Harden's Debut

[love_that_reefer]

Rich Harden made his Cubs debut in regular fashion. Well, regular for him. He struck out ten Giants in just five and a third innings of work, just dominating the strike zone. 66 of his 96 pitches were for strikes and he walked three batters. Giants managed to get five hits but could not score. Harden had to have impressed Cubs fans. He did not figure into the decision as the bullpen blew it but definitely made an impact and will continue to do so if healthy. Harden made a great first impression and settled Cubs fans doubt for at least a day.

[DMBZeppelin]

Don't insult the bullpen by saying they blew it. Carlos Marmol the head case owes Harden a win. Still Harden is just fanstatic. He really seems to like it here in Chicago:

"I had a lot of people tell me this was going to be a good experience. It was," Harden said of his Wrigley love-in. "It was a pretty cool feeling. I've never had anything like that, pitching in Oakland. It's easier to pitch here with the crowd into every pitch. It's exciting, and I'll use it as motivation to give me a push. From what I hear, it's like that every game. It's pretty impressive."

But hell even the Giants rookies liked Wrigley, here's one of them:

"You go to some parks, and the fans are just there to hang out," Hinshaw said. "Here, they pay attention to every pitch and they're involved in everything. It's like they have 40,000 players on one team. Forty thousand people want to be in the dugout slapping fives. 'Passionate' is an understatement. Fans like that are special."

I just really hope Harden stays healthy. Because I have a feeling he'll want to resign here.

[Bon Bon]

I think Rich Harden will be fine with the Cubs. I don't know and I have said this in the Brewers thread that his impact may not be as big as CC's with the Brewers , but he will be a key addition and will be consistent if he stays healthy.

[rockin500]

he looked really good today. His velocity was there too. He touched 98 a couple of times and was sitting in the mid 90's for most of the day.

just too bad marmol screwed the pooch again.

[BronxBomberz]

If Harden stays healthy, the Cubs got to be favorites to win the NL, and even the World Series!

[hot_corner_gurl]

If Harden stays healthy, the Cubs got to be favorites to win the NL, and even the World Series!

They were already one of the favourites even before they acquired Harden...obviously anyone of his caliber is a plus though. He said in an pre-game interview with someone who's name is escaping me that he was really excited to perform is such a park as Wrigley. How the whole atmosphere was so different from that in Oakland (10,000 vs a full house). Best of luck to Harden in his new uni.