<table> </table> LOS ANGELES | It&#8217;s coming up on three years since the earth collapsed underneath Brad Lidge after he memorably blew a postseason save by surrendering a seismic homer to Albert Pujols at Minute Maid Park.</p><p>That was another team in another place. Another lifetime, almost.</p><p>It is only now, though, that circumstances allow Lidge the opportunity to rewrite the inevitable first line of his career biography. All redemption requires, probably, is that he remain perfect as the Philadelphia Phillies&#8217; closer for a few more weeks.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to get back and win the World Series,&#8221; he admitted, &#8220;and have that be the last image in my mind for the postseason.&#8221;</p><p>Lidge is a big reason the Phillies hold a 2-0 edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, which resumes tonight at Dodger Stadium. He has saves in both victories.</p><p>It has been this way all season: Lidge providing the Phillies with a sure thing at the end of games. He converted all 41 save opportunities while compiling a 1.95 ERA in 72 games. Now, he&#8217;s four for four in the playoffs.</p><p>No wonder second baseman Chase Utley characterizes Lidge as &#8220;our backbone.&#8221;</p><p>Lidge has already been honored as the NL&#8217;s comeback player of the year by <em>The Sporting News</em> and is likely to draw support in balloting for the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s perfect,&#8221; manager Charlie Manuel said simply. &#8220;Where could we go get anybody better? He&#8217;s been that good. If we want to talk about Brad, he&#8217;s perfect.&#8221;</p><p>Funny thing, though.</p><p>Lidge has been here before.</p><p>He was just as dominating for the Astros in 2004 and 2005 after finally harnessing the gifts that made him the 17th overall pick in the 1998 draft as a 21-year-old from Notre Dame.</p><p>Lidge compiled a 2.07 ERA in 150 games over those two seasons while helping the Astros each time into the postseason.</p><p>Further, he had saved three straight games in the 2005 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals when he inherited a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning of the fifth game with a chance to pitch the Astros into their first World Series.</p><p>With the Houston crowd roaring, Lidge struck out the first two hitters before David Eckstein singled to left. Jim Edmonds then walked before Pujols crushed a three-run homer.</p><p>The Cardinals won 5-4.</p><p>The Astros closed out the series two nights later, but Lidge wasn&#8217;t the same, starting with the World Series when he suffered two losses in the four-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox.</p><p>It only got worse. Lidge&#8217;s ERA soared to 5.28 in 2006. He opened the 2007 season by blowing a save when Pittsburgh&#8217;s Xavier Nady hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning.</p><p>Lidge lost his closer&#8217;s job for long stretches and never really regained the trust of those in Houston. His decline finally prompted the Astros to deal him away last winter after 10 years in the organization.</p><p>The Phillies, desperate for a closer, gambled that a change of scenery just might enable Lidge to recapture his previous form. That was the genesis of a five-player trade.</p><p>Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, Manuel and everyone else made it clear immediately: Lidge was their closer &#8212; and would remain their closer even if he experienced occasional hiccups.</p><p>That made all the difference after two years of yo-yoing in Houston.</p><p>&#8220;I felt like I was going to have a good year this year no matter what,&#8221; Lidge said, &#8220;but having a staff with total confidence in you to go out there &#8212; (when) you don&#8217;t have to necessarily wonder if you blow one if you&#8217;re out of there. It&#8217;s nice to have that.&#8221;