Phillies Notebook: Like Madson last year, Phils closer Lidge has time for late-season revival

CHICAGO - It was during an August series at Wrigley Field last season when the Phillies might have taken their biggest step toward true contender status. In each of the first two games of a four-game series, the team's bullpen was charged with the loss, none uglier than a 6-4 defeat on Aug. 28 in which Ryan Madson surrendered three runs in the eighth inning of a game the Phillies had led, 4-1.

As dominant as closer Brad Lidge had been through the first 133 games of the season, Madson's inconsistency seemed to threaten a bullpen that spent most of the year ranked at the top of the National League.

Then, something clicked. Maybe it was a chat with manager Charlie Manuel. Maybe it was something far less concrete. Whatever the case, Madson went on a tear, posting a 0.64 ERA in his final 13 outings of the season, striking out 17 and literally setting up the Phillies' postseason run.

One year later, the Phillies are back at Wrigley Field, and, once again, a blown late-game lead has reopened the biggest question facing the bullpen. Lidge allowed a game-tying single to Milton Bradley in the ninth inning Tuesday night - the Phillies eventually won, 4-3, in the 12th - blowing his seventh save and raising his ERA to 7.29.

But, as Madson proved last year, when it comes to the bullpen, how you finish is far more important than how you start.

"I still think his stuff is plenty good, very equal to last year's stuff, if not better at times," pitching coach Rich Dubee said of Lidge, who went 41-for-41 and posted a 1.95 ERA in 2008. "It's the consistency. It's repeatability. That's the important part. That's what I see."

But Lidge is far from the only question mark in the bullpen. Lefthander J.C. Romero (2.87 ERA in 20 appearances), righthander Clay Condrey (3.41 ERA in 36 appearances) and lefthander Antonio Bastardo (6.75 ERA in five starts) are all rehabbing various injuries. All could join the bullpen in September, but none is expected to do so before then. Righthander Brett Myers, sidelined since mid-May hip surgery, threw a two-inning simulated game yesterday and could contribute as a reliever down the stretch.

Bastardo, a hard-throwing lefty once envisioned as a reliever, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow. Condrey, on his second DL stint with a strained oblique, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today. Romero, who has tendinitis in his left forearm, will return to Clearwater, Fla., in the next day or 2 and restart his rehab program.

So while Phillies relievers entered yesterday with a middling 4.10 ERA that ranked ninth in the NL, it is hard to say what impact the group will have down the stretch.

The bullpen has been bolstered by veteran righthander Tyler Walker, who has a 2.41 ERA in 17 appearances. But they need Lidge to rediscover his consistency, and the other pieces to rediscover their health.

As Madson proved last year, there is still time.

Cliff Lee will make his third start as a Phillie this afternoon against the Cubs. Lee will be pitching on 6 days' rest, a decision that was made partly to fit Pedro Martinez into the rotation, but also to get the lefthander extra rest. Lee has thrown 48 innings in his last six starts, three of which have been complete games.

"At this point in the schedule, I think it's a good benefit," Dubee said. "He's logged a good amount of innings. He's just coming off a stretch where three out of four games were complete games. We just felt it was a good time to give him a couple extra days' rest. He didn't want it, and I can understand that, too. But at the same time there, is going to be a point where we want him to pitch every 5 days, so this is a spot in our schedule where we can give him a little extra rest to recoup a little."

Lefthander Cole Hamels, who will pitch on 6 days' rest, threw an extended bullpen session yesterday to keep him sharp for his start on Saturday . . . Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee said that lefthander Jamie Moyer will likely be available tomorrow to pitch out of the bullpen for the first time . . . Lehigh Valley outfielder Michael Taylor hit for the cycle and finished with five hits in a 10-9 victory over Louisville. *