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Two Seasons Come to an End | Print |  E-mail
Written by Justin Bridgman   
Thursday, 01 October 2009 07:09

Barring Lou doing something really cool like starting Z in left for a game this weekend, two seasons came to an end on Wednesday. Both Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly have been excellent pitchers for the Cubs in the Lou Piniella era, and fans have quibbled all year about which one is the Cubs "ace". Right now Ted gets the title simply because he seemed to be the stopper this season.

Carlos has taken his share of criticism this season, his early DL stint for hustling down the baseline was a case of bad luck. His second DL stint in August with a bad back was a case of media and fan overreaction to a player admitting a flaw. In the end Carlos had a disappointing record in spite of having his best numbers since 2005 or 2006.

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Big Z finished 9-7 with a 3.77 ERA in 169.1 IP. After the game last night it seemed like Z was unhappy with his W-L record along with his poor health. He said he will work harder and be in great shape coming into next season, hopefully that is true because 200 innings of the Z we got this season would be an extremely valuable pitcher. His final WAR was 3.6 which equates to $16.4 million in value.

On the other end of the media/fans spectrum we have Ted Lilly. Ted came out of the gate fast and pitched well for most of the season. He made the All-Star team and showed up to get booed by the "best fans in baseball". His season hit a snag in July against the Phillies when he got lit up and then sent to the DL for knee surgery and shoulder problems.

Naturally Ted would return and go back to dominating baseball. Up until yesterday he didn't really have a bad start since coming off the DL, and even yesterday he dominated after a bad first inning. Ted finished up with 177 IP and a 3.7 WAR worth $16.8 million. It was the highest WAR of Ted's career (tied with 2007) and he has found a place to flourish with the Cubs.

Next time you scream about how Ted Lilly was far superior to Big Z this season, take a look at the numbers. Both guys missed about a month, both pitched well while they were healthy, and both were solid pitchers all season. The difference is Zambrano got a big contract and the media enjoys targeting him. While Z might be the Cubs sole ace, I think he can (much like a certain Dunder Mifflin manager) accept the fact that him and Ted are now "Co-Aces".



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