July 13 -- THE COMEBACK CLOSER

At some point Tuesday night -- maybe even in the ninth inning if the NL is leading -- the bullpen door will swing open, and Brad Lidge will jog to the mound at Yankee Stadium.

Sitting in front of his television, Tim Purpura will smile.

There are plenty of great stories involving this year's All-Stars, many of which we will tell you about from New York over the next few days. One of the best, though, belongs to Lidge, who went from the depths of losing the closer job in Houston to the height of reaching his second All-Star Game in four years. Entering today's game, he is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 39 innings and 20 saves in as many chances for the Phillies. He breaks bats with his fastball, buckles knees with his slider and gives hitters almost no chance. As longtime teammate Eric Bruntlett told me last week, "Guys never have a comfortable at-bat against him."

But, were it not for Purpura, Lidge may not even be pitching.

In 2001, Lidge was stuck in neutral with the Astros. A former first-round pick in 1998, he'd already undergone four surgeries, one for every win he had racked up in the minors. He told his wife, Lindsay, that he was thinking of going back to Notre Dame to finish his degrees in economics and marketing.

That's when Purpura, then the Astros' assistant GM, mailed Lidge a copy of Robb Nen's bio. Nen had overcome several injuries to become an All-Star closer. Lidge, newly inspired, continued his rehab from shoulder surgery and was in the majors by the end of the 2002 season. By 2004, he was the Astros' closer. In 2005, he struck out the side in the All-Star Game.
And, after a dreadful 2006 and a rocky 2007, plenty of people are thrilled to see Lidge succeeding with the Phillies.

"It's going to be fun to see in the All-Star Game throwing against those guys," D-Backs reliever Chad Qualls, Lidge's former teammate in Houston, told me. "I remember in '05, he made guys look stupid. I don't think anybody even touched the ball. It's going to be fun to see if he can top that."

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After getting rocked yesterday by Arizona, Adam Eaton is 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA, numbers that aren't dissimilar to the 3-9 mark and 5.84 ERA that Brett Myers lugged to the minors two weeks ago.

Can Eaton be far behind?

"I don't know what needs to be done," exasperated Charlie Manuel said yesterday, leaving open the possibility. "We think about any way to help the team. Any way to get somebody going, I wouldn't rule it out."

But, like Myers, Eaton would have to agree to a minor-league assignment. And the Phillies' $24.5 Million Man doesn't believe it's necessary, despite being pounded for 16 runs (14 earned) on 17 hits in 6-1/3 innings over his last two starts for a 19.89 ERA.

"I think the changes I need to make aren't dramatic by any means," Eaton said. "I think I can do it here."

I'm guessing y'all disagree?

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Within the notebook, Phils catching prospect Lou Marson talks about hearing trade rumors. Plenty of scouts are at Yankee Stadium today to watch Marson, center fielder Greg Golson, shortstop Jason Donald and pitcher Carlos Carrasco. They are among the elite prospects competing the annual Futures Game.

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Is A.J. Burnett the best available pitcher on the trade market? We explore in our Sunday MLB notes.

Enjoy your Sunday. Talk to you tomorrow from the Big Apple.