I happened to be in attendance at Wrigley for Rich Harden’s Chicago Cubs’ debut on Saturday and he was awfully impressive. He only lasted 5.1 innings, but he gave up just five hits and no earned runs while also striking out 10 in the Cubs’ 8-7 extra innings victory.
Of course the Giants aren’t a good team to base whether or not Harden will be effective for the Cubs throughout the rest of the season (especially when their starting lineup consists of Rich Aurillia, Eugenio Velez, Omar Vizquel and Jose Castillo), but 10 Ks in just 5.1 innings is outstanding – no matter how bad the opposing offense is.
This Harden deal might be the one that officially puts the Cubs over the top. Harden and Carlos Zambrano are a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation and Ryan Dempster has been lights out at home. Their lineup is stacked when Alfonso Soriano is healthy, and they’re getting great production from role players like Mark DeRosa and Mike Fontenot.
Is this finally the Cubs year? It’s easy to assume the loveable losers will choke and fall apart again. But there seems to be something different about them this year. The team believes they can win and even though the Cardinals are on their heels in the Central, perhaps no team in the National League looks more balanced than the North Siders.
