At various points over the past two years, I've been a strong advocate for both Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher. At the tail end of the '06 season, I was convinced that Hill would be for real - he threw a ball-busting curve and seemed poised to dominate. And, in '07, he was certainly about as good as advertised - he threw 195 innings of work, he went 11-8, he had a 3.92 ERA, and he struck out 183 batters. Then, he crapped his pants in the playoffs and became trade speculation.

The funny thing about Hill was that he was always hit or miss - there rarely seemed to be an in between. Either he'd go out and pitch a solid game, or he'd go out and get rocked by the opponents. There was no steady pitching until the 5th when he gave up 4. If he had 4 to give up in a game, he'd do it early. This led me to joke that there were two Hill's - Rich and Mitch. Rich Hill was the good pitcher, the reliable lefty with tremendous talent. Mitch was the jealous, evil twin brother of Rich who would occasionally kidnap his good brother and take his place in the rotation. Although they were twins, it was easy to tell them apart - Mitch had one of those evil, curling mustaches and he would pitch while wearing a villanous top hat:

There were basically two camps on Hill before the start of the '08 season. Camp Untouchable argued that Hill did well in his first full season and, because the Cubs controlled his contract for essentially the next half decade, his greatest value was to the team. Camp Trade, however - and I was a member of this group - argued that Hill was effective and reliable, but he was not a #2 pitcher, he had no ace-like qualities, and he would best serve the Cubs by being traded in order to upgrade the rotation. But, just to prove to you that I don't always think I'm right, I had stumped for Erik Bedard to be the pitcher the Cubs should have pursued.

It actually turned out that we were all wrong. Hill was neither reliable nor effective in 2008. In fact, he only pitched in 19.2 innings at the Major League level, and he walked 18 batters to 15 strikeouts in that time frame. Concerned for him, the Cubs sent him back to Arizona to work out his kinks, which he never really did. He got roughed up in Iowa, was sent to work out the kinks in Mesa, and was briefly shut down on July 1st after only going 1/3 of an inning. Hill pitched once more on July 8th and did well enough to warrant continued work, but he failed to "get right" this past season. His final figures - 9.1 IP in Arizona ball, 5 walks. 12.1 IP in A+ ball, 11 walks, an 8.03 ERA. 26 IP in AAA ball, 28 walks, a 5.88 ERA.

The Hill saga continues even now. The Tribune has reported that Rich Hill has been pitching in Venezuela for winter ball, where he's seen moderate success. But what is certain is that in 2008 Hill went from wonder to horror, and while the Cubs certainly didn't seem to miss him in the long-run, it's too bad that they failed to get anything of value from Hill.

Sean Gallagher

When Hill went down, Gallagher found his chance to shine. At the age of 22, Gallagher is a pitcher with a lot of promise - he has 3 above average pitches and has succeeded at every level he's pitched. I had a feeling that he probably would be erratic at best in '08, but he appears to have a long future ahead of him which should include success at the major league level.

Then, after 10 starts and 3 wins, the Cubs traded Gallagher to the A's for an older pitcher with a history of arm problems and a contract that expires in one more season, and I rejoiced. After all, as much as I like Gallagher, Harden is a phenom.

Therefore, I would argue that Gallagher's season was very successful for the Cubs. He pitched effectively for a third of the season and then landed Chicago the best stuff starter they've had in 5 years. Thanks, Sean, and good luck.

What does XM know about mid-season pitching acquisitions, anyway?

Even though Hendry, et al. are adamant about this trade is not a knee-jerk to the Sabathia deal, I did the math and I am willing to bet that Gallagher was not part of the deal until yesterday.  Billy Beane was lusting after him, for good reason.  Gallagher has guts, he does not give up when he doesn't have his best stuff (paging: the Marquis de Suck) and we are going to hate losing him.

I am very happy for Murton, as he is finally going to get the chance he deserves.  I wish him quite well in his endeavors, and we are going to hate the numbers he puts up in the next few years.

Lil' Strut can kiss my butt, and Donaldson is already a self-inflated headcase with a keen sense of his own worth.  I mean, they play Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" when he comes to the plate already?  I guess he's big in Boise.  Don't be scared of losing him; this is NOT Dontrelle Willis here.

