Is Rich Harden the prayer Chicago Cubs fans have been looking for? Is CC Sabathia the savior in Milwaukee? It’s going to be one heck of a second half as two tough lucked franchises battle it out with huge expectations on the line

SCOTT JACOBS

That took a long time.

A day after the Brewers pulled off the “please get us in the playoffs, it’s been 25 years, and we want to pee our pants” trade for CC Sabathia, the Chicago Cubs sat on their heels did nothing for 24 hours, and then completed their own mega-trade, landing Athletics’ pitcher Rich Harden.

In unrelated news, the NBA’s Western Conference wants their story-lines back. What’s next? The Cardinals bringing Roger Clemens out of retirement? The Pirates signing Barry Bonds to get them over the .500 mark?

We haven’t even hit the All Star break, yet the two biggest names to switch jerseys have probably already been etched in leather.

Sabathia. Harden. Cubs. Brewers.

If nothing else, this ought to be fun.

The Brewers went for broke dealing for Sabathia, the 2007 CY Young award winner. They dealt some very good prospects to Cleveland for the right to rent the massive pitcher for a few months. Milwaukee was so desperate that they traded for Sabathia weeks before the trading deadline, just so they could shove a pair of starts in before the All Star break for their newest star. After all, when he leaves at the end of the year the Brewers get a couple draft picks in return. Hopefully by then, the Brewers will still be celebrating some kind of playoff success.

Now onto the Cubs. With their trade for the very talented, but oft-injured Harden, the Cubs have positioned themselves to not only make the playoffs, but to make a deep run. Chicago is already 17 games above .500, and their 475 runs scored are second only to the Rangers.

Clearly they can hit. Now, there’s little doubt they can pitch.

Adding Harden (5-1, 2.34 ERA in 13 starts) to the mix gives Chicago so many quality arms that they now just might have the best overall rotation in the league.

You decide:

Carlos Zambrano: 9-3, 2.96 ERA
Ryan Dempster: 9-3, 3.24 ERA
Ted Lilly: 9-5, 4.47 ERA
Jason Marquis: 6-5, 4.78 ERA

The two trades look great on paper. Then again, so did the Mets.

The NL Central was a mediocre fight in 2007 between two very underwhelming teams: the Cubs and the Brewers. In 2008, barring a St. Louis fade, the Central figures to be an exciting three team race. Think of the NL Central as last year’s NL West, and think of the NL West as last year’s Central. Basically, the divisions have swapped places.

And nowhere are they happier then in Wisconsin and the Windy City.

Ya know what, I think I like that title. Sorta catchy, no?

Wisconsin and the Windy City: Part 1, with many more to come.

At least for this year at least. Because while the Brewers take their rental for a spin this week, Harden is under contract for 2009 and is making a paltry $4.75 million this year. Sabathia is most likely one and done, expected to command Johan Santana money, and some team (ignoring Santana’s over bloated contract) will pay it to him. It just won’t be the Brewers.

And with Ben Sheets a free agent too, this is Milwaukee’s window to end 25 years of no playoffs: a half a season.

The Cubs are staring up at a bigger number: 100. As in, if they don’t win a World Series this year they hit the grand ol’ century mark for infamy. The Brewers… well, they’ve never even won a title. Though, they did get to the Fall Classic in 1982, incidentally they last time they made the playoffs at all.

Back to the Cubs. Again, it should be pointed out that Harden is no sure thing. The A’s loved him when he came up, and he was great– when healthy. Which isn’t often. Harden’s made six trips to the DL in six years in the bigs. Not exactly cute numbers.

But for what Chicago gave up, a disappointing Matt Murton who isn’t exactly tearing the cover off the baseball in Triple A hitting .250, and a few other prospects, they can afford to take a chance on the talented ace.

So it’s clear that long term the Cubs are in better shape. They can re-ink Harden if they so choose after this year or during the 2009 season. Though this does have a familiar tune to it.

After all, the Cubs used to rely on an oft-injured pitcher for years to keep alive their title hopes. His name was Mark Prior. And how’d that one work out?

So before you run out and buy World Series hotel reservations Cubs and Brewers fans, know this: this looks great on paper, but it only matters what happens on the field. Disappointment is possible. Anything can happen.

Then again, who am I kidding. Cubs and Brewers fans know that better then anybody!

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