The San Diego Padres traded future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later and/or cash considerations. So what does this mean for Maddux’s fantasy fortunes for the rest of the season? Probably nothing but positive things. Here is why:
Ballpark
San Diego’s Petco Park is a pitcher’s paradise. Los Angeles’ Dodgers Stadium is definitely friendlier to hurlers than hitters, too. It’s as if Maddux has changed his vacation plans from Bermuda to Hawaii – both are great, and there are more similarities than differences. Maddux was 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA two years ago during his first go-round with the Dodgers, so he is certainly comfortable pitching with the team and in that ballpark. He has long been known for keeping the ball down and keeping his walk totals low, and if he continues to follow those strategies Dodger Stadium will be a better ally to him than any rosen bag or defensive-minded catcher.
Support
San Diego has had a harder time scoring this season than a drug addict in a rehab clinic. This caused Maddux to be on the short end of many low-scoring sticks. He currently has a solid 3.99 ERA, yet he only has a 6-9 record. Chicago’s Ted Lilly (12-6), Houston’s Roy Oswalt (11-8) and Arizona’s Randy Johnson (10-9) all have ERAs over 4.00 but have winning records. Woe is Maddux.
Maddux will certainly be on the receiving end of more run support with the Dodgers. This might not have been true before July 31, because back then Los Angeles was having its own offensive outages. But since acquiring run-producing monster Manny Ramirez at the trade deadline the Dodgers have been one of the highest-scoring teams in the National League. Los Angeles has scored four or more runs in 11 out of their 16 games in August, largely because Ramirez has been ripping apart NL pitching and has made his new light-hitting teammates better by just being in the middle of the lineup.
Playoff Fever
Maddux is one of the most competitive pitchers in the game today. He still fights and claws to get every batter out, even though his stuff and accuracy are not what they were in his glory years. There is no doubt Maddux will battle even harder and pitch even better because he is back in the thick of a playoff race instead of playing out the strings on a club with no chance at postseason play.
So Maddux will be more motivated to pitch, he will get more run support and he will be pitching half the time in a ballpark perfect for the way he pitches. Sounds like a winning record and a 3.50 ERA are on the horizon for this all-time great from here on out. Enjoy him, fantasy owners!
