In the weeks before the MLB trade deadline the Milwaukee Brewers made a big splash by trading for CC Sabathia in the hopes that the addition of Sabathia would be enough to get them into the playoffs. Not to be outdone the Chicago Cubs followed suit by trading for oft-injured Rich Harden hoping to keep the Brewers at bay. After both trades occurred I wrote an article, http://thesportsinformer.blogspot.com/2008/07/mlb-harden-or-sabathia.html, where I broke down the trade and claimed that the Brewers got the better deal.Now almost one month later I have decided to come back and see if my analysis was correct of the deals. So lets look at these two aces side by side and see who most teams would rather have and see who came out on top.Sabathia: Since being traded to the Brewers Sabathia is pitching like a man possessed. He is currently in his contract year and has claimed that the wants "Santana money" in the off-season. Before the deal people scoffed at this and said CC was worn out but he has turned heads since going to Milwaukee. He is 7-0 since the trade and has given up only 15 ER in 80 Innings. He has also pitched 4 complete games since being there, 3 in a row at one point, and has 81 Ks to only 17 BBs. He has brought his ERA down from the mid 5 range to 3.04 and is sporting a WHIP of 1.14. Not only are his numbers great but the team definitely plays well behind Sabathia and he has really kept them afloat during this pennant race.Sabathia's teammate Corey Hart had this to say of CC after his most recent win. ''He's been everything we thought he'd be,'' Hart said. ''When he's out there, we feel like we don't have to score a lot because he's not going to give up a lot. When he's out there, there's a good chance we'll win.''It looks like CC Sabathia was the perfect fit for the Brewers and may have found a new home in Milwaukee if they can show him the money at the end of the season.Harden: The big question that everyone had coming out of the Harden deal was can he stay healthy? So far Harden has managed to stay off of the DL and has pitched pretty well for the Cubs. He is 3-2 for the Cubs and has given up only 12 ER in his first 10 games. He has also been striking out hitters all over the place as he has 74 Ks in just over 57 Innings including a streak of 3 games with at least 10 Ks. Harden has not gotten the run support however as in 2 of his losses the other team only score 2 runs. Harden has been what everyone expected him to be however and the Cubs haven't lost any ground since acquiring him so it looks to be a good deal for them.Comparison: 7-0 compared to 3-2 is a huge stat in favor of Sabathia. Sabathia has also thrown 23 more innings than Harden in the same amount of games which means he is putting less stress on the bullpen. Sabathia has pitched at least 8 innings 7 of his last 10 games where has Harden has only gone past the 7th inning once. The Cubs may be wanting to save Harden's arm for the post-season but all of that extra bullpen work is not a good thing. Winner: The Brewers. Sabathia has been better and is pitching better than Harden. They did have to give up top prospect Matt LaPorta for him but if they can resign Sabathia in the off-season or at least end their playoff drought then it will all have been worth it.
