Could Ted Lilly go from cheater to teammate?

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With the Dodgers pushing to land Ted Lilly from the Chicago Cubs before Saturday’s trade deadline, we can’t help but recall what happened when he faced the Dodgers at Wrigley Field in May: Casey Blake called him a cheater.

Blake said Lilly was pitching from in front of the rubber, rather than maintaining contact with it while starting his delivery.

‘I know he doesn’t have an overpowering fastball,’ Blake said then. ‘I know he’s trying to get as much of an edge as he can. But he moved in.

‘That’s cheating. You’ve got to stay on the rubber.’

The next day, after the commissioner’s office said it would alert umpires to keep an eye on Lilly, Blake said his beef was with the umpires in that game, not with Lilly.

‘I’m not mad at him,’ Blake said. ‘If you can do it and get away with it, why wouldn’t you try it?’

The Dodgers shelled Lilly for seven runs in 3-2/3 innings at Dodger Stadium on July 9. He has started three games since then, giving up four runs in 20 innings, with five walks and 24 strikeouts. He has not won since June 29.

-- Bill Shaikin