Rich Harden

[gflore34]

It's very frustrating watching him struggle against the likes of Thurston, Ryan i.e., average to poor hitters. I really wish the Cubs would wake up and DL him, put him under the knife, fix or try to fix what's broken and go from there. I'm thinking he'll a cheap sign on the mend and could pay off big time.

[cubsfan5150]

Yeah, wasn't he a fire baller a couple of years ago? His change up isn't that good when his fastball is average.

[SweetZombieJesus]

hopefully, we can watch him dominate for the cards in a year after we trade him to the Rangers for a middling prospect who won't amount to anything.

[UMFan83]

I read an interesting stat today. Last year Harden gave up 39 hits in 71 IP for the Cubs. This year, he's given up 78 hits in 74 innings. Thats almost 40 more hits in 3 more innings. It's mind boggling that he went from unhittable, to extremly hittable. He says he's not injured, but if that is really the case, something has to be done because sending him out there every 5th day isn't helping anybody.

[TruffleShuffle]

78 hits in 74 innings isn't extremely hittable.

 

but yeah they should probably just pull the plug on him if he's pitching hurt and isn't going to be effective.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Thats what happens when you get one of Billy Beanes old pitchers. You may as well but a used Mercedes off of a guy in a powder blue leisure suit.

[Sosa21MVP]

I can't imagine he is anywhere near 100% to be pitching this poorly on a consistent basis. A bad start here and there, it happens. But this is happening way too often now.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I can't imagine he is anywhere near 100% to be pitching this poorly on a consistent basis. A bad start here and there, it happens. But this is happening way too often now.

 

 

At this point, I say DL him and go with Z,Lilly,Wells,Marshall,Samardzjia/Hart. Were enough of a mess as it is, why does it matter if we lose 3-1 or 7-1.

[Guest]

78 hits in 74 innings isn't extremely hittable.

 

but yeah they should probably just pull the plug on him if he's pitching hurt and isn't going to be effective.

 

It's not like we have a guy who's perfectly capable of starting but is stuck being a loogy in the bullpen right now.

 

Oh wait, we have Sean Marshall, who has been better as a starter this year than Rich Harden has.

[Illini Iceman]

Thats what happens when you get one of Billy Beanes old pitchers. You may as well but a used Mercedes off of a guy in a powder blue leisure suit.

 

Yeah, Dan Haren sucks too.

[Fred Hornkohl]

It's probably just random, but I found this interesting......

 

Harden               IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PC    ST   ST%  P/IP   GB   FB   GB%  BB/9   K/9  HR/9  WHIP   ERA
Home               24.7   24   17   17   14   30    4   483   294  0.61  19.6   20   23  0.47  5.11 10.95  1.46  1.54  6.20
Road               19.0   15    7    6    7   23    4   302   198  0.66  15.9   14   20  0.41  3.32 10.89  1.89  1.16  2.84

Overall            43.7   39   24   23   21   53    8   785   492  0.63  18.0   34   43  0.44  4.33 10.92  1.65  1.37  4.74

[17 Seconds]

Thats what happens when you get one of Billy Beanes old pitchers. You may as well but a used Mercedes off of a guy in a powder blue leisure suit.

 

Yeah Dan Haren and Huston Street are awful

[Little Slide Rooter]

Thats what happens when you get one of Billy Beanes old pitchers. You may as well but a used Mercedes off of a guy in a powder blue leisure suit.

 

Yeah Dan Haren and Huston Street are awful

 

Dan Haren is a Cardinals product. Besides, hes been gone a year and a half, theres still time for thr wheels to fall off.

[17 Seconds]

wait, so now beane is a genius with trading used up pitchers....but only if they're a product of his farm system. in other words, he drafts pitchers who he knows will be awesome for a few years and then fall apart for no reason years later

 

got it

[Hawk4Hall]

His ERA is the highest it's ever been by far. Currently it sits at 5.47 and his rookie season of 4.46 was his highest. He also carries a 1.541 WHIP and is giving up 9.5 hits per 9 innings.

 

It's safe to say he's either in a massive funk, or the injuries are taking their toll on him. He's not the same pitcher this year at all.

[Cubbie Swagger]

I still have faith that he'll get it together. He's Rich Harden.

 

Not sure what's up with him, though. He's just been way more hittable this year, and had control problems at the same time.

