Maddux looking to improve

By Matt Jacob
Review-Journal

      He owns four Cy Young Awards, one world championship ring and one of baseball's richest contracts.
      Oh, and he is regarded by some as the greatest pitcher not just of this era, but any era.
      So, what is left for Greg Maddux to accomplish? What is left for him to prove?
      "You always try to get better," the humble Las Vegan said with a straight face Sunday before teeing off in the Robert Gamez Charity Classic at TPC Summerlin. "There's always room for improvement."
      Greg Maddux, room for improvement? OK, so what's the punchline?
      Well, there isn't one.
      Hard as it may be to fathom, the Atlanta Braves right-hander -- who is about to embark on his 11th full big-league season -- truly believes he hasn't fully tapped his potential.
      "I really, really just want to be the best pitcher I can be," said the 31-year-old Maddux. "I want to go out and pitch as well as I can possibly pitch."
      For the past six seasons, nobody has pitched as well as Maddux. Since 1992, the Valley High School alumnus has posted a 109-44 record, and during that span, he has never finished a season with an ERA higher than 2.72. In fact, in five of those six seasons, Maddux's ERA has been under 2.37.
      Last season, Maddux went 19-4 with a 2.20 ERA. His National League-best .826 winning percentage wasn't good enough to win him his fifth Cy Young Award -- he finished second to Pedro Martinez -- but it helped the Braves to a 101-61 record and their seventh consecutive division title.
      However, Maddux and the Braves once again failed to fulfill their lofty expectations, losing the National League Championship Series to the eventual-world champion Florida Marlins in six games. Maddux started two games in the NLCS and lost them both despite allowing just two earned runs in 13 innings (1.38 ERA).
      "You're upset (with) what happened, but there's no sense dwelling on it," Maddux said of getting eliminated by the Marlins. "Hopefully, you learn something that you can apply to next year if we get in that same spot again."
      Despite a roster make-over, most expect the Braves to be in that spot again. Although the Braves have lost stars like Kenny Lofton and Fred McGriff, they have added slugging first baseman Andres Galarraga and steady shortstop Walt Weiss.
      More importantly, Atlanta has kept intact baseball's premier pitching staff, which includes Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle and Maddux, who surrendered his right to free agency last year by signing a five-year extension worth $57.5 million. It's the most lucrative contract ever given to a pitcher.
      "I love living in Atlanta," Maddux said in explaining why he chose not to become a free agent. "I enjoyed the first five years there, so it's only natural to assume that I'd enjoy the next five there also. And the money was great. I'm not going to lie. How do you say no to that?"
      You don't. You just grab your glove and walk to the mound, which Maddux will do beginning Feb. 13 when he and the rest of the Braves' pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Orlando, Fla. And although he's an avid golfer who has played five times a week during this offseason, Maddux said he's ready to trade in his golf spikes for baseball spikes.
      "You know, I miss the game -- I really do," said Maddux, whose career stats include a 184-108 record with a 2.81 ERA. "You take three or four months off like we do, you start to miss it. And I've been missing it for about a month, and I'm kind of itching to go back."
      And itching to duplicate the 1995 season, when Maddux and the Braves won it all.
      "We've got a lot of new faces. Hopefully, we'll all gel," Maddux said. "It seems like the chemistry's been altered a little bit, and that might be a good thing, who knows?
      "Obviously our goal is to win the World Series. That's always our goal. Do we have to accomplish that to feel like we had a good year? No, we don't. But, obviously, we want to win the World Series -- not just get there but win it. But there's always circumstances where if you don't achieve that, you can still look in the mirror and like what you see."
      No doubt, when Greg Maddux stands before that mirror, what you see is baseball's best pitcher ... who somehow still finds room for improvement.