Thoughts on Rich Harden….

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 2^ndth 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 7^th. 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...

3 years and 1 week prior to Saturday’s start, Harden was traded to the Chicago Cubs in a 6 player trade that was supposed to add a quality starter to help the Cubs playoffs run while restocking the A’s depleted farm system. At the time, the Cubs were in 1^st place by 4.5 games, but had just seen the Brewers behind them trade for CC Sabathia. Feeling the urgency to make a move, they acquired Harden as well as Chad Gaudin from the A’s for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson.

(A pu pu platter of prospects for the A’s to say the least, as none of these players made any kind of impact for the club. Gallagher, the “prized” prospect in the trade, pitched a total of 71 innings for the A’s, compiling a 3-5 record with a 6.34 era and a 1.75 whip over 2 seasons. Donaldson is the only player still with the A’s organization. He has a grand total of 32 big league at bats since the trade and has a .260/.329/.455 line with AAA Sacramento this season.)

Harden was brilliant in his 2+ months for the Cubs. Starting every 5^th game for the Cubs, Harden went 5-1 (the Cubs won 9 of his 12 starts) with a 1.77 era, 0.97 whip, and 89 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched. The Cubs finished with 97 wins and won the division by 7.5 games over Milwaukee. However, they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Dodgers, with Harden starting and picking up the L in the series clinching game. Harden only lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits while walking 3. Still, he pitched well enough in his time in a Cubs uniform for the team to pick up his $7 million option for the 2009.

I have to interject here. Despite no longer being a member of my beloved Oakland A’s at this point, I was obviously still a huge Harden supporter, but Cubs fans were about to experience what A’s fans were all too accustomed to. Harden shows you his brilliance, then, unfortunately, his promise goes to waste. As a 21 year old, he was called up in 2003 to join an A’s rotation that already included Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. Billed as being even more talented than “the big 3” Harden did as well as 21 year old could be expected, going 5-4 in 13 starts with a 4.46 era and a 1.50 whip for a team that won 96 games. Big things were expected from Harden, and as a 22 year old in ’04, Harden went 11-7 with a 3.99 era, 1.33 whip and 171 strikeouts in 189 innings. By 2005, he was already a sexy pick to win the Cy Young Award (and perhaps the next 3 or 4 Cy Youngs). However, 2005 became the type of season we’ve all come to expect from Harden. He cruised through his first 6 starts, but got roughed up in start 7 and landed on the DL. He came back 6 weeks later, only to land on the DL again at the end of August. His total stats for the year were quite impressive: 10-5 record, 2.53 era, 1.06 whip, 121 strikeouts in 128 innings. But all anyone could remember were the injuries.

Harden battled injuries consistently throughout 2006-7, pitching a total of 72 innings in 2 seasons. When he was able to stay healthy through the first half of 2008, Billy Beane saw his opportunity to trade him and pulled the trigger. After picking up his option for ’09, Harden was relatively healthy for the Cubs, making only 1 trip to the DL, but clearly he wasn’t right (though he still struck out 171 batters in 141, a ridiculous rate of 10.9 per 9 innings). The Rangers took a chance on the then 28 year old in 2010, but again, struggled with injuries and was eventually released after being left off their post season roster.

I chuckled this offseason when I heard the A’s had resigned Harden to a 1 year deal. As a very cynical sports fan, I didn’t even consider the positives of the signing (the fact it was a 1 year, $1 million deal, the fact the A’s have the most pitcher friendly stadium in all of baseball, the hope that pitching for his original team would somehow revive his career). All I thought about was the A’s signed a 29 year old, injury prone starter when they desperately needed a hitter. Sure enough, Harden got himself injured in spring training and was placed on the 60 day DL. Even when he was rehabbing in the minors, I still could barely get excited. The only redeeming factor in his return in an A’s uniform was the fact that the A’s starters were so injured that they had already used 9 starting pitchers and were desperate for anyone who could throw at least 5 decent innings of baseball.

Which finally brings me back to Saturday. Three years after being traded, Harden looked comfortable and confident on the mound in an A’s uniform. His fastball had as much pop as ever, and his changeup was as devastating as it was when he was 22. And though he didn’t get the win in the stat sheet, he was as much of a reason as the A’s won that game as anyone else on the field that day. He looked every bit as dominant during that game as Weaver did in game 1. This is what makes Harden’s story so bittersweet. Weaver is a fantastic pitcher, a fantastic athlete (he comes from a pretty athletic family, you may have heard) and very well may win the Cy Young this year. With Harden, you see the same skill level, yet you don’t just get the feeling that it won’t last, you KNOW that it won’t last. We’ve seen it too many times before. In fact, Harden will be lucky to keep his spot in the A’s rotation as all their other pitchers start coming off the DL. And the sad part is that it might even be what’s best for him, given his injury history.

I want nothing more than to see Harden succeed in the future, especially in an Athletics uniform. In a season where the A’s are already (for all intents and purposes) eliminated from the playoffs, Harden resurrecting his career with his original team would represent a nice and lasting story. He is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball (his career 9.1 strikeouts per 9 innings is proof of that, as a comparison Felix Hernandez’s career strikeout rate is 8.2 per 9 innings), but sadly we all know how this movie is going to end. Getting your hopes up at all is a futile exercise. Saturday’s game was just a glimpse of what type of pitcher he could be today if he had been able to stay healthy his entire career. Unfortunately though, when it is all said and done for Harden, everyone will talk about what could have been, not what was.