especially if we get the Valverde that finished the season..

I like the 2008 Lidge better than the 2008 Valverde… but if you gave me my pick of Valverde or Lidge… I’d probably take Valverde, just because of the history with Lidge.

I don’t like his antics on the mound… but he was pretty good this year… good enough to stay on the club as the closer.

I was excited when the Astros traded for him, because he always been one of my favorite closer ….mostly due to the fact that he pumped up my fantasy teams in previous years :)

Yes, we got worried when he had his problems to start the season, but you can’t argue with his dominance down the stretch. His fastball was so dominant that he almost stopped throwing his unusual splitter, which many regard as one of the better “out” pitches around. His fastball is comparable to Lidge’s in terms of velocity, but it has greater action, particularly compared to Lidge’s rather “straight” fastball. (BTW, Fangraphs indicates that Valverde’s fastball velocity this season was even higher than he exhibited in his Arizona years.) Lidge really cannot choose to sit back and just throw fastballs all the time, while Valverde can. Lidge returned to his 2004-2005 level of dominance this year. I don’t think he would have done that in Houston, but who knows?

I hear some fans talk about trading Valverde while he has great value to several teams with closer problems. However, if the Astros have any pretense of contending next year, I wouldn’t do that. The Astros don’t have a decent replacement for Valverde, and the cost of signing a free agent (like Fuentes) is probably more costly than Valverde next year. However, the Astros will have a big decision to make about Valverde in his free agent year (2010). He likely will become very expensive by then. It would be helpful next year if the Astros could develop a young relief pitcher with closer potential, in order to hedge their bets against losing Valverde to free agency. I wonder if Arias could be developed as a relief pitcher next year? If he could progress to late inning roles, maybe he has some potential as a future closer.

…it’s as if God created the devil, and gave him jaws."

I love him. To be honest, his antics drove me up the wall when he was with Arizona, so I certainly understand why people don’t like him. Now that he’s an Astro, I get a big kick out of it. His outward display of emotion gets me pumped up as a fan. The fact that he’s one of the most dominant closers in the game certainly helps as well.

It’d certainly be nice to have the Lidge of ‘04 back, which is apparently what he’s back to now, but after so many years of hoping he’d be his old dominant self and just never pulling it together, I’m fine with moving on and not looking back. It’d be a shame if Bourn never amounts to anything and the Phillies end up with one of the best bargain trades ever.

But as for the question, I’m cool with Valverde, the whole package (especially the results).