Baseball Musings: Maddux a Cub

February 18, 2004

Maddux a Cub

ESPN and Will Carroll are reporting that Greg Maddux will sign with the Cubs today. He'll earn $24 million over three years, with the third year dependent on meeting certain performance criteria.

Maddux as your fourth or fifth starter is so cool. The Cubs could even pitch him once a week if they wanted, to give him plenty of rest. A fine move at a reasonable price.

For the last couple of days I'm been hearing about how pitching wins. The Boston fans who didn't get A-Rod talk about how the Yankees don't have the pitching they've had in the past, so Boston has a chance to beat them. I heard Joe Torre say something similar on Countdown with Keith Olbermann (the transcript is not yet available). So now here's the test. The Cubs, 1-5, have about the best pitching staff in the majors. What happens if the Cubs pitch great all year, but don't win? Will someone finally realize you need both pitching and offense to win?

One other thought. The big movers in the offseason have been the Cubs, the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Phillies, four teams that came up just short of their goals. That's the great thing about losing a close one; it really makes you focus on what went wrong and how to fix it. I think all four of these teams improved themselves, and that should make for a fun season.

Posted by David Pinto at 09:25 AM | Free Agents | TrackBack (2)

Comments

Great post Dave, I'll be following that closely too. I still think that the Cubs would have been much better off signing Pudge than Maddux. Their lineup right now is Sosa, Lee, and pray for...uuh...rain I guess. A third bat would have gone a long way towards fortifying that lineup.
What's also interesting about all four teams, is that there's no guarantee that any of them will make the playoffs. The Yanks and Sox still have to deal with a resurgent Blue Jays and a much stronger Orioles: all those tough games could help either the non-Al West winner (either A's or Angels, I'm assuming) to sneak in as a wild card. The Phillies still have the Marlins, Braves, and even-gasp-the Mets. And, on paper, I still think the Astros are better than the Cubs, assuming their lineup stays healthy. And the Cards, with that sick lineup, are always dangerous.
Maybe I'm crazy, but that looks like competitive balance to me. I can count seven teams (Devil Rays, Tigers, Rangers, Brewers, Pirates, Reds, and Rockies) who have really no shot at the playoffs. That's 25 teams with a shot at the dream! And, as the last three years show, once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen. I wish sports writers would focus more on that aspect of baseball than on the Yankees' payroll. It would show just how freaking great this sport is.

Posted by: Daniel at February 18, 2004 10:16 AM

While the Cubs could certainly use more thunder in the lineup, the defense scares me a bit more than the offense. But I do believe they have improved the lineup at least a little. Lee is a great addition (finally, someone other than Sosa who will draw a walk), and having Ramirez for a full year at third should help some. I just hope Walker gets a fair share of at-bats at second. I'm a bit worried that Baker is going to stick with Grudzielanek a bit too long, when those two could make a productive platoon.

That rotation though...wow. You know you're in pretty good shape when Carlos Zambrano is your "fifth" starter. Plus, I can't complain about what they've done with the bullpen.

Posted by: swick at February 18, 2004 03:37 PM

Recall, the Rockies actually played .500 ball through much of the season last year. However, their division is just too tough this year for them to compete.

Posted by: dcthrowback at February 19, 2004 11:09 AM