem for Lidge. Maybe it was all in the over-use of the fastball which he had trouble locating. 

Now, as the pennant race heats up, the Phillies must hope that Lidge can deliver down the stretch.

It’s not 2008.

He won’t be perfect this year.

However, a large part of the Phillies’ success in September (and hopefully October) hinges on their closer.

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It’s probably a bit of a reach, but it’s possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.

The All-Star second baseman has reported no soreness in his thumb after making rehab starts in the minors and is closing in on the estimated time of his arrival.

Howard, on the other hand, did report some soreness in his ankle after going through some workouts a couple days ago. He’s going to be evaluated by the Phillies’ team doctors Tuesday, but it’s likely they’ll decide to keep him benched for at least a few more days.

The Giants will probably get lucky and miss the return of both players. With a serious playoff push already under way, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization are going to want to make sure that their star players are 100 percent before throwing them back on the field.

If they rush them back, they could both wind up hitting the DL again, as was the case with Jimmy Rollins a couple months back.

Once both guys are activated, it’s going to be interesting to see what the team decides to do in order to make room for them. The bullpen is about as thin as it can get, so the two guys sent down will likely have to be from the field.

Greg Dobbs could find himself back in the minors, and it could also mean the end of Domonic Brown’s major league stint.

Brown has played well, but keeping him on the bench might not be worth it with a lefty in Ross Gload already on the bench. However, if Gload winds up on the DL, Brown could stay as the lefty off the bench and fill in for Raul Ibanez when he needs it.

Ben Francisco is playing well, so he’d likely be the guy if Manuel felt the need to give Jayson Werth the day off.

Dobbs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a place. Wilson Valdez can play second or third, and the team has two other options for a left-handed bench bat. Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. have shown before they’re comfortable putting Dobbs through waivers, so it’s likely that’s the route they’ll go once again.

Either way, having Howard and Utley back this week is going to be a huge boost to a Phillies team already on a hot streak, and it could make them the favorites in the NL East or, at the very least, to earn a wild card spot.

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