Ask Justin. Ask anyone that knows me, and spoke to me in the last 24 hours about my thoughts reagarding the CC Sabathia trade, and my response was simple: It hurts. Sabathia has been lights out following his first four starts of the year, and gives the Brewers a lethal 1-2 punch for the rest of the season – and potentially in the playoffs.
The move devastated me, and I didn’t believe the Cubs had the bullets to go after any of the other major pitching talents in the majors. Erik Bedard would’ve commanded a similar haul that he was traded to Seattle for, Rich Harden has pitched so well that his stock was at its maximum, and there was nobody else available that could make the impact that the Cubs need.
And then out of the blue – BREAKING NEWS flashed across Sportscenter as I was getting ready to leave work – The Chicago Cubs have acquired Rich Harden AND Chad Gaudin for a quartet of players. I shot up from my chair and yelled at my remaining co-workers to stay quiet. Josh Elliot continued delivering the story and finally moved to the players the Cubs were sending back. My stomach twisted as I began to get sick imagining the load of prospect we’d have to give up. The graphic came on the screen, and read: A’s get: OF Matt Murton, OF Eric Patterson, SP Sean Gallagher, C Josh Donaldson.
(So long gentleman – been nice knowing ya!)
Wait a second, wait a second, wait a second. Hold the phones here. Run those names by me again: Murton, Patterson, Gallagher, and Donaldson. Wait – can you tell them to me again? Because I want to hear those sweet words one more time. You mean to tell me we traded for a guy that has arguably the best stuff in the majors (when he’s healthy) along with an above-average reliever for three guys that have bounced back and forth between Iowa and Chicago, and our second round pick from last year that is 22 and batting .217 in Class-A Peoria? Can someone grab me a cigarette? My heart is going to explode if I don’t get something. Give me a minute here…
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Justin was right…YES WE CAN!
Don’t get me wrong – we gave up some talented players, but none of those guys were going to get a full opportunity to play in the next 2-3 years, and by that time they won’t be worth a whole lot. Murton has the potential to be a .295 hitter with a .370 OBP, but he wont ever hit more than 20 homers, and plays well below-average defense in the outfield. Those numbers are not going to overtake Soriano or Fukudome – not to mention the difference in the money they’re making.
Eric Patterson is a 2B playing out of position in LF so far in the majors. He could be an average second baseman in The Show, with a .280/.330/.425 potential while playing a slick but not flashy second. His swing can get a little long from time to time, like his brother Corey, and he was sent down last year because of a problem with punctuality. But again, with Mark DeRosa under contract for another year, along with Ronny Cedeno, Mike Fontenot, and Ryan Theriot having the ability to play over at second base, Patterson was not in any short or long-term plans. We was expendable.
Losing Sean Gallagher hurts a little bit. He’s a 23-year-old starting pitcher with the potential to be a No. 3 pitcher in a big league rotation one day. Unfortunately, he was trapped in an organization that can’t and wont wait around to see if you can hack it in the bigs. He’ll have the opportunity to have growing pains without a rabid fan base all over his back out in Oakland. He may be better off out there.
Josh Donaldson is a Moneyball type player. He’s young (22) but hasn’t gotten passed Mid-A ball yet. He was awesome last year in short season A-ball – hitting over .300 with a .400+ OBP. Those numbers haven’t translated to 2008, but the A’s think he’ll be a solid addition long-term.
Enough with the wishy washy parting gifts – show me the money baby! Harden has an ERA of 0.68 in three starts against National League teams this year, and has a strikeout ratio that is downright phenomenal. The best part about Harden is that he has a club option for 2009 worth a modest $7 million! If the Cubs can find a way to keep him healthy, he is gonna be the punch that the Cubs have been searching for behind Carlos Zambrano since – God, please don’t strike me dead for saying this – Mark Prior.
A’s General Manager Billy Beane got some very solid players for Harden and Gaudin, more than he could’ve imagined a year ago today. But the Cubs and GM Jim Hendry got exactly what they needed, and they gave up nothing in regards to superstar potential. Oh it’s a sweet, sweet feeling.
It’s time of celebration Cub fans…now all we have to do is beat off the pursuers for 2 1/2 more months!
(Welcome Mr. Harden – the Cubs have rented you a rubber room downtown for your stay here)
