Harden Mans Up for Cubs

The Cubs needed somebody to man up, and save them from being swept by the lowly San Diego Padres.  That someone turned out to be Rich Harden, who continued his post-All Star resurgence by giving up only one hit in 7 innings, and leading the Cubs to a badly needed 7-1 victory at Petco.

The Cubs finish the season with a 1-5 record in San Diego.  The Padres, I don’t need to point out, are 20 games under .500 this season.  So going 1-5 in their place is nearly as embarrassing as going 1-5 in Washington would be.

Of course Petco is not a home run hitters’ park, and the Cubs as we know depend inordinately on the home run for their offense.  So, normally, they are at a disadvantage in that building.  Wednesday night, however, the Cubs were able to overcome that, getting long balls from Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez.

The win did little to improve the Cubs playoff prospects; they still trail St. Louis by 6 in the division and Colorado by 5 in the Wild Card.  Now would be a good time for a hot streak, no?