Texas Toast

After the Astros clinched the NL wild card on the final day of the regular season, closer Brad Lidge was so happy, he accidentally dropped an F-bomb on television during the postgame celebration. His teammates then devised a fake press release from the commissioner's office, chiding him and fining him $25,000. Lidge fell for it.

"He's the nicest kid," manager Phil Garner says. "He never swears. All he wanted to do was apologize to [Astros owner] Drayton McLane. He wanted everyone to know that's not like him. We believe him."

And much more important, the Astros believe in him.

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