Archive - Jul 9, 2008
Game 91 Thread / Reds @ Cubs (2 of 3)
Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 5:17pm.
Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview
| SP | Johnny Cueto | SP |
Carlos Zambrano |
| 7-8, 4.63, 91 K, 38 BB, 105 IP |
9-3, 2.96 ERA, 73 K, 38 BB, 112.1 IP | ||
| CF |
*Jay Bruce | SS |
Ryan Theriot |
| SS |
Jeff Keppinger | RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome |
| RF |
*Ken Griffey Jr. |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
| 2B |
Brandon Phillips | 3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
| LF |
*Adam Dunn |
C |
Geovany Soto |
| 3B |
Edwin Encarnacion | CF |
*Jim Edmonds |
| 1B |
*Joey Votto |
2B |
Mark DeRosa |
| C |
*Paul Bako | LF |
Reed Johnson |
| P |
Johnny Cueto |
P |
#Carlos Zambrano |
The amazing Wrigley Field All-Stars continue their tour through the Windy City with the Venezuelan Bull taking the mound against the Red Legs of Queen City and their proimising ace-in-waiting, Kid Cueto. Although he dazzled in his first two starts, he ended up with a 5.40 ERA in April and it wasn't until this past month that he put up the ERA that is expected of him, with a strong 3.47 for the month of June. This will be his second start versus the Northsiders, the first one resulting in a win for him and his team back in May.
Zambrano looked strong after a little disabled list rest and kept the Cardinals bats baffled in his start on Friday. He's been baffling the NL Central his entire career. His career won-loss record, ERA and innings pitched versus his Central foes.
Easy to Be Harden
Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 5:04pm.
Rich Harden just hit five years of MLB service time this past Sunday.
Why is that important?
When They Pull a Knife, You Pull a Gun
Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 8:04am.
UPDATE 4:56 CST: One of our readers tipped us to this fantastic piece on Rich Harden's mechanics (with video) by Carlos Gomez at The Hardball Times. Can't recommend it enough....
I've had a little time to digest the trade since my initial reaction and a little time to actually write about it now. I don't think there's too many warm-blooded Cubs fan out there who aren't happy about the deal...other than maybe a Chicken Little or two that are never happy with anything the Cubs do.
We all know the risks. Rich Harden has all the durability of a roll of toilet paper caught in a rainstorm. He was called up half way through the 2003 season, proceeded to make 31 starts in 2004 and has battled injuries ever since. The list is too long and complicated for me to dive into, so we'll wait for the good Dr. Hecht to chime in on that side of the trade. Harden's 13 starts this year are his highest total since 2005 and he spent almost a month of this year already on the disabled list. But in those 13 starts, he's gone 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA, 10.75 K/9, 2.97 K:BB and 0.58 HR/9.
He once had a fastball that could hit 100, although he seems to have dialed it back a bit this year. He compliments that fastball with a fantastic change-up and that's pretty much it. He'll occasionally throw a slider in there, but seems to have scrapped it for the most part this season. A quick and dirty comparison with some of the best in the game using career numbers:
