Dodgers Acquire Greg Maddux

Sports Center just reported the acquisition by the Dodgers of Maddux. It's not official yet.... but if this is true, we might be in a spot of trouble.

[Updated with ESPN story link]

3 months ago snakecharmer Comment 30 comments 0 recs |

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LA Times story

LA Times reports the same thing… no details, nothing officially announced yet…

by snakecharmer on Aug 18, 2008 8:53 PM EDT 0 recs

"screwed"???

We own Maddux… I don’t see him as a huge upgrade for the Dodgers. We very well might lose this pennant, but I highly doubt Maddux will be the reason.

"There are only two seasons: winter and baseball"
-- Bill Veeck

by njjohn on Aug 18, 2008 8:55 PM EDT 0 recs

And I know he’s not having the very best of seasons, but they’re replacing an injured Penny with a healthy Maddux. Maybe we beat him, fine, but they’re going to get maybe 5-6 more wins out of him this year against other teams…. wins we can’t afford to get behind by.

by snakecharmer on Aug 18, 2008 8:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

My 'wins' estimate

is probably high but it’s assuming he gets run support from the Dodgers’ offense, which he wasn’t getting from the Padres.

6-9 record (26 starts!) 3.99 ERA, 80K, 1.22 WHIP

by snakecharmer on Aug 18, 2008 9:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

In reality Maddux is replacing starts that would have been taken by the Kuroda/Stults/Kuo combination. Those three have ERA+ this year of 114, 139, and 234. Maddux is at 98. I’d say that’s a downgrade, not an upgrade. Now, in reality, I don’t really think it’s a downgrade (Maddux’s experience, after all, will undoubtedly help)… but I see it as a parallel move, not as a bump.

"There are only two seasons: winter and baseball"
-- Bill Veeck

by njjohn on Aug 18, 2008 9:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

Maddux stealing starts from Kuo/Kuroda/Stults doesnt make sense

Kuo is a setup man and is very comfortable in his role
Kuroda is Dodgers #4 starter
And Stults is in AAA where he belongs. While i dont think maddux really improves the Dodgers to win 5 or 6 games, I think he will be decent

by AZWILDCATS on Aug 18, 2008 11:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

Kuroda will be bumped from 4 to 5 (likely) and will thereby likely lose two starts down the stretch. Kuo has started three games on the season and I saw him as a likely fill-in in the fifth slot (I would’ve been surprised to see the Dodgers try out Johnson or McDonald in this kind of stretch run).
Didn’t know Stults is back in AAA. Thanks for the heads up. Not sure why he is, though. He’s thrown well.

"There are only two seasons: winter and baseball"
-- Bill Veeck

by njjohn on Aug 18, 2008 11:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

OTOH,

I don’t think the Dbacks are on pace right now to win the division by “5 or 6 games”, so Maddux probably only needs to earn the Dodgers an extra win or two to nudge them ahead to the NL West title.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 11:56 PM EDT up 0 recs

We hold the keys

the Diamondbacks need to put the foot on the gas and worry about themselves, not what the Dodgers are doing. If it was a case of trying to come back, maybe we can start jumping off buildings, but as long as the Diamondbacks keep winning this isn’t that big of a problem.

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 18, 2008 9:02 PM EDT 0 recs

I'm not wild about our rotation though...

I agree with whoever said Petit should take Davis’s spots starts for a little while, and a healthy Scherzer in September should help. IF we keep winning….yes. But the Dodgers now add a decent arm to their rotation who is going to be bringing in more wins to the team (if they can hit).

by snakecharmer on Aug 18, 2008 9:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

The only way

I could see Petit taking over Davis is if they go to a four man rotation with two swapping back and forth. Petit has looked good lately, but is that just some lucky run or will he regress a bit?

The bigger problem is the offense needs to keep going, especially not wasting the good starts of our big three, like yesterday.

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 18, 2008 9:10 PM EDT up 0 recs

Petit is a RHP

but he’s more of a control/finesse guy than a guy with overpowering “stuff”…. it’s not often that you see right-handed finesse pitchers that stick in the majors, so…. let’s be optimistic, but cautiously.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 11:51 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'm not saying

that the dude can’t be good, but let’s not get over our heads here.

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT up 0 recs

Um, okay.....

so the Dodgers just added another rental player — in this case, an aging starter who’s traditionally gotten shelled by us and has struggled to earn wins this year, with an ERA only ever-so-slightly under 4 even after pitching in PetCo.

