An open letter to Brad Lidge, closer for the Houston Astros

Dear Brad Lidge,

You did a fairly good job last night in your game against the Astros. You are widely considered one of the best closers in the National League. Your stats are impeccable. You were one out away from sending the Astros to the World Series for the first time ever. But suddently, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere of the game. Edmonds came up to bat, and instead of sending him home crying, you walked him. WALKED HIM. With who else but Albert Pujols up next. The Astros are up 4-2 at this point - the game which was supposedly in the bag is now eerily tense. And what happens? Pujols hits a home run to left field. Putting the Cardinals up 5-4. That's it. The game's over. What happened, Brad? You, of all people, could have put an amazing ending to a great game begun by Andy Pettite. But now you have to go back to St. Louis (the Astros have their own problems winning on the road) and try to win against their crowd. Why? Was one devestating loss by your alma mater on Saturday agasint a much-hated team not enough? Is winning big in a series just too easy for you? Why would you put your fans through the same thing you clearly felt on Saturday when Notre Dame lost at the last minute against the Trojans? For Houston's sake, for Notre Dame's sake, for the Notre Dame Houstonian's sakes, please win big on Wednesday. Two crushing losses are enough for one fan.