This past Saturday I was in attendance in Oakland for the scheduled doubleheader between the A’s and Angels. Having never been to a doubleheader, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but 7 hours and 19 innings of baseball later I walked away a very satisfied customer. Any baseball fan would have enjoyed the pitching matchup in Game 1, featuring 2010 all star Trevor Cahill starting for Oakland against maybe the best pitcher in the American League Jared Weaver for Anaheim. As a diehard A’s fan though, I was looking forward to game 2, which featured Earvin Santana pitching for Anaheim against Rich Harden for Oakland.
Having followed the career of Harden, I was curious to see if he still had anything left he could give the A’s. He made 2 mistakes in the game: allowing a 2 run home run to Mark Trumbo in the 2ndth inning solo shot to Vernon Wells. Other than that, Harden was masterful: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts, which included striking out the side in the 7th. His fastball reached as high as 96 mph on the stadium radar gun. He got a no-decision as the A’s went on to win in 10 innings, but he pitched more than well enough to earn the win. I immensely enjoyed watching Harden pitch. To see him pitch so brilliantly after everything he’s gone through in his career was thrilling. But it was the timing of the start that got me thinking...