On Monday the Milwaukee Brewers traded for CC Sabathia. Not to be outdone on Tuesday the Chicago Cubs traded for Rich Harden. Both teams received dominant pitchers who will definitely help improve their respective rotations and should give both enough firepower to get into the playoffs but who got the better deal? Deal 1 – CC Sabathia to the Brewers What they Got: In his career CC Sabathia is 107-71 with a 3.82 ERA 1.26 WHIP and a Cy Young award to boot. He has over 1200 strikeouts and is a fireballer who has started at least 28 games a season throughout his 8 year career. He started 2008 slow, 0-3 13.50 ERA, but since then Sabathia has posted a 2.16 ERA with 109 strikeouts against just 20 walks and eight home runs in his last 14 outings, 10 of which were quality starts. With the addition of Sabathia the Brewers now have a formidable 1-2 punch with Ben Sheets (10-2) and CC. The Brewers who missed the playoffs last year by 2 games are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The only issue with Sabathia is if his arm can hold up. After years of keeping the annual odometer on his young arm below 200 innings pitched, the Indians finally let go of the reins last year and let the big guy throw 241 innings in the regular season followed by 15 1/3 more in the postseason. Those 256 1/3 innings were a third more than he had thrown the previous season and the most likely reason for Sabathia's rough start in 2008. Another issue will be resigning Sabathia at the end of the season as he is set to become a restricted free agent and plans on testing the market. The Brewers don’t have big budget and Sabathia is reportedly looking for “Johan Santana Money.” However if another team sign Sabathia in the off season the Brewers get two draft picks in compensation if he signs elsewhere. What they Gave Up: In order to land Sabathia the Brewers had to part ways with top prospect Matt LaPorta who was their 1st round pick in the 2007 MLB draft. LaPorta is flourishing in Double-A ball right now as he is flirting with .300 has 20 HR and 66 RBI in 86 games so far for the Akron Aeros. LaPorta also possesses an amazingly strong arm and even spent some time in the majors because of this fact. Letting LaPorta go isn’t that big of a concern to the Brewers who are well stocked with outfielders. Corey Hart is finally living up to his potential in right field and the Brewers have another prospect a 22-year-old named Mat Gamel (.381/.443/.637 at Double-A this year) who looks poised to make the next step to the majors. Deal 2 – Rich Harden to the Cubs What they Got: Rich Harden is undoubtedly one of the best pitchers in baseball…when healthy. The Canadian phenom has only pitched in 26 games over the past 3 seasons. However when he is healthy he is absolutely nasty on the mound amassing a record of 36-19 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with over 500 Ks. So far this season Harden has been outstanding going 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA which is why the Cubs were so determined to sign him. With the addition of Harden the Cubs now have a phenomenal rotation going forward that boasts Carlos Zambrano, Harden, and Ryan Dempster. If those three can stay healthy the Cubs should have no problem winning the division and possibly breaking the 100 year streak of not winning the World Series. The biggest question with Harden is always his health. While he has looked great this season it was reported that a MLB scout noticed Harden's velocity dipping from 93-97 to 89-91 his last two outings, raising concern about whether he's unsound again. Also there is the fact that GM of the Oakland A’s Billy Beane made the deal. Beane is notorious for always knowing something everyone else doesn’t. Plus he traded Harden for very little raising concerns that Beane simply wanted to get rid of Harden. What they Gave Up: Right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson. So basically, not much.
Gallagher, 22, is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA (29 ER/58.2 IP) in 12 appearances with the Cubs this season. Murton, 26, has split the 2008 season between the Cubs and Triple-A, batting .250 with six RBI in 19 games for Chicago this season. He has spent all or part of the last four seasons in the majors, hitting .294 with 28 home runs and 104 RBI in 308 big league games. Patterson, 25, has also split the season between the Cubs and Triple-A and hit .237 during his three stints in the big leagues this season. Donaldson, 22, batted .217 (51-for-235) with six home runs and 23 RBI in 63 games for Single-A Peoria this season. It seems as thought the Cubs stole Harden but looking at Billy Beane’s track record this deal seems awfully unusual. Who Won? Close call but the decision goes to the Brewers. CC Sabathia is a lights out pitcher who can give you 200+ innings and goes deep into games. The Brewers added a second ace to their rotation and gave up a player who is good but plays a position they are well stocked at. However he will more than likely leave after this season so giving up LaPorta may sting in upcoming seasons.
The Cubs get Harden is injury prone but if he manages to stay healthy will be an absolute steal for what they gave up for him. Also the Cubs got Chad Gaudin to sure up their bullpen and they have got the bankroll to sign Harden after the season is over if need be. It was a response move to the brewers snagging Sabathia and also shows the pressure the team is under to do well in the post season as the 100 curse is starting to become more of a story as the season goes on. However it all comes back to Billy Beane. Beane would never just let a top pitcher go for nothing as he always squeezes at least a few prospects out of people. To me this is the biggest warning sign of all that something is wrong with Harden. Only time will tell but for now it looks like the Brewers got the better deal.
