Keeping Tabs: Rich Harden Published by adming - On 07.28 - This post haved 0 komentar

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In July of 2008, with the Cubs leading the Cardinals by 3.5 games in the division, the Cubs sent Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Sean Gallagher to the A's in exchange for pitchers Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden. Harden was 5-1 with a 3.42 ERA at the time, and he would also go 5-1 down the stretch for the Cubs. After the Cubs picked up Harden's $9 million option for 2009, he went 9-9 in 26 starts and posted his highest WHIP (1.34) since his rookie season in 2003. 

So the Cubs backed off of him following the 2009 season, and Harden landed with the Rangers on a one-year, $7.5 million deal. It seemed like too much money at the time, and that's because it was: Harden went 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA, but more importantly, he threw a miserably low 92 innings in 18 starts (plus two relief appearances). Had he pitched enough innings to qualify, his WHIP (1.66) would have been worst among major league pitchers.

Not only did Harden clearly not earn his pay in 2010, but the Cubs' fifth starters outperformed him anyways. Guys like Carlos Silva (4.22 ERA in 21 starts) and Tom Gorzelanny (4.09 ERA in 23 starts) filled in capably at the back end of the Cubs' rotation while the Rangers had to scramble to replace his many missed innings (though they certainly managed to do so, given that they represented the AL in the World Series). Harden was left off the Rangers' postseason roster.

There's so much money flying around over the course of an offseason--especially with a big market team like the Cubs--that it's hard to pinpoint exactly how Hendry spent the $7.5 saved on Harden. But if we assume the decision to let him walk enabled Hendry to sign Marlon Byrd--who makes $5 million a year--it makes the decision look even better. Byrd was solid if not spectacular in 2010 and will hopefully continue to provide a capable bat and an above-average glove for the next two seasons if he can recover from his eye injury.

Harden, on the other hand, who has returned to the A's on a $1.5 million deal for 2011, finds himself on a path he's often traveled--that of the comeback variety. A strained shoulder sidelined him in mid-March and he's currently rehabbing in an attempt to rejoin the starting rotation, or possibly the bullpen. 

Grade on Cubs' decision not to re-sign Rich Harden: A

08 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/wait-til-this-year/2011/06/keeping-tabs-rich-harden.html
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