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7/8/08
Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin Sent To Chicago In Exchange For Four Cubs
Cubs See Your CC Sabathia, And Raise You Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin
Home to the three best records in the National League, the Central Division race is officially on. Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers formally announced the acquisition of 2007 Cy Young winner CC Sabathia. Tuesday, the Cubs went out an acquired Rich Harden, whom everyone agrees has Cy Young caliber stuff.

It may look like a knee-jerk reactionary move on the Cubs part, but if you're familiar with GM Jim Hendry and the A's Billy Beane, you can be certain this was in the works for some time. But even if is this deal were somehow miraculously put together in 24 hours, it's a promising gamble for both sides.

The Cubs acquired Rich Harden and fellow right-hand pitcher Chad Gaudin, in exchange for promising young pitching Sean Gallagher, corner outfielder Matt Murton, utility guy Eric Patterson and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson.

Obviously the Cubs make out with one of the game's best pitchers with one very Cub-like qualifiers: IF he stays healthy. The one point Hendry wanted to hammer home today in a pre-game press conference was that Harden has never had a surgery. That doesn't make this Cubs fan any more comfortable, but it's a risk worth taking when you haven't won a World Series in 100 years, nor even participated in the Fall Classic since 1945.

Harden is just 26, under contract through 2009 and has had a string of ten straight quality starts. Gaudin will like join the Chicago's bullpen and give Carlos Marmol some relief as crunch time nears.

Oakland gets a pitcher the Cubs have been very high on in Sean Gallagher. He's just 22 and has essentially come in to replace veteran Jason Marquis in the rotation. Gallagher will be a good one in 2-3 years, especially with the Athletics pitching guidance. Corner outfielder Murton desperately needed a change of scenery, and is far more talented than his numbers currently show. He's been in trade talks for two years now and probably not by coincidence, has struggled for two years. Ironically, you can thank Alfonso Soriano's injury for making this trade happen. His DL stint gave Eric Patterson and opportunity to play left field and he had some very good games over the last month while the Athletics were busy scouting.

As a Cubs fan my take may be biased, but it's hard not to love this deal. It's nice to be able to make a move like this, while still in first place and get a player that's still young like Harden. Of course, I will now be on pins and needles with each of his starts worrying about injury, but that's just the nature of Cubdom.

Do you like this move for the Cubs? Too risky with injury history? Would you rather have Harden a year plus or Sabathia just for the remainder of this season?
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362 days ago
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Harden will be on the D.L soon, he's another Mark Prior..the A's thank you....read below

In 2005, Harden began the season with the Athletics, but was sidelined with an oblique injury and missed more than a month (May 14-June 21) due to it. Harden came back and pitched very solidly, including a very impressive 2 hit complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers on ]]July 14]], in which he was perfect for 7+ innings, as the A's won 6-0. Exactly one month later on August 14, Harden allowed only 1 hit, however he got a no decision, and the A's ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 2-1. On August 19, Harden had a 10-5 record with an ERA of 2.63 ERA, and things were looking great for the young star until he injured his right shoulder, sidelining him until September 25, by which time the Athletics were already out of the playoff hunt. Harden appeared in three games late in the season, pitching 5 innings of shutout ball, striking out seven and walking one. He finished the year with a 10-5 win-loss record, an ERA of 2.57 and 121 strike outs in 128 innings. He allowed only seven HR's all season long, and despite the injuries, he emerged as the ace of the Oakland Athletics pitching staff.

In 2006, Harden had two lengthy stints on the DL, spending most of the season there. He came back from the DL on September 21, 2006, for a short but outstanding start, going 3 innings allowing 1 run and recording 7 strikeouts.

He started off the 2007 season with a win against the Seattle Mariners, going 7 innings, striking out 7, and allowing two walks and two hits, before returning to the DL, on April 23.

After another injury-plagued season, Harden started off the 2008 season with a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, pitching six strong innings and giving up a run and three hits while walking three and striking out nine batters. However, after his second start, he was again placed on the disabled list. Harden was activated on May 11 and struggled in his return allowing 8 hits and 5 runs in 3.2 innings and earning a no decision. In Harden's next start against his former teamate Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves, he pitched 7 innings only allowing 4 hits and 1 run while earning the win. In this start against the Braves on May 17, Harden also achieved his first major league hit.

On June 8, 2008, he became the 38th pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches. This was done in the first inning, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On July 8th he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

 
363 days ago
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As a Reds fan I hate this deal... now the Reds will have to lose to Harden and Sabathia... I hope the young Reds pitchers get good and get good soon. Great move by the Cubs... now all we have to do is sit back and watch what happens.
 
