Lidge: Poise, not power

Fifty-five days ago, Brad Lidge blew a save. After shaking off catcher Carlos Ruiz's preference for a slider twice, Lidge threw Washington's Ryan Zimmerman a fastball - a pitch he said he had used with success against Zimmerman before.

But this time, the fastball was 92 m.p.h., not the 96, 95 or 94 that Lidge previously threw. It was poorly located. Zimmerman crushed it for a three-run home run and a 7-5 win for the Nationals on July 31.

"I remember that night," Lidge said Wednesday, just minutes after his latest display in a stunning renaissance.

The Phillies' closer saved all three wins over the Atlanta Braves this week. He faced 11 batters and retired nine, three via strikeouts. His slider, the pitch that has defined his career - from the hanging one that Albert Pujols famously destroyed in a 2005 playoff game to the magical perfect season of 2008, to the misery of a 7.21 ERA in 2009 - is as good as it has ever been, he says.

But that is not why Lidge has a 0.83 ERA and 16 saves in 17 chances since the night Zimmerman homered off him. That night, Lidge faced reporters in a quiet visitors' clubhouse at Nationals Park and finally admitted that the lack of velocity on his fastball was a concern.

"It's something," he said, "I've got to learn to pitch with."

Asked Wednesday about that moment, Lidge smiled.

"I had to reanalyze myself," Lidge said. "The next day, I came out and said, 'I'm pitching today.' Sometimes you make changes and you shouldn't. Sometimes, you make the right ones."

Sixteen saves later, Lidge still is grateful for that night. He was stubborn about losing velocity on his fastball. At first, he believed it was temporary, a by-product of the two off-season surgeries that caused him to miss a majority of the season's first two months. But after Zimmerman's home run, Lidge had a 5.57 ERA. He was healthy. Something had to change.

"If that game wouldn't have happened," Lidge said, "I probably would not be doing as well these last two months."

This season, Lidge's average fastball velocity is 91.8 m.p.h., according to FanGraphs, a statistical website. In 2009, it was 93.6. In 2008, it was 94.3. In 2007, it was 95.4. Compensating for that loss in velocity, Lidge has had to adjust how he uses the fastball.

"It's location," Lidge said. "It's being smart [about] when to throw it and where to throw it. My slider is the same as it has been in the past."