Rich Harden

When the 2009 MLB season comes to a close, the Chicago Cubs have announced that they will shop starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano in hopes of swinging a trade and dumping much of his monstrous contract. The question is, should the Mets be interested in the massive right-hander?

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habetical order) LHP-Erik Bedard, RHP-Jon Garland (unless his $10 million option is picked up), RHP-Rich Harden, RHP-John Lackey, RHP-Jason Marquis, LHP-Andy Pettitte, LHP-Jarrod Washburn, and LHP-Randy Wolf. 

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e best record in the majors, and the most balanced team in the NL, if not all of baseball.  If Rich Harden stays healthy, the Brewers shouldn't be too big a threat to overtake the division lead.

Continue reading "Seven Runs: Too Little, Too Early"

Sabathia is 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA for the Brewers, with four complete games and two shutouts.  Rich Harden only has one win since joining the Cubs, but he has posted a 2.10 ERA and has fanned 47 batters in only 30 innings.  Even Joe Blanton has helped his new team, with a 3.27 ERA in four starts, three of which have resulted in wins for the Phillies.

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Pirates may have already sewn up his contract extension as GM.

    The Cubs pulled Rich Harden after only five innings and 87 pitches as part of their plan to keep him healthy.  He had only allowed one run on two hits at the time, and the bullpen then needed to pitch seven innings, as the game ended in the 12th.  It makes sense for the Cubs to try to keep Harden from becoming overworked, but if that means possibly crippling their bullpen and taking out a top-of-the-rotation starter in the fifth inning of a 2-1 game, you have to question whether Harden was really worth all they gave up to get him.

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r young arm in return for Johan Santana in the winter.

    Randy Johnson outdueled Rich Harden last night in Arizona, throwing seven shutout innings for a 2-0 victory.  Harden allowed just one hit through seven, but it was the big blow--Alex Romero's first career home run.  Harden struck out ten in the game, but took the tough luck loss to fall to 0-1 since being traded to the Cubs.  Chicago leads both Milwaukee and St. Louis by two games in the NL Central, and Arizona climbed to 49-50, good enough for first place in the West. 

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e Blanton.  This is the third starting pitcher the Athletics have dealt this season, including Rich Harden and Dan Haren, who was traded to Arizona in the winter.  Blanton is only 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA this season, but there could be a method to GM Pat Gillick's madness.  Blanton is marginally better in the second half over the course of his career, and in two career starts against the Mets he is 1-0 and has not allowed a run in 15 innings.  The Mets will get to see him right away, as he is slated to pitch on Tuesday at Shea.  To make room in the rotation, Philly moved Adam Eaton, who was a career Met-killer until New York roughed him up last time they faced him, to the bullpen.

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The other big trade that happened recently was the Cubs’ acquisition of the oft-injured Rich Harden from Oakland. This move is typical of Oakland’s business model, which involves shedding young stars before they get too expensive, often in exchange for other young or undervalued stars. In this way, they’re similar to the Florida Marlins, except that the Marlins tend to load up for concentrated runs at the championship (they have as many championships in the last decade as big-market Boston, and more than the Cubs have in the past hundred years), while the A’s tend towards consistent competitiveness.

Continue reading "NL Central Trade Analysis, Part Two"

It’s been three days since the Cubs acquired former Oakland ace Rich Harden, and those three days have shown a lot about the club. Harden has said he couldn’t be happier in pinstripes and has so far looked like a good fit in the clubhouse. He instantly has formed a sort of kinship with fellow British Columbian Ryan Dempster, and has received the praise of pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Like fellow former American Leaguer stud pitcher “CC” Sabathia, Harden has been place right in the middle of the Senior Circuit’s best race so far. With the Central’s big three clubs separated by less than five games, the division could go either way. For the Cubs,

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ainst the division leaders thus far this season.  Sean Gallagher, whom Oakland acquired in the Rich Harden trade, will start tonight against Jon Garland.

Games of the Week

Recap:  Wednesday 7/9  Texas Rangers 5, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4

Continue reading "Mets Go For Seven Straight Tonight at Shea"

new stadium:  http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/599483.html

How the Cubs plan to keep Rich Harden off the DL:  http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080709-rich-har

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Sabathia from the Indians, the Cubs answered back by acquiring Rich Harden in a six-player deal with Oakland.  If Harden can stay healthy, he makes the Cubs' rotation very tough to beat, but unfortunately that has been a very big "if" thus far in the right hander's career.  Harden has been on the DL six times since 2003 and get this:  since Harden came off the DL on May 11 he has made 11 starts, his longest streak of health since he made 12 straight starts between two DL stints in 2005.  He has been superb this season, as has been the case for most of his career when healthy, but only time will tell.

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ngels offense instantly boasts more pop than they demonstrated last year.

Oakland Athletics

Can Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby finally stay health?

And to follow up on that question, if they are healthy, will they still be in Oakland at the end of the season?

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: American League West"