Brad Lidge, Former MLB Pitcher

Now joining us is a man that knows a thing or two about pitching big games in Philadelphia and coming out of that bullpen.

He, of course, is from MLB Network Radio, longtime MLB closer Brad Lidge. Brad, appreciate the time. How you been, my friend? I've been good, Zach. I've been good, but I never liked stressing Game 7, so I guess I could be better had the Phillies wrapped it up last night, but that's okay.

I'm still feeling good, still feeling confident. We'll see what happens. Well, it's alarming to me that the Phillies have never played in a Game 7 before in franchise history. Like when I read that earlier today, I go, that can't be true, but that's what the stat says. That is surprising.

Actually, I was not aware of that, and I don't know, you know, what does it mean? I don't think it means much. I, you know, it's just another game, but it's another game with everything on the line. Phillies have faced elimination before and come out pretty good.

I would have to imagine most of the time, so it's elimination game, and I guess that's the odd thing, right? Is because how did we get here to an elimination game with this team? But nonetheless, here we are.

But yeah, it is. It is crazy to hear that they have not had a Game 7. Well, this is a great way to start. The first time you have a Game 7, you win.

Perfect. Yeah, you are undefeated right now, so you could use that stat in your in your advantage. Here's the thing, though. We know all the pressure is on Philadelphia tonight. Everyone expects the Phillies to win. You know, I think playing a factor tonight is above and beyond anything else is that they won at Citizens Bank last night. They know they can do it. The seal's been broken, and I think for them, you know, coming out and doing what they did last night gives them a lot of confidence, and frankly, it should. I mean, they were able to, you know, post on Aaron Nola, who had been dominating, and, you know, that's a team that I think, you know, you could have said they're going to throw in the towel because they're back at Citizens Bank, but, you know, we heard Torri Lavello's comments. He's a great manager.

He said we didn't come all this way to get our asses kicked, and you know what? I think he put his, he put the money where his mouth is, so good for them in game six. I think what that does, though, you know, certainly, I mean, it's going to give them a ton of confidence going into tonight that they feel that they can, you know, they hadn't scored off Nola before, but now they do, and so, you know, they didn't really score off Ranger Suarez before, but now they think maybe we can because look what we just did against Aaron Nola. So I think the bottom line is that they're going to be playing with confidence, and it's a scary situation in game seven. Obviously, the Phillies are still going to have confidence, and by all intents and purposes, they should absolutely still be considered the favorites to win this game, and I think they will. I believe they will, but it is scary that it's a game seven, and it's against a team that won last night doing some things they had not done yet in the series.

Brad Lidge here with us. Do you see any similarities between this team and your team back in 2008 that won the World Series for the Fightons? Well, I think the biggest similarity is the comfort level at home and how comfortable the offense is. You know, last night notwithstanding, but how comfortable the offense is at home in the postseason when everything is on the line, when the fans are on their feet. You can see that this Phillies team is using that extra adrenaline. They're using all that to create a higher level of play, and that's something we did back in 2008 where the fans literally took us to another level, took us to a higher level of play, and that's what we're seeing, I think, this year with this team.

So there's a lot of similarities in that. The offense is fantastic. It was for us as well. I think the stuff in the bullpen is actually better than what we had. We had some guys that were grinders, and we had some guys that got the job done. I knew how to pitch really well, but I mean, the stuff is incredible. The arms coming out of the bullpen right now. Starting pitching, to be honest, is probably, I mean, you know, we had Hamels at the top, and we had the guys come in after him. I actually think the starting pitching is probably even better for the Phillies right now with that one-two punch, and as I mentioned, Ranger Suarez. It's been a really deep rotational year. So, you know, there's a lot of ways the team reminds me of our squad in 08, but the talent level is certainly, you know, about as good as it's ever been, I think, in Philly right now. So it's an exciting team to watch, but I think that the biggest similarity is that when the crowd is fired up, the Phillies are playing at a higher level than we have seen and that probably even, you know, some people thought they'd be capable of in the postseason. I mean, I think the momentum is over there, but if you get a few home runs by like a Schwarber or Harper or Castellanos, Rio Muto, whoever it is, and that team gets up three-four, nothing early at home, that crowd's just going to be electric.

