Brewers Fire; Cubs Answer
It certainly didn’t take long for the Cubs to counter the shot fired by the Brewers with their acquisition of CC Sabathia. The Cubs have landed Rich Harden from the A’s (along with Chad Gaudin) in exchange for Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson.
Let’s get something straight right off the bat. This doesn’t give the Cubs a nice #2 starter. This gives the Cubs a second #1 starter. IF Harden can stay healthy, he and Carlos Zambrano are a ridiculous #1 and #1A punch-out. Chad Gaudin is flotsam.
Well done, Jim.
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BigFlax
PenFoe
StPatrick
CT
CactusMcHarris
Jim, you are a god!
Definitely an impressive signing. I want to kiss that fat tub of goo for actually making the risky trade for once. And possibly fleecing Billy f’n Beane.
*trade. not signing.
Hendry “a god”?…uh, I don’t think so. Hopefully this pans out well for the Cubs.
Seriously. If Hardon stays healthy, CY YOUNG. you heard it here first
And I’ll say this too. Gaudin is nasty. He’s going to be really, really good for us in the bullpen. Real good. I should be a scout
You’re just excited they got a dude named “Chad.” Gaudin doesn’t do anything for me, but he’s young, and even if he blows, who cares?
Also, I almost went with the headline “BONERTIME! Cubs Get Hard-On“
The good part of the deal, for me, is the Cubs gave up absolutely nothing they couldn’t part with in 2008. Murton can only play left and doesn’t hit for power; with the looming return of Soriano, he was completely expendable and wouldn’t have a position east of Iowa until 2015. Patterson never seemed to find favor with Piniella and wasn’t all that great anyway; good on Jim for being willing to trade away a second baseman, also. Donaldson is consistently ranked as a top two or three position player in a weak Cubs system, but he’s a catcher, and we’ve already got one for the next decade. And Gallagher, while potentially extremely talented, was in the bullpen at the moment and probably wouldn’t have started the rest of the year unless someone else got hurt. In other words, even if Harden’s plane crashes on the way to Chicago, this trade doesn’t make the Cubs worse in 2008 and potentially makes them much, much better. It might make them worse in 2010, but it was clearly a win-now move, as it should have been.
You can still change it right? Do it. If you don’t, you’re an idiot.
And we’ll get to watch him start on Saturday. Together. Forever.
I wrote about this on my blog tonight as well. This is a great signing for the Cubs. The A’s got very little out of this deal!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Chicago-Cubs-get-Rich-Harden-from-the-As
I break it down like this. Harden for Gallagher…a huge Cub upside. Gaudin for Epat, Murton, and Donaldson would have been a fair deal for both teams. Murton and Epat were never going to be everyday Cubs, but will likely be every day A’s. The only guy you hate to lose is Gallagher. Harden is still young (26) and is definitely 1A if healthy. His 10+ k’s a game will be huge at Wrigley, as will both his and Gaudin’s sinker. Dempster and Lilly would have to be the best 3-4 punch in either league. Fatso made a solid deal…got the job done without parting with Samardizja, Vitters, Pie, or Marshall. Treat yourself to an extra kruller tomorrow Jimbo, you’ve earned it.
Guh.
Trevor.
Great analysis of this deal BF! This is so freaking close to what I was explaining to my bro when he was bitchin about losing Murton and not seeing Gallagher’s potential. Yeah, Gallagher might one day be a stud, but we got to win now; not when Gallagher’s ready to be that stud. Or not.
Great deal Jim! I’m gonna buy you something!
Jim: A chainsaw?
Or a book. Something!
Someone actually bitched about losing Murton?