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To: Cactus Jack who wrote (72217)	7/10/2008 1:39:31 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104154

Harden & Gaudin arrive in Chicago _______________________________________________________________ 07/09/2008 11:33 PM ET -- CHICAGO -- Socks signaled the arrival of Rich Harden. Before a game jersey or a name tag, a blue and white pair with "Harden 40" scribbled on them marked the locker of the newest Cub, thought to be the final piece of the puzzle. Harden and Chad Gaudin flew into Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, ready to help the National League leaders in whatever way they can. "I've been with Oakland my entire career, so it's a shock," Harden said in his introductory press conference. "It's really exciting to come to this team, the Cubs, especially with the talent they have, the reputation they have, the fans, and how passionate everybody is about baseball. I couldn't be happier." Harden will make his Cubs debut on Saturday against his former Bay Area rival Giants, whom he held to one hit in six innings earlier this season. General manager Jim Hendry mentioned a cautious schedule with Harden, who has had six stints on the disabled list since 2005. The team is taking a reverse approach to the rest of the season, looking ahead to September when determining Harden's upcoming workload. "Like we do with all our pitchers, we're going to watch pitch counts," manager Lou Piniella said. "We can give a pitcher an extra day, we can do that. We have the luxury here of having six starters. We can skip somebody if we need to. We can work around it." Sean Marshall is the odd man out of the rotation. Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster will start at Houston after the All-Star break. Harden will open a series at Arizona on July 21 with Jason Marquis following him. That means about a week between Harden's first and second National League starts. For a guy with a 2.34 ERA, it'll be worth the wait. "A lot of guys in this clubhouse don't realize how good this guy is," Mark DeRosa said. "I had the misfortune of facing him a couple times playing in the American League and got a few phone calls from some guys I played with over there in Texas. Everyone says the same thing. When this guy is on the mound, it's one of those rides to the ballpark where you're like, 'I hope I can mix a single in there somehow.' When he's on, he's one of the best right-handed pitchers in the game. Stuff-wise, his stuff is off the charts." Harden becomes the second Canadian on the roster, joining right-hander Ryan Dempster. They grew up about 90 minutes apart in British Columbia, with Harden living on an island and Dempster on a peninsula just a boat ride away. "We can share ferry stories," Dempster joked. "It's definitely nice to have a fellow Canadian," Harden said. Harden was then notified about Dempster's plan to bring hockey sticks into the clubhouse. "That's one thing I was looking forward to," he said. Harden chatted up Gaudin on the plane ride over, since Gaudin has been traded twice before and played for Piniella in Tampa Bay in 2003 and 2004. Actually, the airplane itself deserved kudos. "It was a new plane, the stewardess' first time and everything," Gaudin said. "You actually got to lay down in the chair. It was ridiculous. It was like a cubby booth, really, really nice. It was a much better flight than any one I've had in awhile." Back to baseball for a sec, what do you remember about Sweet Lou? "I know one thing, he does not like you to walk guys," Gaudin said. "You'll definitely learn that first hand, for sure. He's really intense. ... At one point I looked over there a couple years ago and saw that face and said, 'Uh oh. I better clean it up real quick.'" Gaudin slides into a middle-relief role vacated by Sean Gallagher, and the ex-starter is just fine with that. "I look at myself as whatever they need," Gaudin said. "If they need a starter, I can start for them. If they need a reliever, I can relieve. I like to start. I enjoy starting. Right now it's about staying in first place and winning a World Series. That's what we've got to do. I'll do whatever it takes." By Nick Zaccardi / MLB.com