I am glad the trade went down this way.  If for some reason we completed our trade first, and then the Brewers countered with theirs, that would give them the clear psychological edge.  Some may say that the trade was reactive, but Hendry is correct when he says that you just don't pick up the phone, call Billy Frickin' Beane and ask "Hey, the Brewers just got CC.  What can you do for us?"

Some are also questioning Harden's health, that his last two starts were only for 5 innings apiece, that his most recent start against the Sux was one of his worst this year, and that Beane doesn't just give up on good players for no reason - he must be damaged goods.  Mmm hmm, yep, Dan Haren looks real shitty.  Beane's trading record has been excellent, but even he gives up value sometimes. 

All in all, I think Uncle Lou said it best when he noted that he is "...glad that Jim is so competitive.  The Brewers got a ace lefthander, and he went out and got a good righthander."  This is just what we needed.

Any takers on the Cardinals getting A. J. Burnett later on today? 

My boss just emailed me and said that Bruce Levine is on ESPN 1000 reporting the following:

RH Pitcher Rich Harden of A's going to Cubs per ESPN.

ERA is 2.34. Record is 5-1 I think.

Cubs giving up 4-5 players/prospects. Not sure who.

You can thank my boss for the scoop.

Update 5:33 pm: Matt Murton and Eric Patterson are involved.

Update 5:34 pm: Sean Ghallager, too.

Geez, this is going to be an expensive trade.

Update: 5:48 pm: The Hendry Press conference just ended. Here's the trade: Cubs get Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin (a RHP currently in the A's pen.) The Cubs give up: Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, Matt Murton, and a minor league guy whose name was not familiar to me (Josh Donaldson).

Hendry basically said they've been discussing the deal for two weeks, trading names back and forth. The player that Billy Beane absolutely wanted and that Hendry did not want to give up was Sean Gallagher. Hendry spoke highly of both Murton and Gallagher's character but didn't take the opportunity to extend those remarks to Eric Patterson.

Lou's on, update to follow.

Update 6:08 pm Lou just finished up. He had some great quotes as usual but didn't add too much. Apparently Gaudin played for him in Tampa, but Lou didn't actively lobby for him as Lou didn't find out about the deal until today at 3:00.

When quizzed by one of the beat reporters (Hendry has been working on this for two weeks.) Lou laughed it off, "without me. Ha ha ha." Lou then went on to say that Hendry and he had talked on Friday and that Hendry knew they weren't going to be able to get Sabathia, but Hendry said there might be someone else.

The Quotable Lou Piniella

"Yesterday, Milwaukee made a deal for a real good left handed starter and today Jim went out and got himself a real good righty. It just shows how competitive he is." – Lou Piniella

"We gave up some kids for the present. As a manager you love to see an organization go out and help you." – Lou Piniella

"The Cubs are going to do everything in their power to help us win." – Lou Piniella

"This makes us better and we're very very pleased." – Lou Piniella

Matt Murton shows off his arm in a game against the Giants.
Image courtesy of The Cubdom Photo Gallery
It's a sad day to see Carrot-top leave Chicago, but boy is that red hair going to clash with Oakland green and gold.

670 The Score and ESPN 1000 are both reporting that Rich Harden may now be a Cub - Sean Gallagher and Matt Murton are the names I'm hearing right now. Updates as they happen.

UPDATE: Hendry presser live. Trade official. Murton, Gallagher, and Eric Patterson are definately involved. A "minor leaguer" is also involved.

UPDATE 2: Gallagher, Donaldson, Patterson and Murton go to As; Cubs get Harden and Chad Gaudin. I don't even know who Gaudin is yet. Josh Donaldson is a catcher in our minor league system and one of our best prospects.

UPDATE 3: Here's the Trib link. And here's Harden's stats; Gaudin's stats.

Harden's contract:

signed 4-year deal worth 9M thru 2008 season that superceded deal for 2005 season on 4/2/05- + he receives a 1M signing bonus and salaries of 500K in 2005, 1M in 2006, 2M in 2007, and 4.5M in 2008- + the deal includes a Team Option for 2009 worth 7M with no buyout- + the deal includes escalators based on IP that could increase the total value of the deal to 18M- + the option could vest by 2006 or 2007 if certain targets based on combinations of back-to-back 200 IP seasons and top 5 Cy Young Award finishes are reached

Sean Gallagher goes to the pen, Sean Marshall stays in the rotation. (Meanwhile, Jason Marquis stays in the rotation. Isn’t life grand?) Piniella says that Marmol is starting to be a “little bit of a concern.” Out in Cub fandom the words “full blown panic” might be more descriptive.

