Phil Garner Pulls the Plug on Brad Lidge

It's still early ... but don't tell that to Phil Garner. The Astros skipper announced before Monday's series with the Cubs that Brad Lidge would not be closing games "for the foreseeable future." From MLB.com:

"Brad will not be closing as a general rule," Garner said. "There may be a situation where it will be right to do it, but we'll probably pitch him earlier in the sixth or seventh inning."

In two appearances this year, Lidge has allowed three runs off of eight base-runners in less than two innings. He's already blown one save, and Garner would rather not give him the opportunity to blow any more, at least not until Lidge can prove that he's over his early-season struggles. In the meantime, Dan Wheeler (who already has a blown save of his own) will assume primary closing duties.

But are these really just "early-season struggles" for Lidge? Whether or not you believe a single pitch can completely alter a pitcher's career path, there's no denying that most of Lidge's struggles began with Albert Pujols' three-run blast off Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. The Astros came back to win Game 6 and advanced to the World Series, but Lidge continued to pitch poorly while watching his team get swept.

Last year was a complete disaster, as well: despite holding onto his job by a thread all season, he blew a career-high six saves while watching his ERA swell up to 5.28, three runs more than 2004. He's still a dynamite strikeout pitcher so there's always hope that he'll turn things around, but no matter what happens, I'm guessing Garner will think twice about using him against Pujols at any point this year.

Previously on FanHouse:
Right Now Brad Lidge Couldn't Close a Hot Dog Stand
Dan Wheeler Saved Brad Lidge the Embarrassment