Yeah, that's it. I mean, you get the crowd into this game early, and I think the, you know, and with all due respect to Faught, you know, he's a rookie. He's still going through the rookie, you know, thing, and I think for me, like, people could say, well, he's going to be confident coming off that last start, but I don't know, like, you face a team twice in a row, you know, it's kind of the best start of your career, and there's a lot of, like, exhaling that comes after that, and probably didn't figure he'd be throwing against the Phillies again, and now yet here he is having to do the same thing again.

That takes a lot of energy, a lot of focus, and it's a pretty rare rookie that could actually navigate through this again tonight. I think the advantage swings back in favor of the Phillies for sure, and if the crowd gets going, like, you know, he didn't throw that game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank, he did it in Arizona, if he gives up a first inning tater to Schwarber or Bryce or whoever it's going to be, and the fans get going, I think it's going to be all downhill for the Phillies, so it really is, I'm with you, it's super important to score first in this game and to keep the fans going nuts all day. Talking to Brad Lidge right now, Zach Gelb here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Craig Kimbrel, he struggled, we know that, I know you were perfect in 08, but you've had moments where you've struggled in your career as well. What advice, what do you kind of expect to see Kimbrel in the game tonight from him? Well, it's tricky if you're Kimbrel, right, because, you know, at this point, it's not likely that he's going to be in the safe situation or the super high leverage situation, and so, you know, for him right now, it's a matter of going out there and getting yourself dialed in for hopefully the World Series. But it is, you know, two things really, I guess, you know, when you're struggling and you don't have that confidence, it's never a good time to have to figure that out on the fly in the, you know, the game seven of the NLCS. But, you know, he's, look, he's, he's had an incredible career, Borderline Hall of Famer, for sure. And I think probably what we're seeing is, you know, Craig Kimbrel about 90% of what he used to be, and he's got to figure out how to pitch a little bit better now. I mean, easier said than done, right?

I know the last year of my career, I couldn't stitch that together. So, you know, it's not like you can all of a sudden come up with a change up out of the middle of nowhere. He's been a fastball, you know, curveball guy his entire career. The velocity isn't quite what it used to be. The carry on his fastball isn't quite what it used to be.

The break on the, on the curveball is still good, but, you know, the spin rate isn't quite as high as it used to be. So he's trying to figure out and learn how to pitch on the fly. And I think that's why you see him giving up more free passes is that he's used to guys swinging at that curveball down. And now they don't have to respect his fastball quite as much so they can lay off it.

More free passes, more free passes leads to trouble. So it's a tough place to be in at this stage in his career. But I think the right thing now is that he's not going to necessarily be in those high leverage situations, you know, where the other guys in the Phillies pen are thrown in the upper 90s or 100.

Like, let's go to those guys. And Kimbrel is still an asset for the team. He's still somebody that, that I've seen just dominate his entire career. He's still very useful down there, but just maybe not in that, you know, ninth inning situation anymore. Talking to Brad Lidge, going over to the American League.

We know the Rangers punched their ticket to the Fall Classic last night. Let me start you off with Bruce Bochy. Everyone tells me now the manager doesn't matter in baseball anymore.

He goes there his first year with his pedigree. And now they're four wins away from hoisting that piece of metal that the commissioner calls it Rob Manfred with the commissioner's trophy. Yeah, I guess the manager doesn't matter unless you got, you know, Bochy or Charlie Manuel or somebody like that, then it matters. So, you know, I think, you know, for me, Bochy has definitely been someone who creates a tone and an environment in which winning feels anticipated, expected. I mean, you know, as I just mentioned, Chuck with us, like that's that was the expectation.

That was the feeling. And the Rangers are a great team. I mean, it is remarkable to me that they're going to be representing the American League in the World Series, and they don't have a great bullpen like that is not something we have seen for a while. A team being in the World Series without a really solid bullpen. And you can make an argument that they're even maybe below average, but they're starting pitching has been so good. And the offense has been so explosive, even against a good staff like Houston that, you know, that's kind of led the way and they haven't necessarily had tons of pressure on that bullpen. A couple of games here and there and they didn't even necessarily fare that well, but they've they've scored so many runs against the Astros and so many other teams that their bullpen hasn't really been, you know, exploited in the way that maybe other teams thought they could. But yeah, the Rangers are a great ballclub, super offensive unit. And, you know, it's exciting to watch them play. That was a great, incredible series against the Astros. Nobody would have seen that coming, right? The home team didn't win one frickin game in that.

