So Long

So we say goodbye to Greg Maddux and Todd Walker, somewhat inevitable since both could help other clubs more than the Cubs for the rest of the season, and neither was certain to be back in 2007. Still, I liked both those guys. Yet again, I can’t help but turn my thoughts backwards in a what-if kind of mindset, because it wasn’t supposed to be this way for these guys this season.

Walker should have been the everyday second baseman, hitting second in the lineup in front of Derek Lee. He’s not a stellar defender, but he wasn’t bad with Lee letting him cheat an extra step up the middle. With Juan Pierre getting on in front of him, he was a perfect candidate for the hit and run. Except, Lee went out, Pierre didn’t get on base, Walker played some at first and platooned some at second, and never did find a rhythm. Not that he hit badly, but he never had that streak of RBI games like we were hoping.

Maddux should have been a solid fourth starter, with a fine defense behind him and enough offense to help him win some of those games when he gave up homeruns. He started off great, throwing the invisible ball and jumping out to five wins, seemingly well on his way to fifteen. But then the rails fell off Maddux’s season about when they fell off the Cubs season.

A few years ago, KJM caught Maddux’s 300th win out in San Francisco, and I saved the Chicago Tribune sports section cover for him to keep as a memento. It was a brilliant moment, and it seemed so fitting that Maddux came back to the Cubs to get that milestone. For a guy who always does things the right way, and for a club that hadn’t, it was nice to be able to share in it.

Another night last May, I sat in my favorite bleacher spot in left-center on a perfect evening as Maddux struck out ten Mets as the Cubs notched a shutout. My friends and I said at the time that it just doesn’t get any better than that. Because it doesn’t. A warm night like that in May under a perfect sky, a season brimming with anticipation in Chicago, with an artisan showing his skill -- that was it, man. That one’s burned in my memory, from the heckling of Cliff Floyd to Maddux walking off amidst a standing ovation; I'll remember that game for a long time.

Like a lot of people, a corner of my mind was in favor of paying Maddux more money than he was technically worth next season just to keep him in the fold, hopefully graduating him into the Cubs organization when he retires. Maybe that can still happen. I hope so.

In any case, I wish these two all the best. I figure Maddux has earned another gold glove if nothing else, and maybe the Dodgers will find their way to the top of the NL West after all, and he’ll get a chance to pitch in October. Walker, well -- who knows, but he’s a professional in every sense of the word, and the Padres could be playing in October just as easily. Both guys always hustled, and their demeanors always let you know that they were their own worst critics, holding themselves not only up to their own standard but to the standard of how the game ought to be played.

In fact, that’s one thing I find rather unsettling: these were two of the guys who didn’t need a manager, or a coach. They knew how to manage themselves, and how to play the game the right way. Maddux especially, but Walker too -- he rarely failed to advance a runner when the situation called for it. We can only hope it rubbed off on a few guys before they left.

Meanwhile, the Cubs winning streak has ended in grimy fashion as the Diamondbacks worked counts to get pitches they could lift, and the wind took care of the rest. I was screaming at the television as Baker brought in Rusch, and even before I could finish yelling about how this was going to backfire it had, as Byrnes lifted a homerun. I realize the bullpen is overworked and he had to use someone, but Rusch is a fly ball pitcher -- especially this season -- and to bring him in with the wind blowing out was to invite combustion.

With the game out of reach, then, I sat back and reflected about how now it really feels like the Cubs season is over. I mean, I knew back in June that it wasn’t happening this year, but tonight it felt different knowing that Maddux would not be starting every fifth game. The pattern is disrupted, and as I adjusted, I got my head around just how disappointing 2006 has been -- and will be from here on out. What was sinking in for several months has done sunk.

So long Walker. So long Maddux. So long hopes for 2006, something we’ve known but which has now been given symbolism.