I certainly wasn't implying shit about Pujols, nor was there any implication about his pitching; it really was a simple fucking question. Jees.
Was the drop in velocity coincidental with the knee, or was it gradual?
Actually wasn't trying to pick on you, so sorry it came out that way. I just think that as a pitcher gets older and matures a bit, velocity gives way to location. Greg Maddux used to throw in the low to mid 90s when he first came up and as he matured, his velocity was more in line with 90-91 tops, but hovered at 88-90 most of the time. He, however, had pinpoint location and movement on his pitches. So there is that.
With power pitchers, they usually tell you that the career expectancy is short, so that is a natural progression. What most of those power pitchers do is re-invent themselves as location and hard stuff type of pitchers. So hitting 95mph on the radar isn't entirely the aim of what they try to do any more. It's hit an outside corner in the black with a late moving two seamer at around 90 mph that is much more devastating and conducive to a longer career.
Insofar as Lidge is concerned, I do believe it is a combination of what works for him now and learning how to be a better pitcher because of nagging injuries in the past that led him to that epiphany.
