Of all the silly chatter and commentary of the Astros lately, the idea to have Brad Lidge serve as closer is just plain stupid. Or in the words of former Treasury Secretary Bert Lance, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Astros Manager Phil Garner's job is to put the ball club in a position to win. He doesn't throw the pitches, field the balls, or swing the bats. However his players do, and he tries hard to get the most of them.
Lidge had his chance early in the season but didn't get the job done. "Lights out Lidge became, "Blown Save Brad." Right now he is pitching much better, striking out two while retiring the side in order in his latest outing. That's all well in good, but there's a huge difference in getting outs in the 7th inning than in the 9th.
Currently Dan Wheeler is getting the job done, although his save a week ago in Cincinnati was a little shaky. Still the facts are Wheeler has 8 saves, 3 in the last week, so why change now.
No question Lidge has some of the filthiest stuff when he is on. Perhaps he has the best arm in the pen, but as Yogi likes to say, 90 percent of baseball is half mental. The Astros won 5 of their last 7 including 3 of 4 on the road last week. Right now the bullpen ain't broke, so don't fix it.

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