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Josh Donaldson
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 (view)
per Tribune: Suzuki MRI results pending from yesterday so we should get a timetable for return later today.
crunch (view)
suzuki says he injured his oblique running to 1st, not swinging. okay. it's gonna be that kind of 2024 cubs year, huh?
i would say that's good news compared to screwing it up swinging, but i'm not familiar with the recovery time of people screwing up their oblique by running.
right side is at least different from his left side oblique injury last year.
crunch (view)
5 IN A ROW!
hack wilson, ryne sandberg, sammy sosa, christopher morel, and michael busch.
Cubster (view)
A bit more Jewish take on one of my favorite Cubs, Kenny Holtzman. His 9-0 season while serving in the National Guard and being available to pitch on weekends was one of my coolest teen recollections.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388554
Cubster (view)
Suzuki out with oblique strain. Canario indeed is called up. No word on Morel so that might be a red herring (or a red digit).
AZ lineup is posted but Counsell is always late to post his lineup.
crunch (view)
You have to C it! (tm)
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Best hitter: IL with oblique strain
Second best hitter: hasn’t looked the same since jamming his right hand during a swing
Third best hitter: playing through a sore hammy
Best pitcher: IL after one start
Second best RP: IL after 1.5 weeks
Noice
crunch (view)
suzuki 10d IL.
right oblique strain. ow. that's generally more than a 10d thing.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Seiya on IL with an oblique strain
crunch (view)
cooper and morel are on the field doing pre-game stuff so it's not them...