As the All Star Break nears, trade rumors mount. Chris DeLuca runs them down. Short version: the Cubs could pursue Sabathia or Harden if they had better prospects, or Randy Wolf if they didn’t learn a lesson from the Steve Trachsel deal last season. DeLuca adds:

Another Padre who definitely might interest Hendry is former Cub Greg Maddux.

Definitely might.

Meanwhile, the Toronto papers are split on whether or not Burnett is or isn’t being shopped for a shortstop. The team’s president denies actively shopping Burnett, but says the Jays could deal him to “affects the long range betterment of the club.” Spoken like a Canadian.

The Brewers, on the other hand, are in the thick of the bidding for Sabathia. Rosenthal says that the Cubs and Phillies can’t match the Brewers’ farm system.

Trading Bedard is not priority number one for the Mariners, but they’re not ruling it out. Stark also makes a valuable point:

There's no commodity teams chase harder at the deadline than starting pitching. And it's mind-boggling how rarely it gets them anywhere. … So remember, friends, there's no assurance that trading for a C.C. Sabathia is going to give your team any better chance of winning the World Series than trading for, say, Tim Redding. And that's a fact.

The reason, said [Rockies GM Dan] O'Dowd, is simply that those starting pitchers only get to play every five days. So "just look at the number of starts a starting pitcher is going to get by the end of September," he said. "It's probably 10. So if the guy doesn't dominate in eight of those 10 starts, it's a disappointing trade."

Too true.

Okay, I am pretending to be Jumbo Jim Hendry now, which is a mental exercise I go through nearly every day.  If only I enjoyed, say, the Bowflex or the LifeCycle as much.

I am extremely hesitant to mess with my team's chemistry right now, and thus my list of untouchables is much longer than Kyle's at this point.  Here is what I am willing to part with for a pitcher:

• Column "A" - starting pitchers - Hill OR Marshall OR Gallagher
• Column "B" - line drive hitters - Murton OR Hofpauir OR Colvin
• Column "C" - middle infielders - Patterson OR Cedeno OR Fontenot

I would prefer one from Column "A", one from Column "B", and one from Column "C".  What do you suppose that would buy me?

I think it would buy me A. J. Burnett.  I also agree with most that believe that Burnett is just a slightly less xtreme Kerry Wood.

I do not think it would buy me Erik Bedard.  Maybe Bill Bavasi would have taken that bait, but the new guy is going to be a bit more hesitant, waiting for the big score.  He'd probably want TWO from Column "A", Colvin and Cedeno.  I'm not really willing to give him Gallagher AND Marshall AND Cedeno for Bedard.

I would give the Indians all that for Sabathia.  I am still unconvinced of Cedeno's baseball IQ, I don't think Marshall has more than 4th starter potential, and I'm not sure Colvin is what he thinks he is.  So sure, I'd give that up. 

But I don't think the Tribe is going to settle for that.  They are going to go into this, ultimately, wanting Soto - since Victor Martinez seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.  Of course, I tell them no plucking way, but now I am on the defensive.  They probably think they are entitled to two from Column A PLUS either Soulpatch Reed, Theriot or Marky Mark.

If this were the offseason, and I was guaranteed I could sign the Big Sunnybitch, I might give it more consideration.  But not now.  They can't have anyone out of my regular lineup when we are leading the MLB.  No way I phuck with that. 

So...harder than you think.  Most here would prefer that either Marshall comes back and takes charge, or Gallagher takes another step up and takes charge, or maybe Hill extracts his thumb from his ass and takes charge.  There is a certain 'retained value' to this scenario, true.  But I have always believed that deserving players should get what they deserve, and that their current team should do what they can to make sure that happens; to not stand in the way of their development.  I believe that RIGHT NOW Murton and Hofpauir deserve to play every day for an AL team, and Marshall deserves to start for an ML team, and that Cedeno deserves to play every day for an ML team. 

Just not mine.