Rich

Harden

The Cardinals had already accomplished the feat in the NL. Since the All-Star break, Harden is 7-1 with a 3.55 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 62/28 k/bb rate.

Harden is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. A’s manager Ken Macha insists Harden will not be rushed, but wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him reaching the majors this season. At Midland, Harden faced 39 batters in his two starts and retired them all, striking out 17. Stash him away if he’s available in your keeper league.

No word yet on the severity of the injury. Unless it’s a bad sprain, this shouldn’t impact Harden’s chances of being called up in June.

Although they haven’t made it official, the A’s are leaning toward using a three-man rotation against the Red Sox. Harden is expected to make another relief appearance Sunday in anticipation of his likely role.

Manager Ken Macha didn’t say that Rich Harden would be that pitcher, but he almost certainly would be the choice, even though Mark Redman still has an option remaining. The A’s will decide by the end of the week what they’re going to do. A trade of Duchscherer or Harville remains a strong possibility.

Manager Ken Macha wants to separate lefty starters Barry Zito and Mark Redman to help out his bullpen with matchups late in the game. Rich Harden will pitch between Zito and Redman starting this week.

The only sure thing is that his last name will start with ''H-A-.’' Fans are clamoring for a Rich Harden promotion. He allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings for Triple-A Sacramento last night, leaving his ERA at 3.23. However, Harden appears to be option C right now, behind John Halama and Aaron Harang. Whomever gets the nod will start Friday against the Giants. Macha mentioned that LHP Chris George of the Royals had a good game against the Giants, which could mean Halama, a lefty, is the favorite.

''We want to make sure that when he gets here, he’s ready,’' Macha said of Harden. Asked when that might be, Macha said: ''It’s a situation that will continue to be evaluated.’'

The A’s haven’t yet added Harden to their roster, but they cleared a spot for him yesterday and pulled him out of the Triple-A All-Star Game, making the move all but official.

The A’s want Rich Harden to get regular work and take some stress off the “Big Three” at the same time. “We anticipate Rich being here for a number of years. We might as well start that development process now,” GM Billy Beane said. “I think to skip him puts him in a little bit of a confused state. Unless something changes, I think that’s the way we’re going to go.”