Come to Think of it...Harden to Make Cubs Debut on Saturday

First, the good news: Newcomer Rich Harden is scheduled to make his Cubs debut in Wrigley Field on Saturday, a day game slated to start at 12:05 CT.

He will be facing the San Francisco Giants, against whom Harden already has a win this year.  In an interleague match-up while with Oakland, the Cubs new prize pitcher allowed only one hit in six innings for the win.

He will be facing righthander Kevin Correia, who sports a 1-5 record with a 4.96 ERA. Interestingly, right handed hitters fare much better against Correia than lefties do. Righties are hitting a robust .303 against him in 2008, while southpaw swingers hit just .222. Note to Lee, Ramirez and Soto: fill thine horns with oil, and go!

And Rich Harden is probably starting out against a good team to face.  Not only has he beat them already this year, but the Giants rank 14th in the league in runs scored and 13th in OBP. That bodes well for the newest Cub.

Hell, let's let the pride of Canada sing "Take me out to the ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch if he wants to.

But is anyone else just a bit nervous to hear that the Cubs plan to put Harden on a pitch count? I mean, especially after all of the concern raised about his health, with the Cubs saying that Harden checked out fine?

Well, that's exactly what has been reported. Granted, the pitch count is said to be around 100, which is likely about as far as you're going to go with a starter these days anyway. Still, it concerns me just a little, especially after hearing the reports of a "tired arm" following Harden's previous start against the White Sox, and given his fragile history.

After all, teams don't usually even announce a pitch count unless a pitcher is just coming off the DL, had thrown an unusually high number of pitches in his last start, or is being watched carefully due to a health concern. Harden threw only 95 pitches in his previous effort.

With the game scheduled to be televised by Fox, expect a lot of discussion about the Harden deal and the comparisons with the Brewers C.C. Sabathia trade. And, my gosh, what are the Cardinals planning to do in response? (Probably very little, if anything).

Well, first things first, the Cubs have a day game against these same Giants on Friday at Wrigley. Jason Marquis, whose meter is running, is the scheduled starter for the boys in blue. A really bad game and Lou might just change his mind and go back to Marshall as the fifth starter, who knows.

Heck, Rich Harden's debut at Wrigley Field may not equal the anticipation of David Beckham's stateside debut in Los Angeles last July. But come to think of it, let's hope it's a much more productive one for Harden.