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Why throw a fastball, Brad?
by Scott Butler 5/25/09
Brad Lidge thought he made a good decision by throwing a 3-2 fastball that led to a game tying home run by Alex Rodriguez in Saturday's loss to the New York Yankees. "I'm pretty impressed that he was able to do that with that pitch," Lidge said. "Obviously, we didn't think he was going to (hit a homer). Sometimes you've got to tip your hat. He's a great hitter, and he got to a pitch that we didn't think that he'd be able to hit."
Brad, I completely disagree with you. My opininion is that Brad Lidge made a stupid decision by throwing a 3-2 fastball to Alex Rodriguez. Lidge's slider was electric, and after walking Damon he made the next two batters look very fooled, including A-Rod. He had such a tight spin on his slider, the hitters thought they were hitting a fastball before the bottom dropped out.
The same thing happened with Rodriguez, who found himself down in the count, 1-2. To his credit, he laid off two straight sliders for a 3-2 count. The last thing you want to do in that situation is let their best player beat you, and that is exactly what Lidge did. In that situation, a slider is the best pitch. Since the count is full and A-Rod does not want to strike out, he will probably swing at a slider that is close. His previous swings at the slider weren't even close, so chances are he would miss another one. If he lays off and takes the walk, so be it. At least it won't be their best guy that does it.
It was really dissapointing to watch poor decision making that led to Brad Lidge ruining what was a fantastic game. Everyone makes mistakes, but mental ones like in this instance are tough to forgive.
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