One of the favorite pastimes of folks who follow the Stros is to psychoanalyze reliever Brad Lidge. Some folks are now suggesting that a physical might be in order.
Everyone who follows the Stros knows the Lidge story. In 2004, Lidge burst on the scene in essentially his second season of Major Leage Baseball and was arguably the best relief pitchers in MLB. By the end of the 2006 season, Lidge (5.28 ERA/-6 RSAA) was one of the worst pitchers on the Stros pitching staff. It’s not really difficult to understand why — he simply lost his ability to throw his devastating slider for strikes consistently. As a result, hitters laid off Lidge’s slider and laid into his fastball, which Lidge does not locate well. Ever since his breakout 2004 performance (26 RSAA), Lidge has been trending steadily downward (only an 8 RSAA over the past two seasons). The more consistent Dan Wheeler now has a better RSAA than Lidge over the past three seasons and should be the closer going into this season.
At any rate, some folks believe that Lidge will come back and regain his form from the 2004 season. Richard Justice embraces that position.
On the other hand, the Baseball Prospectus folks are not as sanguine about the prospects of Lidge returning to his 2004 form:

The joke goes that the ball Albert Pujols hit off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS still hasn’t landed. If so, it appears to have taken Lidge’s confidence along for the ride. Sabermetric orthodoxy would suggest that anyone can close, but Lidge never seemed to recover from that shot to the ego, flailing in the closer role last year. For those looking for a physical explnation for his poor showing, Lidge has a long history of arm and specifically elbow issues (as a starter in the low minors, he appeared in just 19 games from 1999 to 2001) owing to his violent mechanics. His struggles with his control last year just might be a portent of another date with the surgeon’s table.

Which leads us to today’s analysis of Lidge’s injury prospects for the upcoming season by Will Carroll, BP’s injury expert:

Brad Lidge: Injury risk: High. I canít tell you whatís going on in his head, but I am worried about whatís going on in his elbow. Lidgeís come-and-go control smells like the beginnings of elbow trouble, and his recent mechanical adjustments didnít help. A new pitching coach, Dave Wallace, is tasked with fixing Lidge. Thatís going to be a tall order.

Is Lidge starting to remind you of a right-handed Mitch Williams?