I’m almost particularly happy to hear this. It means the Dodgers are taking a possible starting spot away from a young pitcher who needs to be developed, and it means the Dodgers are trying like hell to win the WS this year. (Which, sure as I’m sitting here, they won’t.) It’s a really stupid way to go about things for them — as a Dbacks fan, I can only hope that they continue wasting their time on over-the-hill players rather than building for the future.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 9:09 PM EDT 0 recs

I think for the long run

it’s pretty good for us, but then it also highlights the gap between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. The latter always will go out and get the pieces they need (or think they do) while the Diamondbacks can’t.

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 18, 2008 9:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

For the long run, absolutely

Maddux is an aging pitcher who won’t hurt us much past this year. But a lot of his L/NDs came from lack of run support… similar to us. If he can keep his runs down and if Manny hits well in the NL, they’re going to pick up wins, and that’s what worries me.

by snakecharmer on Aug 18, 2008 9:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

We should be worried

but we should be worried about any move the Dodgers make, especially with the question marks the Diamondbacks have.

This is going to be one hell of a race, though.

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 18, 2008 9:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

It should be noted, with glee,

that we certainly made the better move in the offseason arms race — Haren has been better than advertised thus far, and Kuroda has been…. well, not quite as good.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 11:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

Certainly not as good as Haren.

Different circumstances though. The Dodgers only had to fork over money for Kuroda, and their offense has been abysmal. 49 starts combined for Lowe and Kuroda, and they have just 16 wins between the two of them despite both their ERAs being below 4.

We’re definitely sporting the better pitcher as the end result, but when you factor in what we had to give up to get such a top-quality pitcher, I’m not sure we came out that far ahead.

by Azreous on Aug 19, 2008 12:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

If Maddux' success as a Dodger

must be qualified by dependence on Mandy and run support, that makes him pretty much irrelevant and proves that, at this point in his career, he’s not much more than an average starter. In a pennant race, despite his recent troubles, I’ll take Doug Davis and his 4-3 record, 3.00 career ERA and 1.31 WHIP against the Dodgers before I’ll take Maddux with his 3-11 record, 5.37 career ERA and 1.55 WHIP against the Dbacks. ::knock on wood::

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 9:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

Maddux is at the point in his career where he’s just not going to walk anyone. He relies on Petco to keep the ball in play, and defense to get batters out. Since Dodger Stadium is much more home run friendly than Petco and the only plus defender we have is Andre Ethier, this could cause problems.

The Dodgers likely would have replaced Penny with Jason Johnson so it’s a minor upgrade, but they have a fairly high rated prospect James McDonald who would probably be better.

Co-Author Of The Fourth Most Popular NL West Based Blog On SBN

by Andrew on Aug 18, 2008 9:15 PM EDT 0 recs

As a Dodgers fan....

does this make you more worried about Manny’s defense in LF?

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 11:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

I guess this is

a good as time as any. Any word of Upton and when or if he is coming back this year?

Yub, yub!

by soco on Aug 18, 2008 9:20 PM EDT 0 recs

Upton is with Tucson right now, made his fifth rehab appearance yesterday. Since he went down there, he’s 8 for 21 with a double, a home run, and six strikeouts.

Don’t know when he’ll be back, thoughl.

Am I avoiding the subject, or am I doing philosophy?

by kishi on Aug 18, 2008 9:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

6 k’s? yikes.

"There are only two seasons: winter and baseball"
-- Bill Veeck

by njjohn on Aug 18, 2008 10:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

That's another thing.

We’ve still got Scherzer stashed away in AAA, as well as Upton. If Justin comes back swinging the bat reasonably well, it’s like trading for another OF — and Scherzer is talented enough to make a difference down the stretch, be it as a starter or as a reliever.

Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers: Filling the dubious shoes left open by Barry Bonds and the Giants.

by DbacksSkins on Aug 18, 2008 11:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

I read somewhere

that Byrnes and Melvin had set the 22nd as JUp’s return date. Have to see if that holds true though, I guess.

Never give up. Never give in.

by pepperdinedevil on Aug 19, 2008 6:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

The weekend seems about right

According to this piece, “Upton is scheduled to be with Tucson through Friday.” I also note that Scherzer threw 85 pitches in his last start, and is scheduled to get up to 95 in his next start, so it looks like they are getting him ready for the rotation, if required.

by Jim McLennan on Aug 19, 2008 1:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'm not worried

He’s a slightly below average pitcher this year, not much of an upgrade over what they have. Let’s hope the Padres took something valuable off them :)

by paqs on Aug 19, 2008 2:04 PM EDT 0 recs

I can't say I am too worried.

I still think the D-Backs have the better pitching rotation. I think it is only a minor upgrade to the Dodgers, if that. The race was going to be tight, no doubt. But, I really don’t think the acquisition of Maddux will be the deciding factor.

by SongBird on Aug 19, 2008 2:07 PM EDT 0 recs