363 days ago
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(Edited 07/09/08 2:24AM by gearhead)
OK, so Harden (and Chad Gaudin, who's no sloutch) was traded for a potential #2 in Gallagher, a solid OBP guy in Murton whose stock has fallen drastically over the years, a second base prospect when the A's have Mark Ellis, and a catching prospect who seems far, far away from being of use.

Either Beane expects Harden to get hurt very soon, or he made a bad trade.
 
363 days ago
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The Cubs had to make this deal, and as Eric points out, they didn't seem to give up much for him.  The Cubs may've still won the division without this trade, but if they would've been matched up with the Brewers in the playoffs they would've lost.  Now they have an equally dynamic duo at the front of their rotation.
 
362 days ago
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If your a Cubs fan, you love it and its that simple. I love it, and CF loves it. If your a fan of ANY other team in the NL, you hate this deal and you are very very jealous. Unless of course, Harden gets hurt.
 
362 days ago
4
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Harden will be on the D.L soon, he's another Mark Prior..the A's thank you....read below

In 2005, Harden began the season with the Athletics, but was sidelined with an oblique injury and missed more than a month (May 14-June 21) due to it. Harden came back and pitched very solidly, including a very impressive 2 hit complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers on ]]July 14]], in which he was perfect for 7+ innings, as the A's won 6-0. Exactly one month later on August 14, Harden allowed only 1 hit, however he got a no decision, and the A's ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 2-1. On August 19, Harden had a 10-5 record with an ERA of 2.63 ERA, and things were looking great for the young star until he injured his right shoulder, sidelining him until September 25, by which time the Athletics were already out of the playoff hunt. Harden appeared in three games late in the season, pitching 5 innings of shutout ball, striking out seven and walking one. He finished the year with a 10-5 win-loss record, an ERA of 2.57 and 121 strike outs in 128 innings. He allowed only seven HR's all season long, and despite the injuries, he emerged as the ace of the Oakland Athletics pitching staff.

In 2006, Harden had two lengthy stints on the DL, spending most of the season there. He came back from the DL on September 21, 2006, for a short but outstanding start, going 3 innings allowing 1 run and recording 7 strikeouts.

He started off the 2007 season with a win against the Seattle Mariners, going 7 innings, striking out 7, and allowing two walks and two hits, before returning to the DL, on April 23.

After another injury-plagued season, Harden started off the 2008 season with a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, pitching six strong innings and giving up a run and three hits while walking three and striking out nine batters. However, after his second start, he was again placed on the disabled list. Harden was activated on May 11 and struggled in his return allowing 8 hits and 5 runs in 3.2 innings and earning a no decision. In Harden's next start against his former teamate Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves, he pitched 7 innings only allowing 4 hits and 1 run while earning the win. In this start against the Braves on May 17, Harden also achieved his first major league hit.

On June 8, 2008, he became the 38th pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches. This was done in the first inning, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On July 8th he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

 
362 days ago
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Michael G wrote:

Harden will be on the D.L soon, he's another Mark Prior..the A's thank you....read below

In 2005, Harden began the season with the Athletics, but was sidelined with an oblique injury and missed more than a month (May 14-June 21) due to it. Harden came back and pitched very solidly, including a very impressive 2 hit complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers on ]]July 14]], in which he was perfect for 7+ innings, as the A's won 6-0. Exactly one month later on August 14, Harden allowed only 1 hit, however he got a no decision, and the A's ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 2-1. On August 19, Harden had a 10-5 record with an ERA of 2.63 ERA, and things were looking great for the young star until he injured his right shoulder, sidelining him until September 25, by which time the Athletics were already out of the playoff hunt. Harden appeared in three games late in the season, pitching 5 innings of shutout ball, striking out seven and walking one. He finished the year with a 10-5 win-loss record, an ERA of 2.57 and 121 strike outs in 128 innings. He allowed only seven HR's all season long, and despite the injuries, he emerged as the ace of the Oakland Athletics pitching staff.

In 2006, Harden had two lengthy stints on the DL, spending most of the season there. He came back from the DL on September 21, 2006, for a short but outstanding start, going 3 innings allowing 1 run and recording 7 strikeouts.

He started off the 2007 season with a win against the Seattle Mariners, going 7 innings, striking out 7, and allowing two walks and two hits, before returning to the DL, on April 23.

