Ted Lilly Cheats

Those of us watching the game saw it quite clearly. But first-base umpire John Hirschbeck wouldn't budge, and now Ted Lilly is playing dumb.

"Lilly looked especially crafty in the sixth inning to Dodgers baserunner Casey Blake, who noticed him pitching from a few inches in front of the rubber and accused him of cheating," Gordon Wittenmyer writes for the Sun-Times - without telling readers that Blake was absolutely right. There were times when you could've fit a High Plains Bison Dog - with fries and a beer - between Lilly's foot and the rubber.

"Blake tried vigorously - and unsuccessfully -to get first-base umpire John Hirschbeck to move into better position to see where Lilly started his windup. Dodgers manager Joe Torre also argued, but it was to no avail.

'''Every once in a while, he would step about six inches in front of the rubber,'' Blake said. ''I tried to call timeout to say to the umpire, Come look where he's at. I know he doesn't have an overpowering fastball, so I'm sure he is trying to get as much of an edge as he can, but that's cheating.''

'''From where I was, I couldn't tell,' Hirschbeck said. ''I'm not allowed to be in another position.'"

Really? And no other umpire could see what Blake and the television audience saw?

"Lilly denied any intention but admitted he might have been in front of the rubber a few times."

He didn't mean it, even though he knows he "might have" done it?

''There were a couple of times where I think that I just would get it and throw it,'' he said. ''And maybe I was a little bit ahead of the rubber."

Maybe!

"I don't know that it was that much."

I only cheated a little!

"It wasn't one of those things where I was thinking about it.''

Sounds like you were thinking about it a lot, Ted. At least when it came time to come clean.