Lilly's Recovery Ahead Of Schedule, Could Be Ready By Mid-April

The projected timetable for Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly's first start of the 2010 season continues to change. Lilly is rehabbing from left shoulder surgery and a sore right knee, and last month it sounded like he could be back by mid-April, but recent talk from manager Lou Piniella made it sound like we shouldn't expect to see the left-hander before May 1st.

Well, now it sounds like mid-April is indeed a possibility, as Lilly had a bullpen session go well today and is ahead of schedule with his recovery:

The rehabbing left-hander threw off a mound again on Saturday. "We want to keep him under the radar gun and not talk about it much," Piniella said.
Presumably Piniella meant "under the radar," not "under the radar gun," since Lilly's velocity is not a problem. Anyway, Lilly is ahead of schedule. He could return by mid-April at his current pace, though the Cubs haven't given a timetable.

Link(Chicago Breaking Sports)

These things rarely go better than anticipated for the Cubs, so I'll still be surprised if we see him before May. It's certainly encouraging news though, and the Cubs need their most consistent starting pitcher over the last two years to make more than 25 starts in the 2010 campaign.