All in all, the Phillies have been pretty impressive during the first 55 games of the season.

Cole Hamels and the rest of the starting rotation have rebounded from the early spring doldrums, and are now pitching very well (even rookie Antonio Bastardo, called up to replace the injured Brett Myers in the rotation, is 2-0). Raul Ibanez continues to hit the cover off the ball, and as of this morning is leading NL outfielders in votes for the All-Star Game. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are having their typically productive years, and Carlos Ruiz (!) is hitting – no, this is not a typo – .309. Not even a season-long slump from Jimmy Rollins has stopped the Phillies from leading the National League in homers and several other offensive categories.

But, if the Phillies are to repeat as world champions come October, there is one puzzling, persistent problem that must be addressed – and soon.

I speak, of course, of troubled closer Brad Lidge.

Lidge’s dominance last season has been well-documented: 41-for-41 in save opportunities during the regular season, followed by a 7-for-7 showing in the postseason, including closing out the clinching game of the World Series. But that was then, this is now. It seemed inevitable that Lidge was likely to regress somewhat from 2008, but I don’t think anyone predicted he would be this bad. After ruining two more games in Los Angeles over the weekend, Lidge’s 2009 stats look like this: an 0-3 record, 13-for-19 in save opportunities, a 7.27 ERA, 33 hits and 14 walks in just 26 innings and seven home runs allowed. This is not merely bad; this is horrible. Lidge is making the 2008 Mets’ bullpen look like the Nasty Boys.

Last season, the Phillies won the World Series because their bullpen was the best in baseball. This season, their path to the playoffs has one major obstacle currently in the way: Lidge. The Phils have the second-best record in the league and lead the Mets by three games in the East, but there’s no way they can make it to and through October with the 2009 version of Brad Lidge. Look at what happened to those aforementioned Mets of last season. Last year, the Mets had 29 blown saves as a team. 29! If they had only 25 instead of 29, they would have finished ahead of the Phillies in the division and qualified for the playoffs (the Phils finished three games up). A standout year from Johan Santana and terrific offensive performances from David Wright & Co. were all for naught thanks to Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis and the rest.

I fear the same thing happening to this year’s Phillies. Lidge has to either get it straightened out or be removed from his ninth inning role. Luckily, the Phils have a flame-throwing, dominant reliever already in their ‘pen in the form of Ryan Madson. Charlie Manuel may be reluctant to do so, but it may be time to switch Lidge and Madson in the late innings. The fate of the 2009 Phillies may depend on it.