Gallagher, Donaldson, Patterson and Murton go to As; Cubs get Harden and Chad Gaudin. Per Hendry’s press conference.

only problem is that Harden gets hurt every other start.

I guess I have to trade him from my fantasy team now. On the bright side I’ll be trading him before the injury bug bites again.

On his previous injuries. The jist of it being:

The good news: He is young and can heal quickly, and also has time to change his workout and rehabilitation habits.
The bad news: once a ligament is sprained, whether its in your ankle or elbow, it is always more susceptible to getting hurt again because it loses its intrinsic strength. When a ligament is merely sprained, it can take 6-8 weeks for it to heal.

I was hoping the Cubs would be silly enough to get Randy Wolf. Unfortunately, I think this is a good deal for them. I’m happy Murton is going to be given a chance, too.

Harden did not. His truncated evening ended with his most electric moment of the night, striking out Guerrero with runners at first and second with two outs in the fifth, but his final line was pretty ho-hum by his lofty standards: five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He never topped 93 mph on the radar gun and was far more frequently checking in at 87-89.

I’m not saying anything, I’m just throwing this out there.

Not a rental… plus gave up a lot of guys that couldn’t cut it in the majors… I actually think this trade is bigger for the Cubs than our trade is for CC…

Brewers trade looks like a rip off now for the Crew… the cubs did not lose Vitters and they got a pitcher who is just a step below AND for a year and a half

one of the ESPN analysts said that Harden wouldn’t get traded until the end of the month. The A’s are only 6 games out of first. That is two and a half games closer to first than the Yanks are in their division.

Let’s enjoy the action with 70+ games remaining. May the better team win!

I don’t mind it being discussed, but we’re talking about CC in T-minus 30 minutes. His face should be at the top of the page.

need a closer like a rauch. maybe a middle starter like a maddux and a couple bullpen arms. easily do able IMO. this will be a dog fight if melvin goes all in too. i think we can all say the cards are done.

Beane must be trading Harden this cheap only if he see warning signs about his health again and thinks he could on the DL very soon – he has only pitched 541inns in his 5 and 1/2 year career.
He traded Mulder before he started having his injury problems aswell.
In fact when I think about it 3 of the last 4 big name pitchers to leave the A’s have been signifacantly worse since leaving (Ztio,Mulder,Hudson) with Haren the only exception.Obviously leaving that home park does not help – Harden’s ERA away from home is a shade over 4 for example.
If this was a straight 4 for 1 deal I would say that the Cubs we taking too big a risk but getting Gaudin aswell I think tilts this trade in their favour but only time will tell has to how good Gallacher will be and how healthy Harden will stay.

The Reds are involved – Dusty Baker is going to Chicago as well!
There is no better way to protect Rich Harden than to make him throw another 200 innings this year.

He’s pitched more innings this year than his past two years combined.

Fantastic trade for the Cubs. This will beeeeeeee interesting!

is in the past couple days this division race has gotten a lot more interesting. I look forward to seeing a Harden – Sabbathia match-up at some point this year.

Im a big fan of what rotoworld thinks of the trade.

if harden and gaudin bomb the cubs are out liitle money. as far as what the cubs lost--gallagher at best is a #2 starter and I highly highly doubt that. veen if he is he’s now out of the NL. murton is a reserve at best. really not a good defensive player. not a bad offensive guy but wont give you enough power to constitute being a LF or RF. patterson has had documented off field troubles and attitude problems in the clubhouse. another guy who really isnt gonna change any teams outlook one way or another. donaldson is struggling and probably is gonna have to change positions. but then does he have enough offense to justify leaving him in an OF or 1b spot—-doubt it!! this is a no lose deal for the cubs and we have harden under control through 2009.

The Athletics obviously recognize Murton’s ability to get on base. While that’s something that’s needed on this season’s Cubs team, the A’s offense sure can use it. Same with Eric Patterson. He’s a middle infielder who has a decent OBA in the minors. Gallagher is very young, and his minor league strikeouts, walks and home runs are great. Basically, he’s someone who can take over the ace roll with a little more maturity. Donaldson is a catcher with minor league stats much like Patterson.

The question I’m trying to answer for myself; was this the A’s giving up on the season or trying to improve for this season? Murton, Patterson and Gallagher can help this season. If Sean can come close to replacing Harden, without the threat of injury, I can see this deal improving the A’s now. I’m always amazed when I look at a Beane deal at how it always looks better than I expected.

Obviously, Harden answers the Sabathia trade very well. He doesn’t go as deep in games as CC, but the Cubs now send out three aces with Zambrano, Dempster and Harden. It’s like having Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz from the mid 1990s. It looks like a great move for both clubs.