Harden (Canadian!) has made five starts this year (4.30 ERA) since returning from a strained right shoulder injury that sidelined him in March. The 29-year-old right-hander will be a free agent after the season. Both Terry Francona and Curt Young were coaches in Oakland when Harden first came up with the A's.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Harden were teammates on the Rangers last year:
He'll fit in easily here. We had a good relationship in Texas. He's a competitor. He pitched in the American League. He'll be fine here.Over the Monster:
Despite the ERA, Harden has been very productive for the A's this year with a 9.2 strikeout per nine ratio and a manageable 1.159 WHIP. ... [I]t was only a matter of time before the Sox would part with Lars Anderson. The former top prospect never really got it going past AA ... With Adrian Gonzalez now in the fold for seven years, Anderson's chances at starting in the big leagues with Boston decreased by the day.
I'm a little sorry to see Lars Anderson go, but as OTM says, Gonzalez's presence made it all but inevitable. The FO is clearly worried about HH, so another arm is good news.
ReplyDeleteThis will only increase our unstoppability.
Plus he's Canadian.
A few years ago, I bought an autographed ball of somebody (maybe the Fidrych one), and it came with a Harden ball.
ReplyDeleteSo I have that. Now having it means something instead of nothing. That's the story. Plus he's Canadian.
"..Harden (span style="font-size: xx-small;")(Canadian!)(/span) has made..."
ReplyDeleteI'm confused are you turning into a Canadian Nationalist or not? :)
Too bad--especially since he would have come already fitted with a JOS nickname: PHC (Plus he's Canadian.)
ReplyDeleteApparently there is one Canadian that doesn't do the "s/he's Canadian" thing! And we've got him right here at JoS.
ReplyDeletePHC.
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John, you're right, it would have been a great nickname!