A Harden Decision

Not much that your humble narrator can add with respect to the Rich Harden deal. The Cubs certainly look like the class of the NL this year, and more power to them. Jim Hendry, Lou Piniella and Company obviously feel Harden is the kind of impact pitcher who can help bring Chicago a World Series winner. The A's have now purged their roster of their three superior pitching aces (Hudson-Mulder-Zito) and The Man Who Would Be The Fourth Ace, Harden.

These new-era A's still reflect the character of their GM, Billy Beane, more so than any other team in baseball does theirs. The annual mid-year Beane Fire Sale brought in, as everyone must know, RHP Sean Gallagher, AAAA OFs Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, and Minor League C Josh Donaldson.

Make no mistake. Gallagher will be a great addition to the A's staff. He will win many games with this team. He was painted as a pitcher with average stuff, but a quick glance at his stats reveals excellent peripherals: 2.23 K/W ratio, 7.52 Ks per 9 innings, .92 HRs per 9. His basic stats are 3-4 4.45. Gallagher has been somewhat unlucky in getting bullpen help, but the peripherals are there.

Donaldson played in the short-season Northwest League Boise Hawks last year, when I had ranked him as the top position player prospect in that league. This year, he moved up to the Class A Midwest League Peoria Chiefs, where the A's had plenty of opportunity to scout him against their own Kane County Cougars. His stats have tailed off: .217 6 23. His power has dropped to league-average at Peoria, and he has lost his considerable plate discipline. The only thing he has improved is his contact rate. Donaldson has good speed for a catcher. He has thrown out nearly 40 percent of runners attempting to steal.

Although the A's have Kurt Suzuki behind the plate, one would like to see Donaldson regain his power stroke and advance through the A's system. So what if he's lost almost .200 points of OBP this year? It's the minors and it happens.

I can live with this trade. The A's had an injury-prone, cash-hoovering potential liability on their hands. When he is able to pitch, he is among the best. Unfortunately, this isn't often enough to suit Beane. Or, I suspect, most A's fans.