Cory

Lidle

Cory Lidle will start Thursday, relieved by Brett Myers. Jon Lieber, Gavin Floyd, and Randy Wolf will go Friday through Sunday.

The Cardinals aren’t going to trade Drew for a pitcher with a 6.00 ERA. Lidle needs to have a couple of quality outings before the deadline to restore his trade value, but even if that happens, he shouldn’t bring a Drew-type talent in return.

Manager Carlos Tosca believes that today’s off day will help Lidle be ready by Sunday.

The unstoppable Geoff Jenkins hit a solo homer off him. It was the first quality start for Lidle in five tries since July 9. If you benched him, go ahead and activate him for his start in L.A. next week.

Washington will send Esteban Loaiza to the mound against Jon Lieber tomorrow night. Tony Armas Jr. goes against Philadelphia’s Vicente Padilla in the first game on Thursday.

The game started after an 104-minute rain delay, but it just lasted long enough for the Phillies to take a 1-0 lead against Ryan Drese on the bottom of the first. Cory Lidle pitched a scoreless top of the inning. We assume both of tonight’s starters will be able to go on Thursday, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. Esteban Loaiza and Jon Lieber figure to remain Wednesday’s starters.

“Some kind of stomach virus or something,” he said. “I haven’t been holding anything in.” Those forced to watch Lidle pitch tonight experienced similar symptoms.

All three runs came on a pair of homers by Maicer Izturis and Vladimir Guerrero. Lidle had won five straight starts, including his first with the Yankees last week. Despite tonight’s poor outing, Lidle is still worth using against the Orioles next time out.

Lidle has won his last five starts. Actually, his last loss was to Toronto in interleague play, though he even turned in a quality start then. It’s likely that he will fade a bit, but he’s the adequate bottom-of-the-rotation starter that the Yankees needed.

The Yankees reportedly preferred Lidle, a free agent at season’s end, to Jon Lieber, who is owed another $7.5 million next year. Lidle was 8-7 with a 4.74 ERA in the National League, which translates to an ERA over 5.00 in the AL. He’s worth picking up in AL-only leagues, but he’s just a fourth starter for the Yankees. His arrival could result in the release of Sidney Ponson.