An 18th Gold glove... and a career?

It appears as if the long, glorious run of Greg Maddux may finally have to come an end.

A couple days before picking up his record 18th Gold Glove, Maddux has indicated through his agent Scott Boras that he intends to retire. While the move is not official, at age 42 and having spent 23 years in the Majors, it certainly seems as if it's the real deal.

First, a brief look at his numbers. Of course, they're unbelievable. He has a career 355-227 record with a ridiculous 3.18 ERA. He's officially 8th on the all-time wins list, which he barely got to last year by going 1 up on Roger Clemens. He's played with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, and Dodgers.

There's not a whole lot left for him to accomplish. He's won 4 Cy Young awards and a World Series ring, to go along with the insane amount of Gold Glove awards. He's generally regarded as having perhaps the most pinpoint accuracy in the history of baseball. After tasting playoff success with the Dodgers this year, I'm not surprised to see him ride off into the sunset.

We'll all wait to see when Maddux will talk, as everything else is still speculation. I've read that the Dodgers would welcome him back to anchor the back end of their rotation, which I'm sure he could still do.

Maddux will go Friday in Philly

Greg Maddux will make his first appearance for the Dodgers this season when he pitches Friday in Philadelphia. In his last start for the San Diego Padres, he allowed only 1 run in 7 innings against the Phillies. For the year, he's 0-2 against them, but with a 2.70 ERA (nice run support, Padres).

The timing makes sense for a couple of reasons. One, he won't have to be rushed to start against the Rockies either today or tomorrow. Against the Rocks, he's sporting a shaky 5.40 ERA against them this season.

Two, he will avoid pitching in Arizona following the Philly series, where he's been awful this season. Lifetime at Chase Field, he's 1-7 with a 6.01 ERA. Ya, it's a good decision.

I guess I can add a third reason to the list, as having Maddux go Friday will give young Clayton Kershaw an extra day of rest to pitch on Saturday. Bottom line, it makes sense all around.

Maddux is back, and the rotation is set

The Dodgers have traded for Greg Maddux in exchange for 2 players to be named or cash considerations. The move adds to list of players acquired for this year that includes Angel Berroa, Casey Blake, and Manny Ramirez.

With Brad Penny's season looking to be as good as lost, having a proven winner in Maddux come aboard is a big plus. We all can remember the last time he was with the Dodgers, and he was fantastic (well, until his bad start in the playoffs against the Mets... but he's forgiven). The offense is looking better all the time, now the back end of the rotation can contribute as well.

I'm not going to get crazy here and suggest that this version of Maddux is the same as years ago, because that's just not the case. But, he doesn't need to be. When he came 2 years ago, the Dodgers needed him as one of their top pitchers. Derek Lowe was their #1, but if you can remember, it was Hong-Chih Kuo who came out of nowhere to be their #2. Penny was such a lost cause that he was relegated to the bullpen. It was obvious their pitching staff was a mess.

Now, he can slide in nicely as the #5 starter. Chad Billingsley and Derek Lowe are pitching lights-out, Hiroki Kuroda has the capability to do the same, and Clayton Kershaw continues to improve each start. Maddux gives the Dodgers 5 starters that all stand a legitimate chance of winning any game. I like it.

The first 2 months of the season started off well for Maddux, with ERA's around the 3.70 mark. But, the next 2 months were awful, as his June ERA was 4.71 and July 5.27. Yikes. The good news is that in his 3 August starts, he's been great, going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA. That's more like it. His last start was on August 15 against Philadelphia in which he gave up 1 run in 7 innings... and the Padres lost 1-0.

I highly doubt he'll miss the Padres putrid offense. With the exception of Adrian Gonzalez (who actually has been pretty lousy himself lately), there's very little offensive talent. The Dodgers have won 6 of 7 that includes 3 walk-off wins. Oh ya, and the Dodgers are tied for 1st while the Padres are 16 games back. The sun is definitely brighter in LA.

With the off day yesterday, the #5 spot in the rotation was skipped. That would mean Maddux would most likely start Saturday in Philadelphia.