2009 Recap: Aaron Heilman

On January 28th, 2009, the Cubs pulled a deal off with the Mariners that would send them relief pitcher Aaron Heilman for Ronny Cedeno and Garret Olson.  Olson had been acquired by the Cubs in a deal with Baltimore for outfield "sensation" Felix Pie, whereas Cedeno -- like Dorothy's Scarecrow -- had been sent to Chicago perhaps from the Wizard, minus a brain.  In other words, it was a pretty sweet deal.  The only problem was that Heilman was bouncing back from a season of sucktacular play and there was no promise he'd be the reliever of a mid 3.00's ERA ever again. All told, Heilman's '09 was the mixed bag we should have expected of him.  On one end of the spectrum, he delivered 72.1 innings, walking 34, striking out 65, and posting a respectable-if-not-fantastic ERA of 4.11.  On the other end, Heilman allowed more players to score than that allegedly-crazy* bar slut with Mark Grace's name tattooed on her back.  (*al...