By Deryck Kissoondath.

Photos by Brent Duncan and Deryck Kissoondath.

In the case of Rich Harden this year would be a perfect case of whether to consider the glass half full or half empty. In many aspects the 28 year old from Victoria has fulfilled expectations by remaining very healthy and pitching in 26 game starts, something that has not been completed by him while donning an Oakland uniform, in 2004. For Harden though, the record and pitch count don’t quite add up to the success that he would like, especially for his club the Chicago Cubs, who picked up the seven million dollar option on his contract for the 2009 season. Harden’s goals to finishing the season in September were simple “We’ll see, I just want to get through this season. I’ve got another 4 starts and I want to finish strong, finish healthy, finish on a good note and we’ll go from there. I’ll be a free agent – I haven’t put too much thought into it yet, my focus has been on this season – anything can happen we’ll see.” For the ever positive Harden that success has landed him a one year contract with the Texas Rangers for the 2010 season.

Harden has proven to some of the non-believers that he certainly is healthy enough to continue pitching in the majors. He has compiled a 9 and 9 record with a 4.09 ERA. His 26 starts this year are the second most of his career, which began July 21, 2003. The only problem this year has been his inconsistency, and that of the Chicago Cubs who are now out of the playoff race. Harden mentioned that “I’ve been feeling great, worked hard in the off-season, and feeling strong. It’s been a bad up and down year. I’ve had some good games followed by some bad games. With the team here, consistency has been the biggest thing.”

Last year’s off-season was an important one for Harden. ” I came up with a good program last year with the Cub’s trainers, strength coach and physiotherapist out in Phoenix, and really found a good program that works for me. It was something I continued to do during the season and hopefully it is something I can build on this season. This is the best I’ve felt in quite a while and best my shoulder has felt.”

The up and down season also left him in a unique situation when the Cubs placed him on waivers just before the Major League trading deadline, which in turn led to much speculation as to his future with the Cubs. It was the same waiver move that allowed the Chicago White Sox to claim long time outfielder Alex Rios from the Toronto Blue Jays. According to Harden ” I really didn’t know a whole lot about how that works until it really happened and my agent had to explain it to me. From what I understand every team puts so many guys on waivers and it is standard. They do it every single year, just to see if something comes along. The whole situation was ridiculous how something like that got out. There were two of us here. I was happy I stayed, I try to make it not too much of a distraction.” Despite everything over the course of the season Harden is quite happy with playing in a Cub’s uniform and continued by adding “Every organization is different. Over here they’re really great. What I appreciate here is playing for a guy like Lou Pinella. He’s a good manager, well-respected guy, the training staff and strength coach are all really good.”

Harden also had commented on the 2009 version of the World Classic for Baseball, which was held in Toronto earlier this year. ” I really want to play for them and get a chance to play for my country. I’ve never really had a chance to do that. It unfortunately hasn’t worked out, last time (2006) I was coming off surgery on left shoulder (non-throwing) and was too rushed. This year with the Cubs picking up my option – I was in the middle of my rehab and physio and it was bad timing and didn’t work out. It’s tough for a pitcher. Position players can get ready in Winter Ball; take some swings and they’re ready to go but pitchers, it’s a much longer process to be in game shape. Spring Training you kind of build up, your adrenaline level is not there. If you are pitching for your own country, you’re out there and even if you tell yourself not to pitch too much or overthrow, it’s going to be hard not to. Your body is not ready for that. What I would love to see is if they could get the something like the Olympics and get the big guys there, have a break like the All-Star break during the season. If we could get everyone healthy and together then Canada would be a good team.”

Harden realizes that his effort on the field is the major thing under his control. Towards the end of the season he had no idea what would happen with his future in Chicago. According to Harden the end of the 2009 season would be when he and his agent would deal with the future. “This is what our agents do best, when you really need him. I stay out of that, that’s what he does. When it comes time at the end of the season, we’ll sit down and talk about where I want to go!” Even with the ups and downs this season, Harden possesses the smile of a kid going to the park for the first time. He closed the interview by saying “Always have fun playing. I was lucky to have family and coaches that didn’t push me too much, and I had fun while doing it, while at the same time put a lot of effort into it and gave it everything I had. Even at this level when I’m at my best and playing well, I’m relaxed and I tell myself to just have fun out there.” As for now Rich Harden can pencil himself in the starting rotation in Texas as the number two starter. He will have a wonderful opportunity to prove his disbelievers wrong and get a chance with an option year for 2011.