It's the worst time of the year to be a Cubs fan right now, for the calendar has finally turned over to September, and that means it's time for the Cubs to collapse. So here we are on September 4th, and the Cubs have lost their last five games, but luckily for them the Brewers haven't gained any ground on them in the process.
That's the end of the good news, though...
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While the Oakland Athletics were only six games behind the Los Angeles Angels when they traded Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs, I don't think many people were expecting the A's to actually catch and pass the Angels. Obviously, Billy Beane didn't think it mattered, or else he wouldn't have made the deal.
So when Harden came to Chicago, he was entering a whole new world as he became one of the newest knights of Cubdom's round table. Not only was he thrust into the middle of what could be baseball's most exciting division race, but he suddenly found himself pitching in front of 40,000 people, and they were all cheering for him.
That kind of stuff just never happened in Oakland...
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As I already made clear over at FanHouse, I have no idea what the hell the Athletics were thinking yesterday when they sent Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and John Donaldson. Why a team that's in the playoff hunt would want to trade a #1 starter 23 days before the deadline just baffles me.
I know that Rich Harden is a rather large injury risk, but as far as the Cubs are concerned, they won this trade big time. Well, at least for 2008.
Harden can last three innings in his first start as a Cub before his arm explodes, and this would still have been the right move for the Cubs to make. With the Brewers adding CC Sabathia on Monday and basically letting the Cubs know that there's a lot more to worry about than the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Hendry had to do something.
I knew there were rumors that the Cubs were talking to the A's about Harden, but I didn't think there was any way for them to pull the deal off considering the lack of attractive prospects in their farm system, and the fact that the A's are still in the playoff race. Apparently Mr. Hendry has a silver tongue, because he somehow convinced Billy Beane to make the deal.
Really, the only player the Cubs lost in this deal that I think could come back and haunt them would be Sean Gallagher, and even that's not something I actually expect. Eric Patterson is already 24 years old, so I'm not sure he's every going to develop into anything but a utility infielder on a good team. John Donaldson was a second round draft pick, but with Geovany Soto looking like he's going to be behind the plate for years to come, the Cubs had no need for him.
Then there's Matt Murton, who I feel better for than anybody else in this trade. I've always felt that all Murton has ever needed was regular playing time and he could develop into a very good Major League hitter. Now that he's in Oakland, he might finally get a chance to prove me right (more likely wrong) that he just wouldn't have gotten here. Not with Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome both planted in corner outfield spots for years to come.
Still, the centerpiece of this deal is Rich Harden who when he's healthy is probably the nastiest right-hander I've seen. The problem is he's not healthy all that often, as he's only started 26 games (13 of which have come this season) since 2006, and he also missed time in 2005.
That's why the forgotten man in this deal, Chad Gaudin, could end up being the most important piece of the puzzle for the Cubs. Gaudin could be invaluable for Lou Piniella as he can eat innings both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. So now if Harden goes down, the Cubs can plug in Gaudin. If Harden stays healthy, the Cubs can use Gaudin to replace Jason Marquis in the rotation should he start going south.
If both Harden and Marquis stick, then Chad can work out of the bullpen and lighten the load for guys like Bob Howry, Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this was a great move by Jim Hendry, one of just many he's made since taking over as general manager of the Cubs.
When I first found out yesterday that the Oakland Athletics had traded Rich Harden to the Cubs, my first reaction was "Why?" I didn't even know who Oakland had gotten in return from the Cubs, and already the deal didn't make that much sense to me. Then I heard who the A's got, and the deal made even less sense to me.
Don't get me wrong, I think Matt Murton has the potential to flourish in Oakland as he's finally found an organization that can appreciate what he's capable of (Matt has struggled this season, but does still have a career OPS of .810 without ever getting regular playing time), and Sean Gallagher could end up being a very effective pitcher for the Athletics. Eric Patterson is probably just an insurance plan should Mark Ellis not re-sign with the team after the season, as the A's are pretty thin at second base in the minors, and I don't know anything about John Donaldson.
But why now, Billy Beane?
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So now that the Brewers have traded for C.C. Sabathia, one has to wonder what move, if any, the Chicago Cubs are going to make to counter it. After all, a top of the rotation that features Ben Sheets and Sabathia is quite formidable, and the Brewers are currently constructed are more than capable of making up the 3.5 game gap between themselves and the top of the division.
So what are the Cubs going to do to answer Milwaukee's challenge? Word out of Chicago is that general manager Jim Hendry has been talking to Billy Beane a lot lately, and the topic of their conversation is not the weather, but rather what it would take to get Rich Harden in a Cubs uniform...
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Normally when Rich Harden pitches, he's pretty dominant. Unfortunately, when he pitches and he's dominating, he also usually gets hurt. So Harden's return to the mound for Oakland on Sunday afternoon may have been a very good sign for the Athletics.
Rich was far from dominant on Sunday. He only lasted 3.2 innings against the Rangers, and allowed five runs on eight hits, four walks and five strikeouts. Whether or not such a performance would have merited a return to the mound in the fifth inning, we'll never know...
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The Oakland Athletics are still tied for first place in the AL West, much to everybody's surprise, and it's all the more surprising that they've done it without Rich Harden. Still, if the Athletics are going to continue playing this well, and stay atop the division with the Angels all season, they're probably going to need Rich to stay healthy for the rest of the season.
Something that anybody who has been paying attention to Harden's career knows isn't likely to happen...
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As much of a surprise as the Athletics have been this season, what's made their early season success so much more remarkable is that they've done it without Rich Harden (Harden's stint on the DL has obviously been the least surprising thing about the A's this season). They've also been doing it without Keith Foulke, who was supposed to be a big part of their bullpen in 2008.
Still, despite the absence of those two, along with Eric Chavez, that Athletics are 19-14...
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As is usually the case during a baseball season, Oakland starter Rich Harden is hurt and on the disabled list right now. For a few years now, Harden has basically been the American League's answer to Kerry Wood. He's unbelievably talented, and has a great arm, but just can't stay healthy for an extended period of time.
Eventually the Cubs wised up to the situation and realized that Wood's arm was never going to hold up over the course of an entire season as a starting pitcher...
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Well that didn't take very long, did it?
This may come as a huge shock to you that totally turns your world upside down, but Rich Harden is going to miss his scheduled start tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays thanks to a sore back. I know, it's unbelievable to think that a pitcher that's been as durable as Harden could fall to injury...
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The Athletics and Red Sox finished up their two-game series in Japan earlier this morning (Sleep through it? Find out what you missed in Nick's liveblog from this morning.) Right now they're on a plane somewhere over the Pacific ocean returning to the states, and you can bet they're bringing back some of Japan with them.
Particularly a couple members of the Athletics who found a couple souvenirs that will help them remember their trip for a lifetime.
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|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Cal |  1 |
| 2 | Georgia | 1 |
| 3 | Ohio State |  2 |
| 4 | Florida | -- |
| 5 | Oklahoma | -- |
| 6 | Missouri | -- |
| 7 | LSU | -- |
| 8 | Texas | -- |
| 9 | West Virginia | 1 |
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| 12 | Texas Tech | -- |
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| 20 | Oregon | 1 |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 1 |
| 22 | Utah | 4 |
| 23 | East Carolina | 3 |
| 24 | UCLA | 2 |
| 25 | Illinois | 9 |
