This was a bit unexpected.  Ted Lilly had arthroscopic surgery and debridement yesterday on his left shoulder.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Lewis Yokum in Chicago (others are saying Los Angeles, but I thought it was in Chicago).  In a statement made following the surgery, Yokum indicated that the surgery consisted of a “washout and cleanup” of the shoulder and that no structural damage was found.

You may recall that Lilly spent time on the DL this past year due to inflammation and pain in his left shoulder.  While on the DL, Lilly had his knee scoped because it was felt that the partially torn meniscus in his knee was altering his mechanics, causing undue pressure on his shoulder.  Lilly came back from the DL and pitched effectively.  The plan following the season was for Lilly to rest his shoulder.  Unfortunately, rest didn’t seem to be enough, as Lilly’s shoulder continued to bother him.  He spoke to the team and to doctors, and the decision was made to have the surgery now.

Following the surgery, Lilly met with the press.  According to Bruce Miles at the Daily Herald, Lilly said:

“The idea is maybe to start throwing in four months or so,” he said. “A lot of that is going to be dictated on just how the rehab goes. That can change one way or another. My intention is to get back as soon as I can without setting myself back.”

After Lilly spoke, Jim Hendry spoke to reporters and said:

“We haven’t made any decisions yet on who’s coming back or not from the club we ended the season with,” Jim said. “This wouldn’t alter our plans about adding another starter because Lew Yocum is one of the best in the world. If he felt that…if the rehab went according to plan, the way Ted goes about his business, that there’s a good possibility Ted will be pitching in April. We certainly don’t want to take that spot away from Ted if he’s ready.”

So, if everything goes according to plan, Lilly should start throwing in four months and should be ready to pitch in April.  Of course, how often do things go according to plan when it comes to injuries to Cubs pitchers?

With Lilly on the shelf for now and potentially not ready to pitch when the 2010 season begins, should Jim Hendry look to add another arm to the starting rotation?  If so, should that arm be free agent Rich Harden?  I have to believe that Lilly’s surgery has increased the odds that the Cubs will offer Harden arbitration.  This should be interesting.

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During organizational meetings in Mesa, AZ, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts spent time scouting potential Spring Training facility sites with officials from Mesa.  Ricketts previously visited Naples, FL to scout locations and meet with potential investors in the Spring Training complex development.

Ricketts and the rest of the Cubs front office are expected to discuss their Spring Training facility options at the organizational meetings.  The Cubs must decide by early next year if they are going to opt out of their agreeement to train at HoHoKam Park.  If they do (and they almost certainly will), they will need to have a plan in place for where they will train beginning in 2012 and beyond.

I’m still rooting for Naples, but I think the odds are stacked against them.  The Cubs are fixtures in the Cactus League and Arizona officials want to make sure that they keep the team (and their money) in the state for years to come.

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With the end of the World Series last night (Congrats to the Yankees!), the off season officially begins.  Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter did a terrific job of detailing what we can all expect in the coming weeks and explaining the rules surrounding free agency, arbitration offers, etc.   It’s a great read to prepare for what should be a very interesting off season.