Greg Maddux, SP, San Diego Padres

January 4, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Steve Ungrey
Edited by Ryan Dodson

It was the end of July 2006, and then-Chicago Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux was laboring through one of the worst seasons in his 20-year career.

The season started with such promise, as Maddux jumped out to a 5-0 start before losing 11 of his next 15 decisions as the Cubs fell to the basement of the National League Central. It looked like nothing would drag him - or the team - out of the sludge.

To borrow an old sports cliché, what a difference a day makes.

The Cubs dealt Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline, instantly transplanting him from one of the worst offenses in baseball to one of the best. The results were like night and day as Maddux helped guide the Dodgers to the National League West title and a Division Series loss to the New York Mets.

Maddux liked the NL West so much, he wanted to stay. The Dodgers didn't ante up on the free-agent market and Maddux wanted to continue pitching. Despite rumors the Cubs were making a last-ditch effort to re-acquire the pitcher on the open market, Maddux ended up taking $10 million from the San Diego Padres, a team not always known for its extravagant spending ways.

Is the Maddux signing bad or good? Depending on how Maddux finished out 2006, it may be what San Diego needs to put it over the top.

CHANGE OF SCENERY

 The trade to Los Angeles gave Maddux the breath of fresh air he needed to revitalize everything surrounding his game. He went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in his nine decisions with LA, including 14 walks and 36 strikeouts in just under 74 innings pitched.

So much for people who thought Maddux was washed up. The fast finish enabled Maddux to end the season at 15-14, avoiding his second straight losing season. Prior to 2005, the last time Maddux finished below .500 was his dismal 6-14 season as the Cubs finished last in 1987. Sound familiar? No wonder Maddux was open to a deal that sent him away from the Windy City.

By now Maddux's past victories and accomplishments are well known. His only two 20-win seasons came in 1992 and 1993, his last with the Cubs and his first with the Atlanta Braves. His return to Chicago in 2004 was met with great fanfare, but the Bartman-esque way in which the Cubs squandered the goodwill of a magical 2003 campaign made Maddux expendable in the end. The change did Maddux a world of good, as it proved to the rest of baseball his 9-11 record with the Cubs may have been a byproduct of the team's horrendous season more than anything else.

WASHED UP? HARDLY

If you think Maddux might be near the end of the line, step away from his age (he'll be 41 in April) and take a closer look at two stats: walks and strikeouts.

Maddux walked 37 batters last season and struck out 117, continuing a string of 100-plus strikeout seasons he has held since 1987. Thanks to the tutelage of pitching coaches like Leo Mazzone and a book-like approach to the game (think about it - when Maddux wears those glasses he looks more like a librarian than anything else), he has demonstrated overwhelming control over the years.

The 2006 season marked the fourth straight year he finished with under 40 walks surrendered. He hasn't been over 50 since 1993 (52). Yes, his strikeout totals could be higher, but here's some more food for thought. He fanned 118 batters in 2002 and 124 in 2003. His record those two years was 16-6 and 16-11, respectively. Maddux won't wow you with high strikeout totals, but sharp control will help you in leagues where ratio is a big statistic.

LOCATION IS EVERYTHING

 In the offseason, Maddux makes his home in the Las Vegas area, where he can indulge in his favorite pastime of golf. While Maddux's golf game won't cause Tiger Woods to run screaming for the clubhouse, the proximity of Las Vegas to San Diego was a major selling point for him to sign a one-year deal with the promise for more.

"Really, when you wake up in the morning and look outside, you know? That's one huge thing," Maddux told reporters when he was introduced as San Diego's newest acquisition. "It's close to Vegas. More importantly, the team was very good last year. They got a shot at the postseason. They made it to the dance. And hopefully this year we'll play a little bit better and go a little bit further."

From a fantasy standpoint, this signing not only benefits Maddux but it could also pay huge dividends for Jake Peavy, who will still be the No. 1 starter entering the 2007 season. Before now, Peavy was the lone ace starter on a ball club that has had trouble getting past the first round of the postseason since reaching the 1998 World Series.

Low walk and decent strikeout numbers will be helped by the spacious confines of PETCO Park, the Padres' home ballpark that has gained a reputation as one of the toughest places to hit a baseball. Unless Maddux loses his control all of a sudden, it's hard to believe he won't improve on some of his totals from previous years.

Peavy's role as the ace starter doesn't change, but having Maddux there to show him a few pointers and help relieve some of the pressure from being the top dog also helps. Maddux isn't really a teacher of the game, but you'd have to believe some of his command and pitching tips might rub off on some of the younger hurlers in San Diego.

Maddux is showing no signs of slowing down even as he enters his 40s, and there's no reason to believe it will happen now. That one-year deal may be money well spent as it helps the Padres keep pace in an NL West that includes a retooled Dodgers organization, a San Francisco Giants squad that spun its wheels until it signed starter Barry Zito, and the up-and-coming rosters in Arizona and Colorado.

Not a bad way to end a career - if the end is even in sight.

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Steve Ungrey

Steve Ungrey has been playing fantasy baseball since 1994. An avid baseball nut, he may be one of the only people who starts the spring training countdown immediately after the final out of the World Series. If there's a fantasy baseball or baseball preview magazine for 2003, chances are he has it. A sportswriter at The Grand Rapids Press, Steve has written for KFFL since 2001, concentrating on improving the site's baseball coverage but also helping the site with its unparalleled football coverage.

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