Cubs Acquire Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin

I have to admit, I am having a hard time coming to terms with this one. It has been discussed to death everywhere so I will just sum up my primary concern: Harden is very good but rarely healthy.

The pieces the Cubs gave up were all superfluous. Sean Marshall is a solid starter at the age of 22 but unlikely to improve much from there. This team is already stocked with back of the rotation quality starters and is unlikely to miss one. The addition of Gaudin to the deal allows for a contingency if Harden does get injured. This is the part of the deal that I really like. If Harden goes down, the Cubs are right back to were they were in the rotation. All they really sacrificed was some organizational depth that wasn’t being taken advantage of anyways.

Matt Murton provides just enough bat to put in as a starting corner outfielder. I would have liked to have seen him get more of a chance with the Cubs, but both Dusty Baker and Lou Piniella were seemingly disinterested. With Kosoke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano firmly entrenched in the corners now and Piniella not using him as a bat off the bench, there was little reason to keep Murton anyways.

Eric Patterson would be a nice piece on the bench. He is a guy who can play second, the corner outfield spots and maybe even some CF in a real pinch. He should have a spot on the roster which is instead being wasted by Mike Fontenot. If Piniella’s not going to use him anyways, there is no good reason to just store him in Des Moines.

I know little about the catching prospect they traded. He was drafted last year but is struggling with the bat in AA and with Geovany Soto, hopefully, blocking him from a starting spot for several years anyways. Plus, with this organization’s inability to develop position players, it would have been highly unlikely he would have ever contributed to the major league team.

Jim Hendry said that this trade was a high risk, high reward. I see certainly see the high reward. If Harden can actually stay healthy this year and beyond, the Cubs will have a formidable 1, 2 punch in their rotation for the next few years (assuming the Cubs resign Harden after next season).

The only risk, though, is wasting some of the few trade chips they had available. With Piniella’s current roster management, Marshall was the only one of those traded who could have made an impact for this year or next. With Gaudin, Marshall has essentially already been replaced. We are left, then, with a trade of Harden for a couple of guys who would be lucky to be on the Cubs’ bench. I would rather take my chances with Harden in this case. Congratulations Jim Hendry, you pulled another one off.

What is the point of it all?

"If you're not first, you're last" - Ricky Bobby, "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"

Quoting a Will Farrell movie character is not exactly the best way to build credibility for an argument. Still, it is a pretty good summation for this post. To what end should a sports team be constructed? It is a question that has been raised when reviewing the moves during the opening of the NBA free agency period.

The Washington Wizards started off by resigning Antawn Jamison and offering Gilbert Arenas a maximum value contract. Then, to the shock of many, Elton Brand and Baron Davis both opted out of the final year of their contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors respectively. Quickly, we learned the reason why. Within 24 hours, Davis had agreed to terms with the Clippers with Brand presumed to be resigning with the Clippers himself. Both seem to believe that teaming together will eventually lead to similar success experienced by the Boston Celtics over the last year. I strongly doubt that will be the case.

The Clippers, of course, have been a long running punchline within the sports world. Owned by notorious skinflint (by the standards set by other owners of professional sports franchises) Donald Sterling and run by the seemingly inept Elgin Baylor, they have made the playoffs 4 times with only 3 winning seasons since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. Repeatedly, they have failed to take advantage of their high lottery picks due to poor selection, refusal to pay, or bad luck.

Given that history, it is easy to understand the excitement of acquiring a player like Davis. Still, it is hard to see what benefit will come to both the Wizards and Clippers from their moves the last couple days. Both teams are still far from title contention.

The Wizards have been a playoff team for the last 4 seasons, getting out of the first round in the terrible Eastern Conference just once. They have built their roster around Arenas and Jamison and were fortuitous enough to add Caron Butler just as he began to blossom. All they have done is maintained the status quo at a staggering price. As much of the East improves around them, they seem to only hope to win as many games. Boston and Detroit are not going anywhere. Toronto and Orlando do not seem far away. Philadelphia, Miami, and Chicago all appear ready to make big moves over the next couple years. Washington will be left with their Big 3 and no room to add more.

The Clippers have at least improved the quality of the team. However, a playoff spot is far from guaranteed. They are not within sneezing distance of the top teams in the West. They will be left to battle with the likes of Portland, Sacramento, and Dallas for the right to be eliminated in the first round.

That leads to the question, what is the point of it all? If the ultimate goal of every sports organization is to build a team that can win a title, have the Clippers and Wizards made the right moves? It is easy to say no at this point. Both teams appear to have a peak of mediocrity in front of them for the next couple years. As well, they have severely hindered themselves from making the needed moves down the road by limiting their financial resources. The Wizards may have retained two of their best players, but they are still stuck with no answer for their gaping hole at center and a weak bench after Antonio Daniels. The Clippers little to offer after Brand, Davis, and center Chris Kaman. Some luck and good drafting could put these teams into title contention in the near future. My guess, though, is that they have both just set back any aspirations for a championship by at least 5 years.