Monday, July 31, 2006

Too Good For This Team

By now, all of you know that Greg Maddux was traded by the Cubs to the Dodgers (note to Nancy Pender of Fox Chicago, this is only the FIRST time the Cubs traded him, not the second - the first time he left as a free agent). Greg will definitely be the best pitcher the Cubs have ever drafted, even if he technically won't be the best pitcher they've ever had. Both times he was with the Cubs, they let him down, not the other way around. The first time, as is well known, he left the Cubs to go to the Atlanta Braves after the 1992 season. Though the Tribune Co. did their best to spin Greg as a traitor, the opposite was actually true. In 1991*, the Cubs and Maddux had agreed on a long-term deal, only to have Stan Cook* of the Trib spike it at the last minute, because of some technicality he imposed. After the '92 season, Maddux was reluctant to leave, and had been convinced by teammate and friend Mike Morgan to return and sign the Cubs offer, only to be told by Larry Himes the deal was now off the table. So, actually, Maddux was only 2 dickheads away from being a lifelong Cub. Instead, the Cubs showed him. They showed him that they didn't need his multiple Cy Young awards or his quality pitching.

Give Jim Hendry credit for trying to right a wrong he had no part of, even if it was several years too late. He brought Maddux back in 2004 when it looked like Maddux might be the final piece of the puzzle. Unfortuantely, that didn't work out, but not because of Greg. The real tragedy of Maddux's 2nd stint for me, is not that he didn't pitch like the Atlanta Brave Maddux, or that he didn't get the Cubs to the postseason. Though his numbers were not stellar by any means, he made every single scheduled start in his 2.5 years with the team, unlike a couple of highly heralded phenoms that we all know and don't necessarily hold in high esteem any longer. No, the real tragedy is that in Maddux, the Cubs had a pitcher the others could look to as a mentor, i.e., how to pitch economically and intelligently, and it appears that precious few took advantage of it, especially certain pitchers named Kerry and Mark. Maybe had they learn to have a few 8 pitch innings like Greg, they wouldn't have the woes they've had the last few seasons.

Farerwell, Greg. And thanks for the memories.

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