2009 Cubs Player Review: Ted Lilly

Ted Lilly established himself as the ace of the 2009 Cubs staff, with a team-high 12 wins and and ERA of 3.10. Zambrano was very inconsistent and Ryan Dempster didn't match his career year of 2008. Lilly and rookie Randy Wells were the pitchers the team could count on. Ted was also the lone Cub on the All Star team

Three years ago, GM Jim Hendry signed Lilly while Hendry was in the hospital hooked up to an EKG machine. By contrast, Hendry was hooked up to a STUPID machine last winter when he signed Milton Bradley. While Bradley was a bust, in three seasons Lilly has won 44 games.

I made it to only one Cubs game this season, and Lilly pitched that day. And of course, that was the game that Lilly gave up a season high number of hits (10) and runs (6) as the Cubs lost to the Tigers. Just my luck!!

As far as cards go, Lilly was featured in several sets, but was missing from Allen and Ginter and Goudey. I added six more of his cards to my collection.



Bowman



Topps



Heritage



Upper Deck, in both series one and series two




O Pee Chee