I Love Him!

Last night, my beloved future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux burnished his Cooperstown creds, becoming the ninth pitcher in the history of the game to win 350 games. He needs only 5 more victories to be the winningest pitcher of the modern era (and to surpass Cheater McCheaty Pants Clemens).

Classy as always,* The Professor is quoted by espn.com as saying, "It was kind of cool. I don't want to make it out to be nothing, but it is May and we haven't been playing that good, and you just really want to win for the right reason and not necessarily for the wrong reason. We need to start winning as a team and hopefully tonight is the start of things to come."

This means he won't be pitching tomorrow night when I am in attendance at the Cubs-Padres game, but that's OK. I think the stress would be too much. (I've never cheered against the Cubs at all, much less while IN the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.) But, weather permitting, I will wear my Cubs 31 MADDUX jersey with pride. That's why I chose a photo of him in a Cub jersey for this post. I know fans in Atlanta will disagree with me, but to me, Greg Maddux will ALWAYS be a Cub.

* He is classy and softspoken with the press. He is known among teammates as a prankster, and a vulgar one at that. That's OK. I like the dichotomy. Greg Maddux reminds me of Otter, Tim Matheson's character in Animal House.