Although nothing much will come out of it, the Los Angeles Dodgers were making a big deal out of the fact that Cubs starter Ted Lilly was pitching out of a trench in front of the pitching rubber on Thursday, rather than from the rubber itself.

Major League Baseball rules state that all pitchers must have some contact with the pitching rubber before they release the pitch.

In the mind of opposing hitters, if the pitcher was throwing from closer than 60-feet, 6-inches he would have a velocity advantage.

In reality, Lilly was only gaining a couple of inches away from the pitching rubber.

“Is using a little less real estate cheating? I’m going to pass on that question.” Piniella said. “I really don’t have an answer for you. I wouldn’t think any of our pitchers cheated, but at the same time I saw the film, and there was a little hole in the ground.”

What Lilly did isn’t any different from what a hitter does when he comes out of the batter’s box when he’s trying to gain an advantage. Gamesmanship is and always has been a part of the game. If you prefer the word ‘cheating’, then cheating has always been a part of the game. It’s been that way for 135 years.

Baseball players, managers, coaches and groundskeepers all have been trying to get an edge on the competition since the game was invented. This is just one of those isolated cases that comes out from time to time.