Two things struck me about Brad Lidge last night. The first was his new Mennonite-style beard. The second was the fact that he lost the game for the Phillies (technically speaking), dropping his record to 0-4 to go along with a N.L.-leading 6 blown saves. The sprinkles on this particular turd sundae are a 2009 ERA of 7.12 and a WHIP of 1.85.

To put this in perspective, of the top (worst) 40 relief pitchers in the N.L. in blown saves, only Lidge, our old friend, Geoff Geary (1-3, 8.10), and two former Nationals pitchers, Logan Kensing (0-2, 13.14) and Joel Hanrahan (0-3, 7.97 ERA) have ERAs over 7. Again, Lidge leads the N.L. in blown saves and among his peers on the shitpile, he is among the bottom 10% in ERA.

To say Lidge is a work in progress is an understatement. He has improved slightly since returning from the DL, giving up 3 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched since then, with a loss and 3 saves and an ERA lowered from 7.86 to its current 7.12. But last night’s performance tells the story that we’re still miles away from having a reliable closer (and in case you were wondering, other than Lidge there are only 5 N.L. pitchers with more blown saves than the other option in the 9th, Ryan Madson).