Knuckle Curve » rich harden

Rangers Flip Kevin Millwood Into 3 Players

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:55:00 +0000

Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, is having money trouble. That has caused the Rangers to get inventive when it comes to filling out the roster. GM Jon Daniels did just that — flipping Kevin Millwood into three players.

First Daniels traded Millwood to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Ray. After saving money on that deal, the Rangers turned around and signed Rich Harden and traded for Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox.

The biggest name in that trio is Harden. He’s a starting pitcher with a high ceiling who has had trouble staying healthy. Ray is a reliever who struggled last year after recovering from surgery. Lowell is a veteran who could possibly fill in at third base, first base and DH.

The Rangers will miss Millwood but they were able to get younger and fill out their roster with three players who could blossom in the 2010 baseball season. Will this be enough for Texas to make the playoffs? Probably not but they have a better chance now than they did a few days ago.

Mike Lowell is running to the Texas Rangers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Cubs Swept Video – Cubs Eliminated from Playoffs

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:48:14 +0000

Many baseball experts had the Chicago Cubs as the favorites to win the 2008 World Series. Cubs fans were also hopeful that the 100-year curse could finally be over. Those hopes, however, will have to wait another year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cubs on Saturday to successfully complete a 3-0 sweep. The Dodgers, who won the game 3-1, will move on to face the winner of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers series. The Phillies currently lead that series 2-1.

The video of the Cubs getting swept will be hard for Cubs fans to stomach. Rich Harden, who the Cubs traded for in the middle of the season, was unimpressive — lasting only 4.1 innings. Alfonso Soriano was 0-5 and hit just .071 in the series.

For the Dodgers, their main star was starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda, who was born in Japan, pitched 6.1 scoreless innings and also struck out four cubs. Manny Ramirez was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run, while James Looney had two big RBIs.

Luckily for the Cubs and their fans, there is always next year.

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Joe Blanton Traded to Philadelphia Phillies

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:45:40 +0000

The Philadelphia Phillies had a major need for a starting pitcher. The Oakland A’s seem to be rebuilding once again. When those two opposing forces met, it resulted in the A’s trading starting pitcher Joe Blanton to the Phillies for three minor leaguers.

Blanton came into this season with big expectations but he has struggled. So far in 2008, Blanton has a 5-12 record with an ERA of 4.96. Despite his struggles, he should strengthen the Phillies’ starting rotation.

In return, the A’s received Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matthew Spencer. Earlier in the month, Oakland traded starting pitcher Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs.

Here is a video with more information about the Joe Blanton trade:

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Rich Harden Traded To The Chicago Cubs

Stephen Kersey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:41:18 +0000

The Chicago Cubs wanted C.C. Sabathia but Sabathia got traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs consolation prize is a pretty darn good pitcher — Rich Harden, formerly of the Oakland Athletics.

In the trade, the Cubs got Harden and pitcher Chad Gaudin. In return, the Cubs sent Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson to Oakland.

Harden has been a very good pitcher during his career. However, his major drawback is health. Harden being healthy has been a rare occurrence in recent years, having not started 20 games in a season since 2004.

This season, Harden has a 2.34 ERA and has 92 strikeouts in 77 innings. He went 5-1 for the A’s before the trade.

In Chicago, Harden will team with Carlos Zambrano to form a nice duo at the top of the rotation. Zambrano had an injury scare earlier in the season but he’s healthy once again.

Carlos Zambrano will get an ace sidekick in Rich Harden.

Photo: Newscom

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