Maddux cool despite a ragged re-debut
Maddux cool despite a ragged re-debut
April 8, 2004
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
CINCINNATI -- It was hard not to notice the bags under his eyes, the deep creases in his forehead, the extra puffery beneath his chin. When Cubdom yearned to see Greg Maddux look young again, all he did was look ancient Wednesday night. This was just one start, of course, no reason to spew paranoic pablum and worry that the World's Greatest Pitching Rotation is cracking under the weight of, say, a magazine jinx and various pre-existing curses.
Still, a ragged re-debut was not what Maddux wanted after an absence of 11 years, six months and eight days. Who ever thought this master of impeccable control, the pitcher who once hit only three batters over a full season, would have no idea where the baseball was going as he plunked two of the first three Cincinnati Reds he faced? If that was unprecedented in his career and a bit weird, nothing was fluky about two fat lobs he left for Adam Dunn and the rehabbed Ken Griffey Jr., who blasted 841 feet worth of home runs that cut through the riverfront mist like John Daly tee shots.
"When your pitch selection is bad and your location is bad, that's usually what happens,'' Maddux said. "I can't change it. I'll try to do better the next time.''
Those issues, part of an entirely forgettable 3-1 loss at the Sort-of-Great American Ball Park, will only feed theories that Mad Dog will have Cubs fans drinking the stuff by season's end. To that, I say take a deep breath, count to 10 and rewind to last spring. If you are able to handle such a statistic, understand that Maddux started his final year in Atlanta 0-3 with an 11.05 ERA. Also understand that he bounced back in his next five starts to go 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA, which propelled him to a second half in which he held opponents to 35 earned runs in 105 innings over his final 17 starts. In other words, Old Maddux is not the Maddux of old. He will struggle at times, but you'd be a fool to say he won't eventually find his reliable groove.
As Cubdom sulked, you'll be surprised to discover that Maddux enjoyed himself. If he waxed somewhat emotionally about his Cubs reunion on the February night he signed, he was careful not to let the nostalgia creep into his psyche. This smacks of vintage Maddux, the thinking man's pitcher. Sometimes, days from his 38th birthday, his mound poetry simply doesn't rhyme-scheme as it once did.
"I actually had a good time tonight,'' he said, as his wife and two children waited in the back of the interview room. "It would have been better if we had won, but I actually enjoyed the night and I look forward to pitching in five days. It's pretty special to play this game, regardless of which shirt you're wearing. Chicago is a great place with great fans. I enjoyed my [first] six years there, and there was a little added flavor when you do wear the [Cubs] uniform. But you do what you can not to let it affect you out there.''
Come on. No emotions? "No, I was OK. Surprisingly OK,'' he said. "Mentally, I was right where I'd like to be my next 30 games. I was very aware I was facing the Reds' lineup more than who I was pitching for.''
You wouldn't have known by his mood that he'd lost, which can be interpreted as a reason he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer who will win his 300th game sometime this summer. Maddux never lets anyone see him sweat, even when he's winging junk that hits leadoff batter D'Angelo Jimenez in the knee and plunks Griffey in the very right calf that sidelined him on Opening Day. "I guess if you pitch long enough, that's going to happen,'' he said, shrugging and placing his lower lip above his upper lip, a postgame picture we'll see often.
Just as Houston's Roy Oswalt allowed a three-run jack to Barry Bonds, just as Andy Pettitte was torched in his Astros debut, Maddux needs to acclimate to a new year and, in his case, a new culture. For that matter, so do Cubs fans, now faced with the bitter reality of settling for a 161-1 record. Truth is, Maddux was outpitched by Paul Wilson, who is healed of the welts delivered by Kyle Farnsworth in last year's brawl and avenged the pummeling with seven shutout innings. Truth is, the slow-starting Sammy Sosa was mocked in the eighth inning by kid reliever Ryan Wagner, who whiffed him with two out and two on and proceeded to bound off the mound and double-pump his fist, whirlybird-style, in front of the moping Sosa.
"I'm sure Sammy's frustrated,'' Dusty Baker said of Sosa, who is 0-for-8 with three strikeouts this week. "But don't worry. I'm sure he's going to hit.''
And be sure Maddux is going to pitch. Despite his control trouble -- when was the last time he threw only 44 of 77 pitches for strikes? -- I'd still rather have him in the rotation than not have him. Remember, he was signed as a seasoned reinforcement, not as someone who will carry the staff as ace. If he wins at least 15 games, as I expect, he'll be more than worth the investment. Much as he struggled, he still allowed only three runs and four hits to the potent Reds.
"He threw a good game. He threw a four-hitter,'' said Baker, always exaggerating for the good of his team's mental well-being. "Greg just made a couple of mistakes, and guys made him pay.''
The two-run laser shot by Griffey bounced atop the grassy knoll in center field. It quieted a large contingent of Cubs fans who chanted, "Let's go, Cubs!'' throughout the night. This is the way it will be all season, as Cubphoria sweeps the land. Maddux may not show his enthusiasm for being here, but he needs a championship as much as any fan. He won only one World Series in Atlanta and would like to prove he can produce in the postseason. Bigger than that, he would not mind playing the role assigned to him in the working screenplay -- returning a dozen years later, after the Tribsters foolishly ticked him off and let him flee town, and turning the story full-circle toward a triumphant ending.
"I believe in talent. This team has a lot,'' Maddux said. "The every-day lineup, the starting pitching, the bullpen -- they are all legit. That's what I believe in. This team has as good a chance as any to get a crack at the postseason.''
He disappeared into the rainy night with his family. If Maddux had a care in the world, you would not know it. Cubdom is advised to adopt his mentality about life.
The season, a wise man once said, is a marathon.
Jay Mariotti hosts a sports talk show weekdays on WMVP-AM (1000) from 9-11 a.m. and appears on ESPN's ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. Send e-mail to
[email protected] with name, hometown and daytime phone number (letters run Sunday).
I wonder if Mike Kiley was sitting on his lap when he wrote this lovely story.
