clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Last Hurrah For Harden

By baseballgirl

From MLB.com:

Harden session goes well: Starter Rich Harden threw his first bullpen session of Spring Training on Friday, and the results were encouraging. Harden kept the ball down and showed a smooth delivery in delivering nearly 40 pitches to Kurt Suzuki. "He looked like Rich Harden when he's healthy," Suzuki said. "I'm pumped I can finally catch him." Harden and Suzuki have often talked about their desire to work together, but they have never formed a battery in a game. "He's really good at getting me down in the zone, better than most catchers I've worked with," Harden said after his bullpen. As for mechanics, Harden's work with bullpen coach and former roving pitching instructor Ron Romanick paid off.

"I feel like my command's a lot better than it usually is at this point," Harden said. "We haven't made too many big changes, it's more been smaller things and a lot of repetition.

So, from all accounts, Rich Harden IS at Spring Training, and actually appears to be throwing, something we haven’t seen in a while. And not to put too fine a point on it, but he may be the only thing standing between the A’s and the coveted 90 loss season. With an untried offense, and an as-of-yet undecided starting rotation, the A’s look to Harden to make up some of the gaping off-season losses.

And I know that I hold out very little hope for a Harden resurrection, but damn it all; I can’t quite quell the excitement I still get when I see “Harden” and “pitched” in the same sentence. I’m sure I’ll get over it.

Right? Right?!

More From Athletics Nation