"It's tough to place a finger on it exactly, but I do feel that the last two years in Houston obviously have not been my best," said Lidge, acquired by the Phillies on Wednesday in a trade with the Houston Astros. "I feel I'm capable of a lot better. So I hope and I really do believe the change of scenery will bring out the best in me."

Lidge dominated the National League in 2004 and 2005, picking up 71 saves with a 2.09 ERA in 150 appearances as Houston's closer. But after he struggled in the 2005 postseason — he allowed a mammoth home run to Albert Pujols in the NL Championship Series and suffered two losses to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series — he experienced numerous ups and downs in the next two years.

He lost his closer's job in 2006. He got it back. The same thing happened in 2007. Lidge appeared to lose his confidence for stretches. He had surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee last month, but he said yesterday that he should be fine come spring training.

Lidge thinks that his troubles are behind him and that Philadelphia is the right place to be. The Phillies acquired him and utility infielder Eric Bruntlett for outfielder Michael Bourn, relief pitcher Geoff Geary, and third-base prospect Mike Costanzo.

With the trade, Lidge, who can be a free agent after 2008, becomes the Phillies' new closer. It allows them to return Brett Myers to the rotation, setting up a potentially dominating one-two punch with Cole Hamels.

"It definitely helps our rotation greatly," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "Brett Myers is a very talented young man. ... He can excel as a starting pitcher, and has in the past."

So what's next?

The Phillies want more pitching. They are close to a multiyear contract with lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero. An announcement could come in the next few days. They also want to add another starting pitcher, which makes sense, considering the health and production of righthander Adam Eaton. Eaton went 10-10 with a 6.29 ERA and recently had an MRI exam on his right shoulder. The Phillies said two doctors have examined Eaton's results and concluded surgery is unnecessary.

But if the Phillies re-sign Romero and add another starter, they probably will not re-sign free-agent centerfielder Aaron Rowand.

"We're still more inclined to add pitching than seek a centerfielder at this stage of the game," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

Rowand is expected to command a lucrative multiyear contract on the open market, and the Phillies are comfortable with Shane Victorino in center field and Jayson Werth and Greg Dobbs in right.

Of course, losing Rowand would leave the Phillies with leftfielder Pat Burrell as their only significant righthanded bat in the lineup — not counting catcher Carlos Ruiz, who hits eighth. And although Burrell hit .435 in July and .290 in August, he hit .179 in May, .129 in June and .209 in September.

"Werth is still a righthanded bat," Amaro pointed out.

But are the Phillies confident that Werth can be productive with 400 at-bats? Werth hit .298 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 255 at-bats.

"Oh, yeah," Amaro said. "We think he can be very productive with 400 at-bats, yes."

The Phillies seem willing to take a hit offensively — they led the National League in runs the last two seasons, so they are confident they will be able to score enough — to upgrade a pitching staff that ranked 13th in the league with a 4.73 ERA.

That's where Lidge comes in.

Interestingly, he said his turning point last season came April 23 at Citizens Bank Park. Lidge had a 10.13 ERA in his first eight appearances and already had lost his closer's job as he tried to master a cut fastball. But after he allowed a couple of hits to the Phillies to put runners on second and third with no outs, he abandoned the cutter and went back to his fastball and devastating slider. He struck out the side, but the Phils won, 11-4.

Lidge had a 2.77 ERA the rest of the season.

"I felt great from that point on. Just very confident," he said.