Sadly, Oakland Athletics pitcher Rich Harden is approaching Mark Prior and Kerry Wood status when it comes to talent wasted on nagging injuries. With all three, it seems that they are never off of the disabled list, and for Harden, as of July 12, he’s back on, with yet another shoulder issue.
The A’s placed Harden on the disabled list for what seems like the thirtieth time this year, a move retroactive to July 8th. Harden has made all of four starts this season, the first three, and the best three, coming way back in April.
Three starts in April gave him a sterling 1.42 ERA, but a trip to the DL. Than, Harden got some work in June in three relief appearances, amassing four innings and lowering his ERA to 1.17. This relief work set him up to start on the 7th of this month against the Mariners, where he only worked 2.2 innings and apparently aggravated his injury.
The bad news for Harden is somewhat tempered by the fact that an MRI revealed no structural damage to his ailing shoulder, meaning that his odds of returning this year are high.
The only question is, how effective can he really be with such limited action since April? For the sake of the A’s and Manager Bob Geren, hopefully by mid-August there will be a regular slot for Harden in the rotation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment