"Whether it's been a view from the Philadelphia dugout or watching on television, Phillies closer Brad Lidge said 2011 has been a frustrating experience.

"It's been rough," said Lidge Thursday night following a second consecutive scoreless rehab appearance this week with the Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League.

"Obviously watching games the entire season right now is mentally very difficult," Lidge said. "It's just short of making me go crazy."

But he said he believes his season, personally, can still end happily.

"I just need to get back out there and get work in and get (Phillies manager Charlie Manuel) to know that I'm still capable of throwing in the innings where we have small lead toward the end of the game," Lidge said.

In the wake of the meltdown of the soft underbelly of the Philadelphia bullpen Wednesday night in Florida, the Phillies were looking for an encouraging outing Thursday from Lidge in his latest rehab outing after being sidelined by elbow and shoulder woes.

Lidge said it's expected he'll need seven to 10 rehabs before returning to the Phillies.

Lidge dispatched the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Chicago White Sox affiliate, on 13 pitches, seven of which he said were fastballs.

While Lidge's slider darted toward the corners Thursday, he appeared to have less command of his fastball.

Leadoff batter Carlos Sanchez bounced back to Lidge, Marcus Semien struck out on three pitches, the third a slider in the dirt, and Dan Black ran the count full, fouled off a pitch, and went down swinging."