  |
|||
|
|
Page 2
Now this was 1985. Niedenfuer relieved in the seventh inning but he was the Dodgers' best relief pitcher, which meant that he was still pitching in the top of the ninth. His first batter was Cesar Cedeno, who struck out, but then Niedenfuer's troubles started.
Niedenfuer was never again the same pitcher. In 1986, his 2.71 ERA became 3.71 and in 1987 he was traded to Baltimore, where he was a mediocre pitcher. Baltimore sent him to Seattle in 1989 and he ended his career, ironically, with the Cardinals in 1990 at the age of thirty. There have been a few pitchers who have given up key home runs in critical situations. Most do not recover for a while, if ever. A few, such as Mariano Rivera, become stronger. How will Brad Lidge, the great young Astros closer who gave up Pujols' home run, react? Lidge knelt on the mound after giving up the home run but after the game, he gave the appearance of being able to handle the situation. "This is a bump in the road, but there's no way this is going to get anybody down," Lidge said. "This will sting a lot tonight, but when I wake up tomorrow I'll be ready to go" Time will tell, especially since Lidge's "tomorrow" is a travel day. References: http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl... http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/... Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Ozzie, Clark, and Pujols - Page 2 in Baseball is owned by Harold Friend. Permission to republish Ozzie, Clark, and Pujols - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Harold Friend's Baseball topic, please visit the Discussions page. |
||
|
|
|||
