[RedKingGold]

I think the rumor goes that Lidge lost confidence in his curveball after the Pujols bomb and just threw fastballs. Hitters were able to get his timing down and shelled him several times. Phil Garner then messed Lidge up more by demoting/promoting him from the closer role.

After getting traded to the Phillies, Lidge done got his knee injured early in spring training. Lidge then developed that devestating slider, primarily to take pressure off of his knee while rehabbing and in his first early season performances.

Once that leg healed up, he was still able to get high speed on that fastball. However, developing that slider is what made him so effective this year.