Rich Harden's Mechanics Lead to His Breakdown

Once again, Rich Harden broke camp with the A's, and once again, his mechanics were the same that caused him pain in previous seasons.

For years I have been saying that Rich Harden needed to watch tape of Tom Seaver to see how Seaver finished.

When Tom Terrific finished his delivery, his glove hand would be tucked in order to pull his body through and deliver his pitches with the least amount of strain on his upper body.

Rich Harden, to the contrary, flies open with his glove hand, causing strain on his upper torso as is rips and twists through the zone.

It is no wonder that his hip and upper back muscles keep acting up.

I was at spring training a few seasons ago and witnessed Harden face live hitting for the first time off of the mound.

Although it was obvious that his mechanics were still off, pitching coach Curt Young just looked the other way while he joked around with Matt Keough.

I was in shock.

From my first row seats, I tried to call Curt Young or Matt over but they wouldn't listen.

Three seasons later, Harden is still making the same mistakes and there has been no sign of change.

I believe that Rick Peterson was correct about Harden's mechanics when he tried to change him. And without Rick, "Dick" has been Humpty Dumpty.

I wish him luck, and I still have him on my fantasy team, although I believe that he'll need more than luck.

He MAY need a new delivery.

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