That's crazy. And also at least Garcia right after whatever transpired in Game five, that dude went to a different level in Game six and seven. Yeah, he did. And, you know, I don't necessarily love all of his antics, you know, watching, you know, the first inning of all hit off the fence there where he should have been on second base. But it's like he's so talented that he makes up for it. You know, on the next pitch, he's still second base.

And then the entire rest of the game last night, he backs it up with more home runs and just goes ballistic. So, you know, I think that I think there's a there's a lesson in there. There was probably a lesson for the Atlanta Braves when they chirped a little bit about Bryce. And there's a lesson for the, you know, for the Astros when when they go after somebody. Look, I'm not saying that Brian brave did that intentionally. I really don't think he did. But it kind of became that and all of a sudden it fueled Adolis Garcia.

So I don't, you know, you got to avoid stuff like that. Does Scherzer have any shot of giving us a good game in the World Series? Because the last two years in big moments, he has struggled. And that's an understatement. I say that as a Met fan. Yeah, I mean, honestly, for me, he is kind of a game for type of starter where if he goes out there and gives you three or four good innings, great.

But the expectation level for me is pretty low. And I respect a lot of Max. I mean, he's just for him to be on the mound right now after having some rotator cuff issues going on in his shoulder to be able to try and get back out there. But that's I mean, that's the competitor in him. And that's not his fault. If he's going out there at 90 percent, 95 percent, they're saying be Max Scherzer.

He's going to do everything he can. But he's not Max Scherzer right now. He's not 100 percent.

And he's not his former self from five, 10 years ago. So it's a really tough task. And, you know, the Rangers have, you know, obviously a great one to punch with with a Baldy in Montgomery. But and they've got other guys out there. But I just yeah, I don't think, you know, I three or four innings of Max can navigate through that.

And I think he's done his job. Otherwise, you're not going to get a vintage Max Scherzer outing in the World Series. No way. Last thing I'll ask you, go into the Astros. They've been to seven straight ALCS. They lose last night. They dropped six and seven at home like we're talking about.

Right. Looks like Dusty Baker's walking away as well after a legendary career. Is this the end of the road for this team? Because I hear people say that last night. And I'm like, until I see that team miss the playoffs or not be as dominant as they've been where they're not in the ALCS each and every year, I'm not going to count them out of it.

Yeah, I'm not either. You know, it's all to based on that team next year. You know, I mean, you know, you're Don Alvarez, Bregman. If the same guys are coming back, then they're going nowhere. And, you know, they might not play at a super high level in the regular season because honestly, for them, they've been doing it for a long time. And they know like the postseason's where it's at now. It was surprising to see what happened in this postseason. They couldn't win at home.

That is very odd. But but that team's going, you know, that team's going right back to the postseason next year. And that's just that's where they've lived. I don't know if they'll continue to get as deep as they have. You know, at some point, the starting pitching is going to take a hit at some point. Maybe some of the offense doesn't, you know, light it up quite as much as they have. But it's still a great ball. I mean, top to bottom, it's still a great ballclub.

And the experience level is real and the confidence is real in big situations. You know, it'll kind of be up to the rest of the division, maybe Seattle leapfrogs them next year. But I don't know. I don't even, to be honest, I don't even know if the Rangers will leapfrog them next year necessarily. It could be the Astros division again.

It wouldn't surprise me. All right, one more for Brad Lidge. Yeah, I think we try to make this more Hollywood than it actually is. But you always expect this big speech before game seven. Let's say if the skipper came up to you, Rob Thompson with the Phillies and said, Brad, you're our guy in this locker. We want you to make the speech. What do you tell the team?

And remember, it's on the radio, so keep it PG-13. I don't know if there's a let's win one for the gipper speech. You know, at this point, I think at this point, you know, it's more a matter of him just saying, go out there and be yourselves. Like, enjoy the hell out of a game seven, because frankly, as you just said, it hasn't happened before in the history of the franchise.

Be the first to show, you know, what you guys are like in a game seven, you know, for the city of Philadelphia. But there is so much, I honestly, I don't even think anything needs to be said. That would be my final thought there. They know what's on the line. I mean, they're such a talented group. I don't think there's anything you could say that would sound like super genuine or a fire-up speech.

Like, they're already there. He pitched for the Phillies, the Astros, and of course, wrapped up his career with the Nationals. Now does a great job, MLB Network Radio. He is Brad Lidge. Brad, always appreciate the time. Thanks so much. Yeah, thank you, Zachary. We'll talk to you again soon.