With all the attention that Brad Lidge's struggles have attracted this season, I figured I would write about the closer's mentality. I've been asked the question of whether or not there is a difference between being a closer vs. a starter, mentally. The answer is absolutely. A starting pitcher approaches his day with a marathon runner's mentality. His goal is to pace himself, use the defense behind him, and pitch as deep into the game as possible, by throwing strikes and keeping his pitch count low. When a closer enters a game, he is usually coming into a high pressure situation, potentially with men on base and definately with the game hanging in the balance. His goals are to go as hard as he can for 3 outs, retiring the batters at all costs. A closer must have "ice in his veins." When he enters this situation, every person in the ballpark is amped up, including himself. The crowd is raucous, along with the opposing team. A closer must take the hill with nothing less than 100% confidence in himself, fearing nobody. With that said, Brad Lidge's struggles this season have been nothing more than a confidence problem. He has allowed a couple of blown saves and bad pitches, at the beginning of the season, to effect his mental toughness. Brad Lidge needs to take his mentality back to last season, to remember the 48 times he was successful, regain that feeling of confidence, and his issues will be solved. He's allowing too many people influence his thought process right now. Some have said his problems are his mechanics, some have said his knee is still bothering him, some people think he's finished. It's all background noise. He needs to forget everyone elses opinion, realize that he has some of the best "stuff" in baseball, and throw the ball with conviction. As the old saying goes, the only thing to fear, is fear itself.
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