Lights Out

Brad Lidge just converted his 3rd consecutive save in interesting fashion. Having runners on first and second with 1 out down by 1 run is something that apparently people are worried about. I am here to tell you two things
1) Brad Lidge will not be perfect this season
2) That does not mean Brad Lidge is not as good as last season
It may look like Lidge is worse right now, but he has not had as many actual save opportunities and he was never as good in non save situations. His ERA is high but that is irrelevant from here on out. It's not as if last season Lidge didn't give up a run or a baserunner. He did those things plenty of times. Not enough times in the right situations to blow a save, but he still did it. It's easy to get all freaked out about him not being as good this season because he has a high ERA after a few bad outings. The season is still relatively young and, hopefully, we are now starting to get into more games where he is actually meaningful. Letting people get on base is something he did all of last season. Look at the save that won us the NL East. That may have been the most nail biting of them all and not because of the importance of the game. The difference is this season balls seem to be getting hit to where our fielders aren't standing. That's something that will even out over time. He is still the Brad Lidge he was last year, so there should be nothing to worry about. He'll let people on base and he'll give up runs, but as long as these things have not already lost us a game, he can still get out of whatever situation he's gotten into, just as he did so many times last season.