Brad Lidge, Former Philadelphia Phillies Closer

How's your mental health?

I'm listening with Luke Combs. I am somebody who has struggled with anxiety a lot. A couple ways or tools I guess you would say to maintain my mental health is making myself aware to the things that I know I'm prone to.

Information is key for things like that and knowing what you're dealing with and how they operate. Being aware of the way your mind works in certain situations has been the most important thing for me. More at iamlistening.org. Talk saves lives. What's up everybody? Guess who's hosting a new podcast? No Mercy with Stephen A. Smith. Listen as I pull back the curtain on everything beyond the world of sports. Interviewing influential guests, outspoken celebrities, and thought leaders across the political, financial, and social spectrum. You know me.

I'll give you my unbiased opinion. A No Mercy episode drops every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No Mercy with Stephen A. Smith, a presentation of Cadence 13th, and Odyssey Studio available on the Odyssey app or wherever you listen to your podcast. Brad, appreciate the time as always. How you been? I've been great, Zach. How about you?

I'm doing fantastic. So let's start you off with this Phillies team. I've been impressed. We know they can hit the long ball. You know what Nola and Wheeler are capable of, but all throughout the year it just wasn't clicking. How dangerous is this team and how, I don't know if I want to say fearful should the Braves be because they've seen everything, but how much of a dangerous spot are the Braves in? Well I think they're definitely in a dangerous spot because I think all of a sudden the Phillies are playing very differently than they did for most of the regular season or at least you know until Rob Thompson took over. Now you could argue that they've been a lot better obviously since Rob Thompson took over and that's certainly true, but they've never been as healthy as they are right now. They've never played you know the small game as well as they're doing right now and you know quite frankly you know Bryce hasn't been in there and they haven't you know I think the bullpen has been in disarray for a lot this year so it seems like everything is clicking on all cylinders right now and if you look at the Phillies roster and you're going to tell me hey this team's also going to play great defense right now which they hadn't done all year then all of a sudden it's a very scary team capable really of beating anyone.

Top to bottom they have a great squad. They just haven't played whole and collectively like they are now the entire year. Do you think maybe and I know it could be a five-game series but tonight determines who's going to win this series because if Atlanta ties it up at one apiece you got to think eventually we'll see a game five in this series, but if the Phillies go up 2-0 I don't see how this gets to a game five because you know the Philadelphia Phillies will find the way to win one on their home turf.

Yeah I would agree. I think certainly if the Phillies go up 2-0 there should be no reason to suspect Atlanta could come back from that. That just doesn't happen especially when the Phillies have you know great starting pitching.

If the Braves win tonight you know buckle up we're in for a five-game series for sure and I don't think you know certainly you know the Braves will probably have an advantage in that and probably most people would still favor the Braves but I think at the end of the day you know you look at these two teams and and the way the Phillies are hitting right now they the Phillies always have the players they have a really good offense the Braves have an elite offense but the Phillies starting rotation and the way it's pitching right now with Wheeler and Nola and Ranger Suarez is obviously tough to hit they're pitching every bit as good as those great starters in Atlanta so that means it's going to come down to the bullpens and I think ultimately yes you would give an edge to the Atlanta Braves of course when it comes to the bullpens. Kentley Jansen's been throwing the ball really well and the guys before him are great. You know the Phillies are still mixing and matching still trying to figure out if Zach Epplin is the answer in the ninth inning or not.

I think he can be. I think he showed a lot of poise and kind of like whatever when Matt Olson hit that home run last night. He got right back on the mound and got the next guy out so I think he's fine but honestly I think Sir Anthony Dominguez is the guy you'd want closing but if he can throw two innings then probably you're going to want him before Epplin so long story short the Phillies their bullpen isn't quite as good as the Braves that's just a fact but it is throwing the ball well right now. I think if the Braves win tonight they probably still are the favorites yes.

