Call It Old Style

It didn’t seem so long ago that Greg Maddux was referred to as a fourth starter. Or even a fifth.

Now the oldest right-handed starter in baseball, Maddux is throwing his best ball of either tenure as a Cub. It’s not just in being 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA, it’s nipping losing streaks in the bud. The Cubs are off to a great start at 8-4, but three of those losses preceded Maddux starts. I know I mentioned this after Maddux’ last start, but it bears repeating. When it counts, you want the old crafty veteran who can right the ship. That's how you win a best-of-five or -seven series, but there are a lot more three- and four-game series to win before you get there.

He even drove in the game’s second run with a bloop single to right.

Maddux notched number 321 in L.A. Monday in classic fashion, allowing a run, three hits and no walks over eight innings. Mister Consistency so far, he’s given up one run and thrown 87 pitches (with the strikes climbing) in each start.

Ryan Dempster pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save in three opportunities, and remains unscored upon.

The bats are still hot and cold, and some changes in the lineup might be in order. The Cubs are scoring a lot of runs in the back of the order, and with Matt Murton and team hit leader Ronny Cedeno both getting big hits, they need more AB’s. As for Jacque Jones, he looks a lot more like an eight-hitter than Cedeno, and John Mabry looks like an even better option right now if he can give you enough starts.

The Cubs stand a half-game behind Houston as Carlos Zambrano looks for his first win of 2006 tonight.