Pardon me as I catch up from my time in Vegas. This deal happened a while back, but it’s still worth mentioning: The Philadelphia Phillies traded outfielder Michael Bourn, right-hander Geoff Geary, and third baseman Mike Costanzo to the Houston Astros for right-hander Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett.
What This Means for the Astros
Lidge lost his job as closer at one point during the 2007 season, and although he finished with respectable numbers, the Astros didn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in him. Among other things, this means that Houston’s closer situation is unsettled, but for a team …read more

After watching Brad Lidge struggle during the first week of the season, Houston Astros manager Phil Garner has removed Lidge from the closer role. In his place steps right-hander Dan Wheeler.
Wheeler has been one of the better relievers in the National League the past couple years, and I’m sure he’ll do a fine job closing games for Houston. That said, folks who are writing off Lidge might want to bear this quote from Garner in mind:
Two games in this season is not a sample to say he’s done as the closer. I don’t feel like that at all. What I …read more