Greg Maddux to retire

According to various reports that have come out in the past hour or so, his agent, Scott Boras, announced the decision earlier today and said that Maddux will formally announce the decision on Monday in Las Vegas, where he lives and where baseball's annual winter meetings are set to begin that day. Can't say it's much of a surprise, given his age (42) and the fact he clearly had declined even though he won 14 games as recently as 2007. But there is no disputing the fact that he is one of the all-time greats, a 355-game winner who will go into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. And of course, he finished his legendary career with the Dodgers, going 2-4 with a 5.09 ERA in seven starts after they acquired him from the Padres on Aug. 19. He pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs, giving up two unearned runs in four innings.