Lousy managing?

There are lots of ways to put it, but I doubt you will agree or understand. Simply put, the "lousy managing" was commiting the same mistake he did time after time last year: use Lidge as a closer.

He adds to that mistake with another mistake he made time after time: basically treating Lidge like a fragile 18 year old and basically maintaining "he's my closer, regardless." IMO, this is also bad managing, not that it lost last night's game, but it will surely lose some more. You probably see it as some positive signal to the players that the manager supports his players. I maintain that may well have been the case fifteen times ago, but now, I suspect most players see the captain as a stubborn fool, and have lost a lot of confidence in him. It also sends a not-so-subtle signal to his competitors that pure performance is not rewarded on the Astros: a pervasive and terrible signal to send throughout the organization.

By the way, the defense that Lidge did not really suck last year fools no one. Blown saves is only one component of how bad he was. His crappy era, which I know you said means little for relievers, is another indication; as is the number of walks, men left on base, pitches per at bat. Last night was indicative of last year: shots off the bat, lots of pitches, can't make the out pitch, loses composure, basically got lucky to only give up the tying run.