Rich Harden a Cub

[fringe]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from the Oakland Athletics for right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson.

 

Harden, 26, is 36-19 with a 3.42 ERA (206 ER/541.2 IP) in 97 appearances (89 starts) in all or part of the last six seasons with Oakland. He has 523 strikeouts in 541.2 innings pitched, an average of 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and has limited opponents to a .224 batting average. He pitched in the 2003 and 2006 postseasons.

 

The righthander is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA (20 ER/77.0 IP) in 13 starts this season with Oakland, fanning 92 batters in 77.0 innings, an average of 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings. His 2.34 ERA would rank second in the majors behind only Oakland's Justin Duchscherer (1.98), but he is just shy of the necessary innings to qualify. Harden's .206 batting average against would rank third in the majors. He has 92 strikeouts and 31 walks this season, one strikeout shy of a three-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio. Harden has allowed only five home runs in 77.0 innings.

 

Among pitchers with at least 12 starts this season, Harden leads the majors with 10.75 strikeouts per nine innings (San Francisco's Tim Lincecum is next at 9.49) and he ranks 12th with 10.40 baserunners allowed per nine innings.

 

Harden spent one month this season on the disabled list (April 10-May 11) with a strained right shoulder and has averaged six innings per start since returning, four times pitching into the seventh inning or beyond. He has turned in a quality start in seven of his last 10 outings, posting a 2.02 ERA (14 ER/62.1 IP) and a .190 batting average against in that span starting May 17. Overall, he has allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his 13 starts.

 

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Harden went 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA (2 ER/26.2 IP) in four starts vs. the National League during interleague play this season, limiting those foes to a .132 batting average. In his career, Harden is 5-1 with a 1.81 ERA (11 ER.54.2 IP) in 10 interleague appearances, nine as a starter.

 

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Harden is 10-3 with a 2.95 ERA (49 ER/149.1 IP) during the last three seasons, limiting opponents to a .201 batting average, though five stints on the disabled list have kept him to 29 appearances, 26 as a starter. His 2.95 ERA and .201 batting average against would lead all big league starters if he had accumulated the necessary innings during the last three seasons to qualify for league-leader rankings. In his career, he is 18-3 with a 1.45 ERA (35 ER/217.1 IP) when pitching at least seven innings (29 starts).

 

Gaudin, 25, is 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA (25 ER/62.2 IP) in 26 appearances (six starts) with Oakland this season, including a 3.38 ERA (10 ER/26.2 IP) in his 20 relief appearances. He has not allowed an earned run in 15 of his 20 relief outings and has pitched 1.0 inning or more in 17 of those appearances. The 5-foor-10, 185 pound Gaudin joins the Cubs having turned in a 1.50 ERA (1 ER/6.0 IP) in his last seven relief outings beginning June 21.

 

The New Orleans native has pitched all or part of the last six seasons in the big leagues with Tampa Bay (2003-04), Toronto (2005) and Oakland (2006-08), going 24-23 with two saves and a 4.33 ERA (25 203 ER/421.2 IP). He returned to the bullpen this season after making 34 starts with Oakland last season. Gaudin is 8-5 with two saves and a 3.63 ERA (59 ER/146.1 IP) in 111 relief appearances in his career.

 

Gallagher, 22, is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA (29 ER/58.2 IP) in 12 appearances (10 starts) with the Cubs this season. He has split the last two seasons between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa. Gallagher was originally selected by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft.

 

Murton, 26, has split the 2008 season between the Cubs and Triple-A, batting .250 (10-for-40) with two doubles and six RBI in 19 games for Chicago this season. He has spent all or part of the last four seasons in the majors, hitting .294 (256-for-870) with 28 home runs and 104 RBI in 308 big league games. He was acquired by the Cubs on July 31, 2004 from the Boston Red Sox as part of a four-team, six-player trade.

 

Patterson, 25, has also split the season between the Cubs and Triple-A and hit .237 (9-for-38) during his three stints in the big leagues this season. He was originally selected by the Cubs in the eighth round of the 2004 Draft.

 

Donaldson, 22, batted .217 (51-for-235) with six home runs and 23 RBI in 63 games for Single-A Peoria this season. He was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2007 Draft.

[Virginia Giant]

Good, fuck the A's.

[so-cal dub]

The A's franchise is a joke.

[Herc]

i think the a's were smart to sell high on harden. the dude's too injury prone. sean gallagher is a good player too

[fringe]

The A's franchise is a joke.

says the fan of the team of kabbalah worshippers and thong models.

[fringe]

i think the a's were smart to sell high on harden. the dude's too injury prone. sean gallagher is a good player too

a bit frustrating for the fans and players i think. they were prepared for a rebuilding year but instead are in contention. then the mad scientist says 'no, formula is not right yet' i don't know harden's contract situation but i wouldve kept this team intact.

[so-cal dub]

says the fan of the team of kabbalah worshippers and thong models.

Just seems like every time they have a good player, he's gone quick. I dont get the logic. Why would you want to get rid of your players that are of great quality, year after year?

