Ted Lilly
returns to the Wrigley Field mound Saturday for the first time since his trade to the Dodgers in July, facing his old friend
Ryan Dempster.
To no one’s surprise, Lilly already leads the league in purpose pitches.
He plunked the Giants’
Buster Posey
in his first two at-bats one game in apparent retaliation for Giants starter
Tim Lincecum
hitting
Juan Uribe
twice. Monday against the Braves, Lilly threw a pitch behind outfielder
Nate McLouth
after Atlanta starter
Tim Hudson
threw one at the helmet of Dodgers rookie
Jerry Sands
the previous inning.
Lilly pitched seven scoreless innings in the start for his first victory. He signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Dodgers in October after the Cubs decided they couldn’t afford him and dealt him with
Ryan Theriot
at the trade deadline.
The Cubs got
Blake DeWitt
and two minor league pitchers,
Kyle Smit
and
Brett Wallach.
DeWitt lost the starting second base job in the spring and is hitting .231 as a reserve. Smit has a 12.27 ERA in five appearances at Double-A Tennessee after going 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA last season. Wallach has a 5.88 ERA in Class A since being acquired from the Dodgers last July 31.
Attendance watch:
Commissioner
Bud Selig
said he is not concerned about the attendance problems at Wrigley Field or in baseball in general.
The Cubs are averaging 33,426 after nine of their 15 April games — ranked 11th in the major leagues — though no-shows are up significantly. Last April they averaged 38,433 in 11 games.
The Cubs are selling tickets, but many fans apparently are unable to resell them or give them away, leading to a half-empty ballpark on weekdays.
“You guys know how bad the weather is,” Selig told newspaper sports editors. “I left Phoenix Sunday and it was 96. I flew to Milwaukee and I opened the blinds at home the next morning and it was snowing. We’re only 1.2 to 1.3 percent off. But we’ve had horrendous weather, especially in the Midwest. I really don’t have any concerns. … I know about the attendance at Wrigley and I have every confidence in them.”
The White Sox rank 21st in attendance with an average of 22,800 over 10 home dates.
Twitter @PWSullivan