After another injury-plagued season, Harden started off the 2008 season with a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, pitching six strong innings and giving up a run and three hits while walking three and striking out nine batters. However, after his second start, he was again placed on the disabled list. Harden was activated on May 11 and struggled in his return allowing 8 hits and 5 runs in 3.2 innings and earning a no decision. In Harden's next start against his former teamate Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves, he pitched 7 innings only allowing 4 hits and 1 run while earning the win. In this start against the Braves on May 17, Harden also achieved his first major league hit.

On June 8, 2008, he became the 38th pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches. This was done in the first inning, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On July 8th he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

Even if he's on the DL from time to time, if he's on the roster come September & October, that's a success for the Cubs.  They can make the playoffs without him, but beating the Cubs in a 5 or 7 game series with Zambrano, Harden & Dempster coming out of the gates at you is no easy task.
 
362 days ago
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I think Jules from Pulp Fiction put it best, "that's a bold statement".
 
362 days ago
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Too risky. It looks good so far, but Billy Beane knows what he's doing. In the end, this could be a better deal for the A's than for the Cubbies.
 
362 days ago
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While Harden is injury prone, he is showing signs of maintaining some health for a little while this year.

Absolute steal for the Cubs.
 
360 days ago
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Michael G wrote:

Harden will be on the D.L soon, he's another Mark Prior..the A's thank you....read below

In 2005, Harden began the season with the Athletics, but was sidelined with an oblique injury and missed more than a month (May 14-June 21) due to it. Harden came back and pitched very solidly, including a very impressive 2 hit complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers on ]]July 14]], in which he was perfect for 7+ innings, as the A's won 6-0. Exactly one month later on August 14, Harden allowed only 1 hit, however he got a no decision, and the A's ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 2-1. On August 19, Harden had a 10-5 record with an ERA of 2.63 ERA, and things were looking great for the young star until he injured his right shoulder, sidelining him until September 25, by which time the Athletics were already out of the playoff hunt. Harden appeared in three games late in the season, pitching 5 innings of shutout ball, striking out seven and walking one. He finished the year with a 10-5 win-loss record, an ERA of 2.57 and 121 strike outs in 128 innings. He allowed only seven HR's all season long, and despite the injuries, he emerged as the ace of the Oakland Athletics pitching staff.

In 2006, Harden had two lengthy stints on the DL, spending most of the season there. He came back from the DL on September 21, 2006, for a short but outstanding start, going 3 innings allowing 1 run and recording 7 strikeouts.

He started off the 2007 season with a win against the Seattle Mariners, going 7 innings, striking out 7, and allowing two walks and two hits, before returning to the DL, on April 23.

After another injury-plagued season, Harden started off the 2008 season with a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, pitching six strong innings and giving up a run and three hits while walking three and striking out nine batters. However, after his second start, he was again placed on the disabled list. Harden was activated on May 11 and struggled in his return allowing 8 hits and 5 runs in 3.2 innings and earning a no decision. In Harden's next start against his former teamate Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves, he pitched 7 innings only allowing 4 hits and 1 run while earning the win. In this start against the Braves on May 17, Harden also achieved his first major league hit.

On June 8, 2008, he became the 38th pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches. This was done in the first inning, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On July 8th he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

How ironic. His first start for the Cubs will be at Wrigley, against the SF Giants.
 
360 days ago
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BestofChicago wrote:
How ironic. His first start for the Cubs will be at Wrigley, against the SF Giants.
Your point?
 
360 days ago
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(Edited 07/11/08 4:37AM by Michael G)
BestofChicago wrote:
How ironic. His first start for the Cubs will be at Wrigley, against the SF Giants.

cancel (posted twice)

 
360 days ago
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Michael G wrote:
Your point?

Dont have a point. Ill just be satisfied when he shuts down the already weak Giants offense.

 

and your pointing out his PAST seasons. Your point?

 
360 days ago
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(Edited 07/11/08 5:00AM by Michael G)
BestofChicago wrote:

Dont have a point. Ill just be satisfied when he shuts down the already weak Giants offense.

 

and your pointing out his PAST seasons. Your point?

http://www.faniq.com/poll_results.php?poll_id=258382&rnum=#new

 

Here's your poll...and if you read everything he went on the D.L after start #2 this year... I have no ill-will against Rich Harden or the Cubs....perhaps history will change....the Red-Sox did it...I guess we'll wait and see

 
359 days ago
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Here are the first results of the A's/Cubs trade...

In related news, here are the newest A's stats for tonight

 

Murton started in Left and was 1-5 with a 2-run single and made a great play (actually 3) in the outfield

and here are Gallagher's stats

 
Pitchers IP  H  R ER BB SO HR PC-ST ERA
S Gallagher (W, 1-0) 7.0 2 2 2 3 7 0 96-57 2.57
The A's are happy

 
 
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