"Brad Lidge wants to pitch in a game tomorrow, and he wants to bring the proper mechanics with him.

The veteran closer labeled himself ready to go after a max-effort bullpen session yesterday, and said his chief focus is maintaining a straight line to the plate during his delivery, the absence of which contributed to the biceps soreness that has sidelined him for the last week.

"It's a little confusing when you watch people pitch, like Roy Oswalt flies open after he makes the pitch, so sometimes it looks like we are flying open every time," Lidge said. "But if you watch his mechanics, they are actually perfect when he is throwing the ball, when he is releasing, the ball, and then he peels off. I was doing it before I released the ball. Him and I have talked, we're always going to be guys that fly off, as long as you stay on line when you release the ball, it doesn't matter what you do after that."

Lidge would like to pitch every other day before the start of the regular season, which would leave him with about 10 spring outings.

"This was the step we needed to get me back into games," said Lidge, who had trouble building velocity on his fastball before the Phillies shut him down. "Now, hopefully, I'll get four or five [more] outings in and that should be enough. I feel real comfortable with everything right now. Fortunately, we still have a few days.""