Today, in keeping with his* well honed attention to detail, he* notices that Greg Maddux is a good pitcher. Me? Those 300 plus wins, the Cy Young Awards, the World Series ring and the rest were my clues, but I guess they were not enough to our favorite dwarf.

See, until Roger “alleged pedophile” Clemens fell from grace on high, he was numero uno in the back page pundit’s repertoire. As if, somehow, Maddux now rises on his* all time roll by default. I am not ripping on Maddux here. Far from it. He was, and is, one of the greatest pitchers of modern baseball. No, I am ripping on the mentality that holds, sadly, to the belief that if you are not number one on some arbitrary list that vacillates daily, you are nothing. I am sure children reared with those expectations have no problems at all coping in the real world. I am also sure that the bunnies in my head are helping me focus.

But, then again, who among us ever claimed that Mariotti was even aware there is a real world?

No, today he* takes a lot of dead trees to laud Maddux and then, in typical fashion, point out how much he sucked yesterday. He* hails his career and then points him to the nearest old folks’ home. He* mentions what a great teammate Maddux is and then anoints him a world class gas passer. As though the two create a contradiction somehow. Of course, being clueless as to what guys act like is kind of de rigeur for Mariotti, so I guess we should just let it slide.

Greg Maddux will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame without any need for a back handed endorsement from Mariotti. And, if there is any justice in the world, Mariotti will be enshrined in the Hall of Shame for children to laugh at for all time.

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