Cubs we have Greg Maddux

MESA, Ariz. -- Greg Maddux had some very specific requirements when he went job-hunting for the first time in more than a decade.



He wanted to win, and not just this year. His new team had to be committed to winning over the long haul, just as the Atlanta Braves were when he was there. He wanted to feel comfortable, with both his teammates and the coaching staff. Most importantly, he wanted a good fit for him and his family.



Well, Maddux got exactly what he wanted. In what once would have been the most unlikeliest of places, no less.



"Once I saw the choices in front of me, it was pretty much a no-brainer," Maddux said Wednesday after signing a $15 million, two-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, his original team. The deal has an optional third year worth $9 million.



"I knew this was one of the places I wanted to play. There were very few places I wanted to play and this has always been one of them. It felt right."



Few could ever have imagined that Maddux would say those words, much less be putting on a Cubs uniform again, after his messy departure in 1992. Despite winning the first of his four NL Cy Young Awards in Chicago, the Cubs cut Maddux loose in a money dispute. Maddux went on to Atlanta, where he became one of the best pitchers of his generation. The Cubs wallowed in mediocrity or worse.



But the Cubs are no longer baseball's lovable losers, and Maddux's return is proof of that. Chicago's payroll will be close to $90 million to start the year, putting the Cubs at or near the top of the National League.



Cubs general manager Jim Hendry had already spent some serious cash before Christmas, signing LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Hollandsworth and Todd Walker, and he wasn't sure if he had the money to go after Maddux. But he approached the right-hander, anyway.



"Maybe I was dreaming," Hendry said. "But if you don't try, you don't find out."



Hendry made an initial offer in January, and increased it Saturday. The Cubs will pay Maddux $6 million this year, and $9 million each of the next two seasons. But the Cubs can void the final year of the deal -- with no buyout -- if Maddux doesn't pitch 400 innings over this season and next.



Maddux has failed to reach 200 innings just twice in his career: in 1987, his first full season in the majors, and in 2002, when he pitched 199 innings.



"I was a little bit crushed when they booted me out 11 years ago," Maddux said. "Now it's a whole new regime. I'm honored to be back."



Maddux will have the chance to earn his 300th career win while wearing a Cubs uniform, needing only 11 more victories to reach the historic mark. But his homecoming is more than just a warm-and-fuzzy reunion. The Cubs already had one of the NL's best rotations in Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Matt Clement and Carlos Zambrano -- a foursome that took Chicago within five outs of the World Series a year ago.



Add Maddux to that mix, and the Cubs' rotation has to be considered one of, if not the best in the game.



"What makes it so good is it's so deep," Maddux said. "It's not just one or two guys and three OK guys. It's five solid pitchers. When you can go that deep, you have a chance to win every day. That's something special."



Maddux, who turns 38 in April, may not be the same pitcher he was in his youth, but he's still one of baseball's best. Despite a slow start, he was 16-11 with a 3.96 ERA last season, his 16th straight year with at least 15 wins. His 289 wins are second to Roger Clemens among active pitchers.



In his 18-year career, he's 289-163 with a 2.89 ERA.



And Maddux can help the Cubs with more than his arm. He's one of the most savvy pitchers in baseball, with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of hitters. Spend time around him, and that knowledge can't help but rub off.



"If you watch the guy, you're going to learn from him," said bench coach Dick Pole, who was the pitching coach in Maddux's first stint with the Cubs. "They're all bright kids. They're going to watch what he does, and I think they'll pick up stuff from him."




Maddux doesn't know his young teammates very well yet, having only seen them a few times when the Braves played the Cubs. But he considers Wood and Prior to be the two best pitchers in the game, with the ability to go out and do something spectacular every time they take the mound.



It reminds him of when John Smoltz was starting for the Braves, and Maddux is looking forward to watching them on a regular basis. Just another reason he came back to Chicago all these years later.



"I wasn't ready to leave the first time," Maddux said. "It's nice to have an opportunity to come back. Hopefully I'll only have to wear two hats in my career. That would be something special."

 

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Its funny though... Maddux has been in a very slow decline the last 3 years. ever since the umps took the corners (6" off the plate) away maddux hasnt been nearly as effective. He is still one of the best in the majors.. i'm not bashing .... 16-11 with a 3.96 ERA last year isnt exactly great..

 

I saw Maddux's first game at Wrigley with the Braves. I was sitting on the first base line. That whipped ass.

 

Yup Maddux is on the decline BAD. And furthermore when did Dukey quit being a Braves fan and start being a Cub fan

 

glad to see him there instead of new york