By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Former Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge worked with the Philadelphia Phillies during their first week of 2017 Spring Training. Lidge's work as a guest instructor may be a precursor to something bigger.
According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, family reasons currently prevent Lidge from being a coach, but he sounds like as his children grow up, he may want to take on a coaching role:
He currently works as a host on MLB Network Radio, but he plans to devote most of his time to his family in Colorado.
But in the future, once his children are older, Lidge sees himself getting more involved in baseball. Comcast SportsNet has courted him as a broadcaster, but he is more interested in coaching.
"It's hard for me to watch games and not want to be involved," Lidge said. "The radio is great, but it's not scratching the itch to be hands-on and be involved a little bit. I like being outside with them. I like catching the guys and seeing what's coming out of their hand. That's more exciting for me."
It is interesting that Comcast SportsNet was interested in Lidge as a broadcaster (it's not clear if that was this offseason or not), but it's not surprising to learn that if he wants to travel with a team for the entire year, he's only interested in doing so as a coach. Heck, Matt Stairs, who seemed to enjoy being a color commentator on the team's television broadcasts, elected to take the team's hitting coach job this offseason, even though it comes with much less job security than announcing. The lesson? Former players always have an itch to be part of a team again.
Lidge likely won't become a coach for some time, but if he ever is able to land some type of role on a major league staff, he would be a valuable resource for both pitchers and hitters.
Lidge was one of the best closers in the league in numerous different seasons, had a season where he didn't blow a save and even was on the mound for the final out of a World Series clinching win. At the same time, Lidge led the league in blown saves in 2009, gave up one of the most infamous home runs in playoff history to Albert Pujols in 2005 and certainly seemed in his own head at times during his career. Having had all of those different experiences in his career, Lidge could serve as a valuable perspective to any player, not just relievers.
