Ted Lilly a No No for a No No!

Andrew Elterman by Scribe Written on April 20, 2009
CHICAGO - APRIL 13: Starting pitcher Ted Lilly #30 of the Chicago Cubs delivers the ball against the Colorado Rockies during the Opening Day game on April 13, 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.  (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

A no-hitter one of the rarest of games to have for a pitcher. Many come close in their careers and few get to have the true experience, and even fewer have done it more than once.

Ted Lilly in his past five starts has taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning and in three of his past seven starts has blown it in the seventh inning. He has been an up and down pitcher in his career and from the looks of his first start this year looked like he would have another bad April.

Last year he had an ERA of over 6.00 during the month of April and by the end of the year he had a career high of 17 wins and had a 4.09 ERA. Ted Lilly has tempted Fate almost as many times as Nolan Ryan met with Fate.

I don't believe Ted Lilly will ever get a no-hitter because of the fact that he is very easily hit. In his career he averages  0.95 hits per inning, and 0.86 strikeouts per inning in his career. I know the old saying that every dog has his day but unfortunately Ted Lilly is not that dog.

If there is any pitcher in the Cubs rotation that will have a No-Hitter is Rich Harden. He averages 0.79 hits per inning, and one strikeout per inning and his career ERA is 3.26. He has come close in a couple of starts in his career like last year against the Diamondbacks where he took one into the sixth inning.

He has a lot of talent and has a very hard fastball. He has some injury problems that may delay his opportunity to get one especially since Lou tends to keep him on a pitch count.

Ted Lilly is a reliable starter winning about 40 percent of his starts while Rich Harden also has a 40 percent in the wins per game started, even though he has pitched less than half the games Ted has. They are both great starters but if one of them is going to get a no no it will be Rich Harden.

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written on April 20, 2009 Opinion

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