Congratulations to Greg Maddux on his 300th victory. I only wish it had been in a Braves uniform.
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- Outside The Beltway ? - Greg Maddux Wins 300th Game ESPN - Maddux first NL pitcher to 300 since Carlton Greg Maddux relied on guts,…
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Thrilled that he got it, though I wish it would have been via a vintage Maddux performance. Not one of his best, but he’s had plenty of excellent games where he didn’t get the W. They all count, and his achievement is damned impressive.
I guess…but I was baffled when he didn’t resign with the Braves and then eventually signed with the Cubs so cheap. That hurts me. That’s a jerky move on his part. The entire “I won’t sign for so little $” was a total put on. It was an attempt to humble us, because right after he signed with the Cubs and became their 5th starter. I live in Chicago and there are rumors that should they make the playoffs and go to the 4 man rotation he may lose his spot to Clement. He’s a cool pitcher and all but he’s all kinda boring. If you don’t celebrate when u get your 300th, there is something wrong with you. I know he wants to win for the team and all, but what happened today killed 2 birds with one stone. Just celebrate, goddamit!
Maddux doesn’t get to choose the uniform he’ll wear. I’d say that unless he gets to 400 (yeah, right) with the Cubs or wins at least 2 more World Series, he’s going in as a Brave.
I’m sorry – but I lost some respect for Maddux because when he just left us (since he needed more money) and then signed with the Cubs for cheap. Heck, at this price – why not just stay with us?
I think it’s funny to see him now as the 5th starter. He is no longer a undebated ace. I’m sorry…I live in Chicago and it’s just funny cos all we keep hearing here that if they go to a 4 man rotation in the postseason he is one of the guys fated to move to the pen. Also – I hear ya, Greg. You wanna win for the team blah blah. What’s wrong with doing both? You are sooo boring. You should have done a curtain call when you found you won at the end of the game.
Mac, you keep telling me about TYPE KEY? I have signed up. But still I have to wait for approval after every post
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As for Maddux, he never had a real opportunity to sign with the Braves. They didn’t offer arbitration this time and neither did they make much of an effort to re-sign him.
Guys, I don’t understand, even at $8M per year, JS will not sign him back. Unless Maddux was willing to accept $2M like Thomson is earning this year, there is no chance the Braves will sign him back. To be honest, after his performance last year and seeing what he is doing this year, I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep him. Although it sucks to see him winning 300 games in the Cubs uniform, I would rather save that $8M on Drew and Thomson.
Guys,
I want to make sure that you understand what happened with Maddux. Maddux and the Braves did not agree to a contract by sometime last December. When the date rolled around the Braves had to agree to or reject salary arbitration. They rejected it. By doing so they eliminated their rights to sign Maddux until Mid May (and he is not going to wait until 6 weeks into the season). Now that may have been a good decision by the Braves since the least money Maddux could have been offered was something like a 20% decrease of the previous salary. This is something like $12 million. What needed to happen is for them to work out a deal before the arbitration date but that was very difficult since the market for Maddux had not been established (it ended up being $8 million * 3 years). Another option was to work out a gentlemans agreement to offer arbitration, then have Maddux decline it then they would have had more time to negotiate. The downsides here are do you trust Maddux and Boras to decline as promised (it’s a maybe $6 million gamble) and it hurts Maddux’s negotiating position since now any team that signs him loses 1 or 2 high draft picks. It appeared to me that the Braves made no effort to negotiate with Maddux. They assumed Maddux would not go for the kind of money the Cubs eventually got him for. They might be right but I don’t see the downside to giving it a shot. I think Maddux wanted to stay with the Braves and would have signed if given a chance. He was not given an opportunity. It was not a jerky move on his part. Witness John Schuerholz attending the first try for #300. Sounds like Maddux did not burn any bridges.
Yes don’t hold any grudges towards Mad-dog. It was never a situation like Tom Glavine where the Braves made a solid offer and were rejected over what amounts to chump change in the world of baseball salaries. The Braves just saw cheaper alternatives to keeping a 38 yr old HOFer-to-be around for another couple of seasons and opted to split amicably.
Maddux came alot closer to winning 300 as a Brave than we even realize. He always got the worst run support–especially on the Braves teams of the mid-90’s–of his rotation mates and I know that Mark Wohlers blew at least five saves in Maddux starts in the 1997 season. And lets’s not forget that strike business that abbrevated two seasons in 94 and 95 when Maddux was just unstoppable. No way a pitcher that talented should have only two 20-win seasons.