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When They Pull a Knife, You Pull a Gun
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:
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Recent comments
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:09 pm (view)
Candelario back at 3B and Canario is DH.
crunch 09/30/2023 - 09:47 pm (view)
morel gets 2nd…nico sitting
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:03 pm (view)
Hopefully, Jordan Wicks won’t be 2024’s Keegan Thompson. Similarly, hope KT is the 2022 version of himself.
George Altman 09/30/2023 - 09:27 am (view)
100% Agree, Crunch.
Now on to the Hot Stove season where I hope Ricketts can be convinced they need (and will have to spend whatever $$$ this becomes) on the following:
SP2 or SP3
Bellinger or comparable LH bat who can play 1B or CF.
A 3B (preferably LH bat)
At least 2, if not 3 RPs better than Fulmer.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/30/2023 - 09:09 am (view)
Totally, I was not expecting to watch meaningful baseball the final two months of the season, let alone the final week.
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:51 am (view)
This week’s collapse reminds me of the last week in the 2004 Season with Sosa-Alou. That team was expected to win, this team not so much. We’ll always have July-August 2023, that was fun. Thanks Crunch, your commentary has been a highlight too.
crunch 09/30/2023 - 09:59 am (view)
it is highly likely they're done. even doing very well by normal standards would most likely end in a tie, which means they don't make the post-season. they're still in it on paper, not on vegas odds.
in all seriousness...i'll take the 2 extra months of baseball that mattered. 160+ games mattered this year and it was worth tuning in to watch.
i feel like i should be a little more disappointed, but in the weeks coming into the trade deadline i strongly assumed they were already sellers and the season was pretty much chalked up to dead. the run they made up to the point where the upper management decided to go all-in was fun.
my only armchair GM regret is only adding a mid-level pen arm like cuas at the trade deadline. oddly, that cuas trade seems like one they would be looking to make whether they were going for a post-season run or not. they didn't seem to want to make room for velazquez.
long story short, it's been a fun ride and i'm glad i took it. it would be damn nice if we could get a little bit more fairy tale magic.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/29/2023 - 09:17 pm (view)
They’re done. They’ve been done since that disaster of a road trip to Colorado and Arizona, with the Arizona and Pittsburgh home series bookending it.
Pour one out for the 23 Cubs. A fun ride for a good portion of the year, much more fun than I’d anticipated.
crunch 09/29/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)
cubs lose, marlins win, reds win...
cubs have a 6-14 record since the early september sweep of SF. 6 of the 14 losses are 1-run losses.
still technically in it...looking very unlikely, though.
crunch 09/29/2023 - 09:17 pm (view)
morel out here channeling baez and taking extra bases twice in this game...and getting away with it...double and triple.