Brad Lidge here with us. There's so many different ways to win in baseball and I understand it could be a mixture of all the three things I'm about to say but I'm just curious what's the most important thing to have to win a championship because we've seen a team like the Royals win being contact timely hitters. This year it seems like home runs is really what's winning and then we've seen other years where teams just have dominant starting rotations. Yeah I think you know honestly it depends on the nature of your team you have to figure out what the nature of your team is and then you have to maximize that so sometimes it will be dominant bullpen sometimes it will be just dominant starting pitching other times you're just going to beat up on teams offensively I think in the game today you obviously have to have a great bullpen because as the series progress as you get to five games and then seven games you start to see the other teams bullpen a lot and if they're not great out there they're going to start to get exposed that is the one kind of troubling thing about you know for the Phillies in game one they had to use all their high leverage guys to go out there and to stop the Braves and so the Braves have already seen them one time so that's that's going to make things a lot more difficult but you know there's not honestly you've got to play great defense of course you got to have timely hitting those things are true regardless but every team's identity kind of lets them know you know it's funny because we see you know maybe the guardians are playing small ball and if they go on and you know have a great postseason next year everyone's going to want to you know revert back to small ball but if a team that gnashes wins everybody's next year's gonna say oh you got to get the offense in truth it's just a matter of a team playing to their identity and playing and maximizing that is this Dodgers Padres series going to be Dodgers quickly or does maybe go longer than what people are thinking uh I think it's going to be the Dodgers quickly I think the Padres did a hell of a job against the Mets and that was fun uh but at the end of the day uh you're not beating the Dodgers I I do think the Dodgers get to you you Darvish has been so great but I just think the Dodgers will have his number my guess is he's going to have a lot uh you know a lot more of a difficult outing um and I just think that honestly the Dodgers lineup just doesn't stop firing top to bottom they're just too good and the bullpen is probably a lot better than people realize even if Craig Kimbrel isn't closing they're still really tough to hit and they match up really well and then ultimately they've got incredible starting pitching too so they're you know that's why they are who they are and I think the experience and the confidence they have in the postseason speaks for itself so I think they'll dispatch with the Padres pretty quickly. Brad Lidge here with us on the Zach Gelb show devastating loss yesterday for the Mariners up seven to three and then you had the Alvarez a walk-off home run I feel like they're cooked but I'm just curious since you have a day off now when you have a devastating loss like that do you just want to get back on the field as quick as possible or maybe this day off you go out for a nice dinner on the road but the guys could actually help that team just clear their mind from game one? Well it might but ultimately I guarantee you for Robbie Ray and probably for Scott Service too they want to get back out there as soon as they can and right the ship nobody likes to have you know if you're pitching out of the bullpen or you don't do well or whatever the case you want to get back out there well hopefully you want to get back out there as soon as you possibly can and do a whole lot better so honestly it'd probably be better for Seattle to play tonight it would probably be better for them to get right back out there you know it's funny if Jordan Alvarez doesn't hit that home run you know the only thing we're talking about today is how Seattle's offense has just exploded in the postseason and they beat up anyone that goes out there including the great Justin Berlander but instead we're not talking about that it doesn't mean it's not still true it's just that obviously the magnitude of that home run last night you know trumps everything uh the Astros are going to be tough they are absolutely the power in the in the AL and I don't even think the Yankees are close to the Astros. What would that series be if assuming they meet up inevitably in the ALCS Astros then in how many games?

I think the Astros take it in they've got home field advantage I think they take it in five or maybe six. When you look at the Yankees I just want to get your thoughts on their Aldis Chapman situation so I guess he got the sense that he wasn't going to be on the roster and then you don't show up for the mandatory workout there's no way they could bring him back for the rest of the postseason right? No I don't think you do I really don't I mean we'll put it this way if the bullpen throws like you know terribly and they barely survive then you consider it of course but if the bullpen throws the ball well I think you just say thanks but no thanks I mean honestly his command and control issues in the high leverage situation for the angst this year and even prior to this year have always been a little bit troubling you'd rather have him you'd rather have him wanting to be out there but if anybody is going to say you know they don't really care if they're you know if they can't guarantee they have a spot they don't want to be there you know this Craig Kimball didn't get a spot either and I guarantee you he's not doing the same thing Aldis Chapman is out there in LA with the Dodgers I was just so extremely disappointed with the Aldis Chapman who if he ever had a hollow same case has sealed the coffin on that that will not happen now and quite frankly I don't see how any other team would want him on their squad either at this point going forward so I think the Yankees did absolutely the right thing by leaving him off the roster and it is just really really disappointing.

It's just such a lack of respect for your teammates even if there was that case that you were going to be left off the roster it's like have respect for the other guys in the locker room. Absolutely I mean it's the ultimate selfish move you know I kept waiting for something to break like you know he got in trouble with some kind of authority or something happened with his family just something that that wouldn't make me think he was just so selfish but at the end of the day it's it's really troubling to see that and even if the issue is you know weak apology whatever like it just doesn't matter anymore you're right it's about the other guys in the clubhouse it is shocking to me that somebody can be so selfish this time of year and yeah I don't know I don't know what that what else to say you leave the rest of the guys your full-time mates hanging everything else so unfortunately he got what's coming to him and I can't see him getting back on that team. Is Aaron Judge back with the Yankees next year does he go somewhere else? Oh I think he's back with the Yankees I think you know he upped his salary quite a bit this year but at the end of the day two things are inevitably true the Yankees understand that front office understands how important he is for that team for the fan base to come and watch he can't go there's nobody that can replace him and I think Aaron Judge wants to be a Yankee he wants to be a legend in that city uh the way Derek Jeter was so you combine those two things I think ultimately he goes back to you. Last last thing for you Brad Lidge who's winning the world series this year? Oh boy I think it uh no it's gonna be the Dodgers and the Astros I feel pretty confident saying that I think it's gonna go to seven games um you know I think I think the Dodgers win it this year I think they have well they do have home field advantage and I think that will ultimately click into this thing so I think the the Dodgers win it in seven games in LA. Does the cheating scandal matter anymore or like has everyone moved on from that and we've just realized yes the Astros have won a world series again but they show they could still be a damn a damn good team still?

Well I think that's part of it right because when when you're the Houston Astros and you continue to go out there and you're as good as you are year in and you're out uh you know it starts to dawn on people that okay yeah they did that that year but actually they're just a super great you know a bunch of talented offensive players and and that maybe helped them on that year but they're going to be there every year I think it did make people move past it a lot quicker if they weren't you know the same team or something like that then uh that'd be different but they just keep reloading and they keep playing great and you know the front office and and that organization have done an incredible job reloading they're going to be great for like the next five years or as far as we can see they're going to have an incredible team and an incredible staff so I don't see the Astros going anywhere and I think as far as the cheating scandal goes we'll we'll remember it forever but I just they've absorbed it and they moved on by playing great baseball continually and that kind of silences everybody. Brad Lidge always appreciate the time thanks so much. All right Zach you bet have a good one. How's your mental health? I'm listening with Billie Eilish.

I feel like I spent a lot of time thinking about happiness and how it's just like it fluctuates and everyone thinks if you're one thing you're going to be that forever and you're never going to be anything else and it's really not true like happiness is temporary but also so is like misery and things just like morph and change it just doesn't stay it goes up and goes down and things change and like that's how life works. Explore more at i'm listening.org. How's your mental health? I'm listening with Luke Combs. I am somebody who has struggled with anxiety a lot a couple ways or tools I guess you would say to maintain my mental health is making myself aware to the things that I know I'm prone to. Information is key for things like that and knowing what you're dealing with and how they operate. Being aware of the way your mind works in certain situations has been the most important thing for me. More at i'm listening.org. Talk saves lives.