[fringe]

Just seems like every time they have a good player, he's gone quick. I dont get the logic. Why would you want to get rid of your players that are of great quality, year after year?

i agree, this is a little too much.

[Herc]

a bit frustrating for the fans and players i think. they were prepared for a rebuilding year but instead are in contention. then the mad scientist says 'no, formula is not right yet' i don't know harden's contract situation but i wouldve kept this team intact.

 

gallagher can contribute immediately though. with the luck the a's have with starters iwouldn't be surprised if he had a good run. you know how bean puts it, they aren't sellers, they are buyers AND sellers

[Herc]

Just seems like every time they have a good player, he's gone quick. I dont get the logic. Why would you want to get rid of your players that are of great quality, year after year?

 

well harden is in the last year of his deal. he's an ace, no doubt, but he's really injury prone and if the a's dont exercise their team option harden is going to want ace money and a long term deal. the a's don't do that with plyers who stay healthy so there's no way they're goign to do it with him.

[fringe]

well harden is in the last year of his deal. he's an ace, no doubt, but he's really injury prone and if the a's dont exercise their team option harden is going to want ace money and a long term deal. the a's don't do that with plyers who stay healthy so there's no way they're goign to do it with him.

eric chavez

[Herc]

yeah he's an exception--and probably because he's a position player and a safer long-term bet--and look how that turned out. but hudson, mulder, and haren have all been traded before they were fa eligible. and zito was shopped but i guess they didnt like any of the offers for him

[LorfTVP]

well harden is in the last year of his deal. he's an ace, no doubt, but he's really injury prone and if the a's dont exercise their team option harden is going to want ace money and a long term deal. the a's don't do that with plyers who stay healthy so there's no way they're goign to do it with him.

 

He has a 7 million dollar option for next season on him which made him that much more valuable. i just don't understand how the Cubs didn't learn their lessons from Prior. Can't hurt Harden to have a better offense behind him.

[fringe]

yeah he's an exception--and probably because he's a position player and a safer long-term bet--and look how that turned out. but hudson, mulder, and haren have all been traded before they were fa eligible. and zito was shopped but i guess they didnt like any of the offers for him

i'm familiar with their philosophy. i think in this case, whole picture wise, it would've been better to keep him this year. you can't screw your fan base and your players like that.

[Herc]

i'd honestly agree with you 100% if he weren't so injury prone. but i think there's a good chance he's back on the DL before the seaosn ends--and then you're not getting the package they got from the cubs from any team. his numbers over the past month are off the charts and he's healthy, so you can either trade him now while he's at his peak, or you can gun for the playoffs, exercise the option on him, and then run the risk of him getting hurt again. 7 mil down the drain is nothing to the red sox, but it's a lot to the a's.

 

as far as the team goes, i dont think they make the playoffs anyway, but if they hold onto harden and he gets hurt in august and misses the rest of the season you figure they are done. if it happens to him in chicago an the a's miss the playoffs at least they have what they have instead of a dude coming off an injury who you'll have to begrudgingly exercise an option on just so you can hope he stays healthy and is pitching well next year so you can trade for him for a lesser package since he'll just be a half season rental at that point. plus, gallagher is a good talent and if dudes like gaudin, smith, and eveland can succeed in oakland i'd bet a paycheck that gallagher can too.

 

i dont know if the fans will be that pissed off anyway. im familiar with their philosophy, you're familiar with their philosophy, so im sure they are even more so than us. billy doens't like investing long-term in pitchers, there's always been a ton of turnover in that rotation. they draft mulder, trade him to stl for haren (among others), keep him for a few years, trade him to ari for smith and eveland (among others), and eventually smith and eveland will be traded for other good young pitchers. if im an a's fan, i notice this and put my trust in billy

[fringe]

from reading the morning papers and hearing a few folks on the radio, seems like harden may have some growing up to do. at the very least, they say he's the kind if guy who won't pitch unless he feels perfect.

 

so, maybe there's more to this than meets the eye.

[so-cal dub]

from reading the morning papers and hearing a few folks on the radio, seems like harden may have some growing up to do. at the very least, they say he's the kind if guy who won't pitch unless he feels perfect.

 

so, maybe there's more to this than meets the eye.

Sounds like Mussina...

[Ditto]

The A's don't rebuild, Blu, they breed.

[fringe]

Look what's happened to them since the Harden trade. The bottom fell out completely, they just lost a series at home to the royals in front of 12,000. i don't think this is one of beane's shining moments.

[Herc]

gallagher's been great so far though, 2.60 era

[LorfTVP]

gallagher's been great so far though, 2.60 era

 

Nowhere near as good as Harden has been with the Cubs so far.

4 GS, 24.1 IP, 1-1, 14 H, 8 BB, 39 Ks, 1.10 ERA, .90 WHIP.

 

Sure he's a six inning guy now...either because he's being babied or he's having so much fun striking out these National Leaguers that he doesn't give a damn about pitch counts. 39 Ks in 24.1 IP, damn.

[Herc]

Nowhere near as good as Harden has been with the Cubs so far.

 

that's why it wasn't a one for one deal