Like it or not, road to erasing 108-yea...dern-day Maddux | Sports Radio America

1/5/2017 Like it or not, road to erasing 108-year curse runs through Cubs' modern-day Maddux | Sports Radio America

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Like it or not, road to erasing 108year curse runs through Cubs'modernday Maddux

written by Marcus S. Marion, Columnist/Photos by Gregory Bull, Associated Press on Fri, Oct 28, 16

Greg Maddux, who won the 1995 World Series with the AtlantaBraves three years after being released by the Chicago Cubs, maybe one of the best technical pitchers in baseball history.

Now his greatest and most recent comparison, Kyle Hendricks, is prepared to help the Cubs’ do the same21 years later.

To say Hendricks' rise to acedom has been anything less than miraculous and meteoric might be an insultto a man who was drafted in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, yet posted the lowest ERA in themajors this year.

And even if Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester — the Chicago Cubs' No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers — won't admit it,he's probably the team's third best pitcher.

The crazy thing is, that's not a bad thing.

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When the Cubs open Game 3 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, it will beHendricks and his minuscule 1.32 home field ERA defending the ivy of Wrigley Field from opposingvolleys. For a city that yearns to win a WS more than any other, there’s no better man — not Arrieta,Lester or John Lackey — to stand facetoface with the goatcurse and shadow of Steve Bartman thanChicago's unlikely ace.

Excluding the threeyear span between 2013 and 2015, the L.A. Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and theArizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke ruled as arguably the best onetwo punch in Major LeagueBaseball, only three other pitchers have better than the man compared to HallofFamer Greg Maddux inthe last 20 years.

Throughout the last two decades, only Greinke (1.66, 2014), Kershaw (1.77, 2012), Roger Clemens (1.87,2005), Kevin Brown (1.89, 1996) and Pedro Martínez (1.90, 1997) have a lower ERA than Hendricks' 2.13in two decades of professional baseball. To put the impact in perspective, Maddux, who was on the listfour times, beat Hendricks' total only twice in 1994 (1.56) and 1995 (1.63).

Aside from the utterly frustrating, batbreaking accuracy he displayed during his dismantling of the TexasRangers' batting order on July 15, Hendricks has been better than advertised against American Leagueoffenses.

According to statistics taken from MLB.com, Hendricks posted his best monthly ERA (1.07) in the monthof July despite facing the topranked Rangers, which ended the season with the secondbest record in theMLB, and the Chicago White Sox, which got seven and twothirds shutout innings from James Shields. In24 games pitched, Hendricks is 11 against AL teams and has allowed only 11 hits and two earned runsduring that time frame.

Only Arrieta, who finished the season with a 3.10 ERA, and Lester, who was second in the majors with a2.44 ERA, were better.

Arrieta and Lester pitched themselves to a 31 and 40 records in a combined nine games against the AL.While Arrieta allowed 16 hits and nine earned runs against the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, LosAngeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, Lester allowed 21 hits and three earned runs.

It doesn't take a mathematician to see there's no other pitcher on the Cubs' roster that has pitched betterat Wrigley. It also doesn't take a statistical whizkid to guess Hendricks' win sets the stage for eitherLester or Arrieta to seal the first WS victory since cellophane was invented and the first Ford Model T wassold and help Chicago hoist the first Commissioner's Trophy in the modern age of baseball.

Including his nearnohitter against Chicago's bitter rival St. Louis on Sept. 12, Hendricks finished the2016 baseball season an astounding 92 at Clark and Addison. Batters have a .201 batting averageagainst him and have pushed hits past the ivy only four times in 11 games.

Much like Madison Bumgarner before him (though not nearly as dominant in fashion) Hendricks hasbecome the Cubs' postseason miracle. He’s a pitcher never slated to play a major role in professionalbaseball, let alone become baseball's thirdbest starter or carry the weight of winning the sport's greatestprize for a city devoid of a WS title for more than a century.

To finally erase the goatcurse and forgive Steve Bartman, the city of Chicago needs its unlikely ace topave the way to history more than any other player on the roster.

Marcus is a columnist for Sports Radio America and an analyst on The Sunday Gridiron and CollegeCredit Hour. Follow him on Twitter at @MarcusMarionWNI.

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