Lidle Worship

Corey Lidle's consecutive scoreless innings streak is dead-long live the streak!-but more importantly the A's extended their winning streak to 13 and are now 2.5 games in front in the AL West. The run was unearned and he remains a perfect 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA for August. Opponents batted .147 against him in August. His average game score is 75.2. His WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) is .684. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is nearly 3.3. His ERA is now under 4.00 for the first time since April 26.

Even before the streak he was pitching well. Since the All-Star break he is 6-2 with a 1-85 ERA. He also was a quiet 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA last year.

Could Lidle have emerged as a quality starter after three years in the majors and seven organizations? Maybe. It kind of reminds me of another Oakland pitcher who established himself as a star at the age of 30 after playing seven major-league seasons with four organizations and a total win-loss record of 39-40. This man then won 20 games four years straight. You probably guess that this is Dave Stewart. I don't know if Lidle will be the next Stewart, but his career turnaround is remarkable.