If life imitates cinema, then Greg Maddux is Eddie Harris. In "Major League,'' Harris was the creaky pitcher who somehow got by, usually on pure guile though sometimes by rubbing Crisco, Vagisil or fresh snot on the ball. That would be the major difference between them -- there's no reason, despite the voiced suspicions of Mark Buehrle, to think Maddux goos up the baseball.
The man doesn't have to, after all. When need be, he's still the master, even if circles are darkening under his eyes, his chest is sort of shaped like a beer keg and his uniform doesn't exactly form-fit as well as Derrek Lee's.
On the eve of his 40th birthday, normally a time for old ballplayers to mow the grass or enter a broadcast booth, Maddux owns a 2-0 record and 1.46 ERA. It's as important a development as it is surprising, in that the Cubs desperately require solid, consistent results from their future Hall of Famer if they hope to overcome the misfits, kids and celebrated disabled-listers involved in a disheveled starting rotation. No one knew if he had anything left but fumes after last year, when he left gopher balls hanging over the plate and recorded his first losing season and worst ERA since he was a baby-faced rookie in 1987. I privately hoped he'd retire, so Cubdom could avoid the misery of his final season.
Turns out we could be watching one of the rousing baseball stories of 2006. Spinning and twirling his pitches at various mph clockings, Maddux has been magnificent in two outings at Wrigley Field, an artist who isn't ready to give up the game he loves while seeking a dream that many Cubs fans have abandoned. Ask him why he's still pitching into his 40s -- after 19 seasons, 320 victories, 3,060 strikeouts and 4,4182/3innings -- and his pitch is slipping by you and painting the black before you can blink.
"I'd like to get a ring here in Chicago,'' he said. "That's it. That's why I'm playing. Everyone has their reasons to play. I enjoy the game, the competition. I enjoy the city so much. I'd love to do whatever I can do to help this team win.''
Appearances might suggest otherwise, but the secret to Maddux's quick start is his fitness. For the first time, he hired a personal trainer in the offseason to help with his endurance and energy. The old-school hurler downplays the significance of better health, of course, saying, "It's not how you work out. It's how you pitch.'' But even if it's more a matter of better location than reduced body fat, and even if he's making his regular rounds at Gold Coast steakhouses, something is refreshingly different about him. Old Man Maddux is back to being Mad Dog, it seems.