Comments on: Cubs Acquire Rich Harden & Chad Gaudin from Oakland

By: T

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:25:30 +0000

I would like to see Marshall take the #5 spot. I would also like to see Wuertz off the team to make room for the new players in the trade. I do realize that we need to have an insurance policy who is stretched out in case of injury. My guess is they will send Marshall down for that reason.

By: 100yrs

100yrs — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:01:45 +0000

I’m on the side that thinks this is a great deal. Here is why:

1. The obvious is that Harden can be a 1 or a 2 starter for us. This gives us the option in the playoffs of using the three best starters at that time. If it be Zambrano, Dempster, Harden. Throw Lilly in there if one of those three are struggling. Thats a pretty good rotation.

2. We needed a top pitcher. We didn’t need an average left fielder, back up second baseman, low minors catcher. I do think Gallager will be above average but you do have to give to get. We gave up some potiential talent to get some current talent. The Cubs have a 2 year window to get things done. We don’t have time to wait for the missing piece to graduate college and show up at Wrigley.

3. Chad Gaudin is a good pitcher. We still have a couple of guys that can fill in the back of the rotation in the event of a stumble or injury.

Since I’m a pretty reasonable guy I do see the potential other side. If Harden gets hurt, if Donaldson or Gallagher turn out to be all-stars, There is risk, however, I didn’t think we were good enough without another top pitcher. Now we have him. We are all thinking about the Brewers, Cardinals etc… we do have to think about making our team good enough to compete with the Red Sox and the Angels. Both of whom have really good rotations.

By: Collin

Collin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:58:36 +0000

And it doesn’t really matter if there are more durable pitchers out there. This wasn’t about just getting another fairly good arm. It was about getting a top of the rotation guy who can help in a short playoff series where only 3, maybe 4 guys will pitch.

By: Collin

Collin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:55:33 +0000

I’m not sure why not trading for Harden would be better than him on the DL. In fact, I don’t see any difference. The Cubs really only gave up 1 player who deserves to be on the major league roster. Murton and Patterson will be back down in triple A as soon as the Cubs get healthy. It seems like a trade with very little risk and a huge upside. If he gets hurt, the Cubs are no worse off than before.

By: Coop

Coop — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:55:39 +0000

The Cubs added Gaudin giving them another option in the bullpen or as a starter if Harden does go down. This seems like a smart deal for the Cubs, the players they gave away really would not have made much if any impact this season anyways. I like it better than the Brewers renting Sabathia for half the season.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:26:10 +0000

This just in Rich harden on DL for remainder of season after violent sneeze haha. How can you Match a cy young award winner by trading for Mark Prior junior?! 101 years and counting guys. Sorry Brewers central divison champs. What would hurt the cubs more? Harden on the DL or Not trading for Harden and staying with the team you had? I’d say the trade was a huge mistake and there are better durable pitchers out there. After wood and Prior the cubs were the last team I thought would trade for Harden.

By: Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:22:50 +0000

Sounds like they’ll get rid of Marshall, but I’d get rid of Marquis.

By: lasagna101

lasagna101 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:47:51 +0000

I agree with PKP that it’s questionable why the A’s, only 3 1/2 back in the wild card, would part with a top-flight starter making around 5M, with a club option for “only” 7M for 2009. On the Cubs side, Patterson could be the wildcard here. Gallagher looks like a 4-5 starter at best, no “out” pitch, Murton is a corner outfielder with no power, average speed, a poor arm and shaky defensive skills. Not sure about all the hullabaloo over Donaldson, who is hitting .220 and I had never heard of before 6 p.m. today. The next question is who goes? Marquis? Marshall? Cedeno? With two pitchers coming, and only subtracting one position player, the Cubs have some roster questions, not to mention when Soriano and Eyre come off the DL. It will be interesting.

By: pkp73

pkp73 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:44:13 +0000

I’m glad we made this deal, but it makes me very nervous. He definitely pitches more than Mark Prior, but he spends an awful lot of time on the DL. There’s a reason Oakland was willing to give him up for what they got in return. Those are some real smart baseball guys over there. They didn’t have to trade him or lose him to free agency at the end of the summer; they had an option for one more year. Which means they wanted to cut him loose this year. That is scary.

Again, I’m glad we got him and I’m hoping he can stay in the rotation, but I can’t help but be scared. The good thing is, while we did give up some good players, we didn’t give up anything that was essential for this year. And I think Gaudin is going to be a real nice addition to the pen.

In the end, Jim Hendry has been fantastic for us, and has rarely made a deal that wasn’t good for us in the long run. I trust Jim!

By: Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:21:40 +0000

Great deal for the Cubbies! They didn’t have to give up much for two important pieces. Go Cubs!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Chicago-Cubs-get-Rich-Harden-from-the-As