[NonProfitCow]

His velocity on all of his pitches seems to be right in line with last year, although down considerably from 07. I don't know if hitters are taking more against him knowing he's a 100 max pitcher or what. The strikeouts are down a tick, and walks are up a tick and the BABIP is considerably higher. I think it's just bad luck. A few more flyballs leaving the ballpark, 3x his rate from last year, definitely isn't helping. I would bet on his numbers stabilizing though.

[UK1679666180]

His velocity on all of his pitches seems to be right in line with last year, although down considerably from 07. I don't know if hitters are taking more against him knowing he's a 100 max pitcher or what. The strikeouts are down a tick, and walks are up a tick and the BABIP is considerably higher. I think it's just bad luck. A few more flyballs leaving the ballpark, 3x his rate from last year, definitely isn't helping. I would bet on his numbers stabilizing though.

 

 

He was hurt for most of last year too. This year, he has had really poor command and everything has been up in the zone compared to last year.

[NonProfitCow]

His velocity on all of his pitches seems to be right in line with last year, although down considerably from 07. I don't know if hitters are taking more against him knowing he's a 100 max pitcher or what. The strikeouts are down a tick, and walks are up a tick and the BABIP is considerably higher. I think it's just bad luck. A few more flyballs leaving the ballpark, 3x his rate from last year, definitely isn't helping. I would bet on his numbers stabilizing though.

 

 

He was hurt for most of last year too. This year, he has had really poor command and everything has been up in the zone compared to last year.

I guess I'm saying that an injured Rich Harden is still a hell of a pitcher and I think he'll be fine. Shame we never get to see him completely healthy though, because he's the best pitcher in MLB IMO.

[XZero771679666304]

I guess I'm saying that an injured Rich Harden is still a hell of a pitcher and I think he'll be fine. Shame we never get to see him completely healthy though, because he's the best pitcher in MLB IMO.

 

There are (and have been) a lot of guys who fall into the "spectacular when healthy" camp. It is unfortunate, but it doesn't count for much.

[hawkeyecub]

His velocity on all of his pitches seems to be right in line with last year, although down considerably from 07. I don't know if hitters are taking more against him knowing he's a 100 max pitcher or what. The strikeouts are down a tick, and walks are up a tick and the BABIP is considerably higher. I think it's just bad luck. A few more flyballs leaving the ballpark, 3x his rate from last year, definitely isn't helping. I would bet on his numbers stabilizing though.

 

 

He was hurt for most of last year too. This year, he has had really poor command and everything has been up in the zone compared to last year.

I guess I'm saying that an injured Rich Harden is still a hell of a pitcher and I think he'll be fine. Shame we never get to see him completely healthy though, because he's the best pitcher in MLB IMO.

 

His current stuff isn't good enough to get away with consistently missing his spots by a wide margin. As Ping said, he's leaving everything up this year. When he's missing the zone he's missing so badly that he's not getting a lot of chasing and when he's throwing strikes he's not getting the ball down. Friday everything was belt high, up on a tee.

[17 Seconds]

maybe he's feeling the pressure of knowing that this is his contract year

[Tracer Bullet]

His velocity on all of his pitches seems to be right in line with last year, although down considerably from 07. I don't know if hitters are taking more against him knowing he's a 100 max pitcher or what. The strikeouts are down a tick, and walks are up a tick and the BABIP is considerably higher. I think it's just bad luck. A few more flyballs leaving the ballpark, 3x his rate from last year, definitely isn't helping. I would bet on his numbers stabilizing though.

 

 

He was hurt for most of last year too. This year, he has had really poor command and everything has been up in the zone compared to last year.

 

Yeah, I think that's the biggest problem. He's leaving his stuff way up in the zone and getting hit really hard.

[DiamondMind]

His change up isn't that good when his fastball is average.

 

Exactly. I honestly don't think the Harden analyzation needs to go any deeper than this. He's hurt, period. And I don't mean velocity. His pitches are flattening out like pavement.

[Gingerballs Lives]

His change up isn't that good when his fastball is average.

 

Exactly. I honestly don't think the Harden analyzation needs to go any deeper than this. He's hurt, period. And I don't mean velocity. His pitches are flattening out like pavement.

 

 

Yeah, he's either hurt or protecting his arm in an attempt to stay healthy all season and shed his injury-prone label in his contract year.

 

Whatever it is, I hope he can turn it around.