As much of a surprise as the Athletics have been this season, what's made their early season success so much more remarkable is that they've done it without Rich Harden (Harden's stint on the DL has obviously been the least surprising thing about the A's this season). They've also been doing it without Keith Foulke, who was supposed to be a big part of their bullpen in 2008.Still, despite the absence of those two, along with Eric Chavez, that Athletics are 19-14 and would be the American League wild card if the season ended today. Whether or not they'll be able to maintain this level of play all year remains to be seen, but they'll be getting a boost soon with both Harden and Foulke scheduled to re-join the team shortly.
"We are deeper with Harden and Foulke coming back," [manager Bob] Geren said. "It gives us good options."
Harden is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Class A Stockton. