As you may or may not know, I made a solemn promise to myself to not post until Brad Lidge had started sucking again, and all was again right with the world. And now I have not posted for a month. So the question remains: Is Brad Lidge really good again?

Until the mid-way point of this season, Brad Lidge was still making a habit out of blowing saves left and right.  The demands were strong in Philadelphia for set-up man Ryan Madson to be promoted to closer.  However, Manager Charlie Manuel refused to consider this move. Then Lidge seemed to revert back to his 2008 lights out self.  He performed very well in his save opportunities throughout the month of August. And even though he will probably never again reach the greatness of 2008, it does appear Lidge has worked past his issues, and is back to being a solid closer.

In 2009, Lidge’s walk rate was 5.22 BB/9, a career high. His 1.69 HR/9 rate was yet another career high.

But now, Lidge’s strikeout and walk rates in 2010 are almost identical to his 2008 numbers:

2008 Lidge: 11.94 K/9, 4.54 BB/9

2010 Lidge: 11.12 K/9, 4.45 BB/9

But has Lidge actually turned the corner? In August, Lidge has returned to pounding the strike zone and getting batters to chase balls.  Lidge does not have the velocity he used to, and his slider simply isn’t the same, his improved command has made up for it.

Will it last for the remainder of his career? Quite frankly, I think I smiled a lot more when he made an art out of choking.

Is Brad Lidge Good Again? is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

Edinson Volquez – SP – Reds – 6 inn, 1 win, 1.5 era, 0.83 whip, 9 k’s

Normally fantasy baseball owners can be forgiven for losing track of a pitcher that had Tommy John surgery last season and was scheduled to miss the entire first half of the 2010 season. However, we were all reminded of Volquez when he was suspended for 50 games for PEDs (that he was able to serve during his rehab, which makes me wonder why all pitchers with significant injuries don’t just do steroids to come back faster at least one time since neither they nor the team gets penalized, but I digress). Any questions about how he would come back were answered in his first start in which he looked as dominant as ever. He is sure to have some wild games, but his strikeout potential and win potential make him well worth any risk.

Randy Wells – SP –Cubs – 112.3 inn, 4 wins, 4.32 era, 1.38 whip, 88 k’s

After a tremendous rookie season in 2009, a lot of fantasy owners targeted Wells as their 3^rd or 4^th starter. These same owners quickly regretted their decision after a miserable start to 2010 and quickly cut Wells loose. In a lot of cases this would have been the smart move, but not with Wells. On the surface his numbers were horrible and maybe 2009 was just a lucky season. Looking deeper into the statistics, however, showed that Wells was just getting unlucky (really unlucky) and over his last 4 starts he has started to round back into form. There is no question his numbers will be solid the rest of the way, but the ability of the Cubs to win baseball games is another story altogether.

Vicente Padilla – SP –Dodgers – 55.7 inn, 4 wins, 4.04 era, 1.02 whip, 54 k’s

It may seem like Padilla has been around for 20 years, but he is only 32 years old and is on a very solid Dodgers team in a very weak National League West division. He is more than likely available in most leagues due to an early season groin injury, but he won’t be for long. With only 10 walks and 54 strikeouts in 55 innings, Padilla is pitching as well as he has in his entire career and is deserving of a roster spot on any fantasy baseball team.

Brandon Morrow – SP – Blue Jays – 107 inn, 6 wins, 4.71 era, 1.43 whip, 119 k’s

Just a few years ago Morrow was named the Seattle Mariners’ closer, a role in which he did very well. Morrow, however, wanted to be a starting pitcher and soon after this revelation he was injured. Now the 5^th pick in the 2006 draft has taken his talented arm to Canada to try to earn top starter money so he can pay top starter income taxes. Think of Morrow as an even wilder Volquez. If your team is in need of strikeouts, Morrow is definitely worth the risk to other categories.

R.A. Dickey – SP – Mets – 72 inn, 6 wins, 2.63 era, 1.26 whip, 51 k’s

After finding limited success as a traditional pitcher, Dickey reinvented himself as a knuckleball specialist and is now having his best season as a starter for the New York Mets. The first few wins seemed like a bit of a fluke, but R.A. has kept it going and has been doing so well that the Mets are no longer searching for another starting pitcher. There is no reason to think Dickey won’t keep winning games, just be prepared for the occasional hiccup.

J.A. Happ – SP – Phillies – 10.1 inn, 1 win, 0.00 era, 1.65 whip, 5 k’s

To continue with the theme of initialed starters, I wanted to remind everyone that Happ had a very solid season in 2009. With 12 wins and a 2.93 era, Happ had a nice breakout and was a target of many fantasy owners this year. A forearm injury sent him to the DL, however, and he has since been dropped in most leagues. Happ has begun making rehab starts and looks like he is nearing a return. Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro has said that Happ will come back as a starter, and he should be picked up in most fantasy leagues.

Brett Cecil – SP – Blue Jays – 93 inn, 8 wins, 3.97 era, 1.16 whip, 67 k’s

Cecil got off to a great start this season and was added in quite a few fantasy baseball leagues. A difficult schedule caused a few bumps in the road and he was dropped in a lot of leagues. In his last 10 starts he has 6 wins, twice beating the Yankees. Not necessarily a strikeout pitcher, Cecil gets by with excellent command and pitching to contact. When checking the waiver wire for a solid starter, you could do a lot worse than a 3.97 era and 1.16 whip.

Brian Duensing – RP – Twins – 39 inn, 2 wins, 1.62 era, 0.95 whip, 26 k’s

You may be thinking, Duensing’s not a starter, he’s a reliever with a weird last name. All of this is true, but the Twins have a couple of starters, which I will not name in order to protect them (Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker), that are not exactly the model of consistency. So with the Twins in a heated pennant race, they may choose to move Blackburn to the pen and turn to Duensing, one of their most reliable relievers, to help bolster the rotation. If you do grab Duensing and he is not named a starter, his numbers certainly will not hurt your pitching stats (Ok? so no angry emails).

By The Fantasy Dick

The Fantasy Dick has been handpicked by The Baseball Chick to be her resident fantasy baseball expert and to dispense fantasy baseball advice to her readers. Contact The Fantasy Dick via email:  thefantasydick at yahoo.com, with any fantasy baseball questions.

2nd Half Waiver Wire Targets: Starting Pitchers is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

Boston’s Daniel Nava hit the first pitch he saw as a big leaguer for a grand slam, leading the Red Sox to their second straight rout of the Phillies with a final score of 10-2 on Saturday.  Nava connected on a fastball from pitcher Joe Blanton in the second inning, after earlier being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket.

In a precious little side note, his folks were in the stands operating a video camera.  “It’s funny. They really hadn’t seen me play in the last two years,” Nava said. “They were in Indianapolis to watch me play on Friday and I told them I might be playing up here.”

Only four players in MLB history have hit grand slams in their first career at-bat.

According to Nava: “I wanted to treat it like I normally do.  I just said, `How are you guys doing (to umpire Bill Hohn and catcher Brian Schneider)?’ They didn’t say anything.”  As he rounded second base, it began to hit him, what he’d accomplished. Nava “started to scream. I was pumped.”

Nava got an enthusiastic greeting in the dugout, with veteran Kevin Youkilis and others pounding him on the batting helmet and pushing him to take a curtain call, which he subsequently did.

This is probably the first and last time this kid will be on my site, but I thought it was a nice enough story.  It almost warmed my cold, dead heart.

Daniel Nava Gets Called Up From Triple A, Then Kicks Some Ass is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

(Dumbass No. 1 To Run On Field)

(Dumbass No. 2 On Field The Following Night)

There were incidents on consecutive nights in Philadelphia during the home series against the St. Louis Cardinals this week wherein two high-IQed individuals ran onto the field while the Cardinals were at-bat.  The first was 17 years old, and the second was seven months pregnant and clearly very hungry.  Forget tasering these people, has anyone considered waterboarding?

ITS OFFICIALLY OFFICAL: Phillies Fans Are Most Definitely Degenerates is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

I am certain this is a common occurrence at Phillies games, but:

A New Jersey man is facing charges after police say he intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl and her father in the stands during a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.

Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Clemmens, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arraigned Friday on charges stemming from his behavior at Wednesday night’s Phillies-Nationals game.

Police say Clemmens made himself vomit on an off-duty police captain and one of his daughters after Clemmens’ companion was kicked out of Citizens Bank Park for unruly behavior, which included cursing, spitting and spilling beer by Clemmens and a friend.

According to an account in the Philadelphia Daily News, Clemmens and his friend were asked by the 15-year-old daughter of Michael Vangelo, an off-duty Easton police captain, to stop cursing and spitting. A short while later, Vangelo said, it started again.

“One guy started spitting … first it landed on the back of my daughter’s chair. Then it landed on her hooded sweatshirt,” Vangelo said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

After Vangelo reported the incident to stadium officials, Clemmens’ friend was led out of the stadium. At that point, Vangelo said Clemmens said he would be sick and “put two fingers down his throat.”

He then “leaned forward and started vomiting on us,” Vangelo said, according to the Daily News.

“It was the most vile, disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. He has two fingers down his throat, he lunges forward and vomits on myself and my 11-year-old.”

Vangelo said he tried to push his children safely behind him, and Clemmens punched him in the face. Four or five fans in the next section rushed to help, Vangelo said. They held him until police arrived — someone punching Clemmens in the face as he tried to break free — and an officer was also hit with vomit, Vanore said.

“It reminds you of the type of behavior you used to hear about at the 700 level in Veterans Stadium,” Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said, according to the Daily News.

Vangelo told the Daily News he didn’t hit Clemmens because “I kept thinking, ‘If I get arrested, my kids will be alone here.’ ”

Clemmens is being held on $36,000 bail on three complaints containing 15 counts of the different offenses, including aggravated assault, and harassment. (AP)

Why can’t this country start euthanizing people?  We are over-populated in this country as is.  Wait, are we sure this wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger?  He is a fat, disgusting pig too…

Phillies Fans Are Degenerates is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

(Cole Hamels, Douche Extraordinaire)

Following the Phillies’ victory on Monday night to extend the series to Game 6, Brett Myers had some choice words for Cole Hamels in the aftermath of his recent wimpy, diva-like statement concerning his exhaustion and eagerness for the end of the season.  The quick version is that Hamels whined, after failing yet again in Game 3, “I can’t wait for it to end.  It’s been mentally draining.  At year end, you just can’t wait for a fresh start.”

I could see a statement like that coming from a walking catastrophe like Jose Contreras, or from someone whose team failed miserably this year, like the Chicago Cubs, but for fuck’s sake, your team is in the World Series!  AGAIN!!!  FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!!!

So apparently while in the clubhouse, Myers walked past Hamels’ locker and said, “What are you doing here? I thought you quit.”  Hamels is said to have responded with an expletive, the nature of which I am not aware.  Before things got to fisticuffs, with Hamels trying to make open-hand contact with Myers’ cheek and Myers yanking on Hamels’ bowl-cut, Myers was led away by a team official.

The word is that Hamels’ comments didn’t sit well with many a Phillies teammate, but I guess Myers was the only one with the balls enough to say anything about it.  Hamels tried to explain away the comments by reiterating his “love of the game” and “love [for] for city of Philadelphia,” but it seems clear to me that Hamels is just another prima donna who will take his over-sized paycheck and obscenely long off-season to go sail his humongous yacht around the world while taking baths in beluga semen, or whatever it is rich assholes do with their free time.

Even though he was the World Series and NLCS MVP last year, I think all fans can take solace in the fact that Cole Hamels is only getting more and more average over time.

Myers Confronts Hamels Following Game 5 is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip