Brad Lidge

The weather is getting nicer outside, and Opening Day came and went with six games that each had interesting endings.

We had studs like Mariano Rivera and Heath Bell shutting the door on their opponents, and John Axford and Ryan Franklin looking just a bit shaky.

Let's take a look at the news we missed in the preseason edition and then dive into Opening Day.

Quick News

The beginning of the Philadelphia Phillies' most anticipated season to date starts tomorrow afternoon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Citizens Bank Park at 1:05 p.m. EDT when Roy Halladay starts for the Phillies against their former "ace" Brett Myers, who will be starting for the Houston Astros to begin a three-game series.

This season is undoubtedly one that all Phillies fans are looking forward to, and one that they hopefully will never forget for all the right reasons.

After receiving an MRI yesterday, it was determined that Brad Lidge's injury woes will continue: he has a strain in the back of his right shoulder rotator cuff. In other words, according to Courier Post Online, this is equivalent to a tear, and he could even be out until July.

There may not be a team in baseball with more passionate fans than the Philadelphia Phillies. For all of the years of losing through the early 1970's, late 1980's and early 1990's, they have seen many years of success as well.

The Philadelphia Phillies enter the 2011 season as the class of the National League East by a large margin. The Phillies continue to upgrade their team while their divisional opponents struggle to keep up.

Brad Lidge is the latest closer to go down with an injury and how long he will be out is completely unknown. The pain in his shoulder has yet to be identified, meaning he could be out a week, a month or maybe more. It was just a few days ago that I questioned if Lidge was even worth owning (click here to view) and now things look even more dubious. 

With pain in his right shoulder, closer Brad Lidge will start the 2011 season on the disabled list.  With Lidge's long history of injuries, this new issue should be a huge red light to the Phillies that Lidge's time is close to being over.

The Philadelphia Phillies cured? Say it isn’t so.

But what if that figment of our imagination came true? What if the World Series favorite Philadelphia Phillies were indeed cursed from here on out?

Looking at the way this team is shaping up for the 2011 season, I’d put my money on the Phillies being cursed… here’s why.

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Tell me you haven't heard this one before: Philadelphia Phillies' closer Brad Lidge is likely to spend Opening Day and the 14 days thereafter on the Disabled List.

After several offseasons filled with surgeries and rehabilitation for Lidge, he and the Phillies' fan base were overly optimistic of a full, healthy season from the once perfect closer.

Some closers are safe bets to perform on a year-in, year-out basis.  We all know who they are, and depending on your strategy when it comes to closers, most of us want to own them. 

For those who like waiting until the late rounds to fill the spot, you must realize that all closers are not created equal.  Just because someone appears to be a lock to close games out, it does not make him an option worth targeting.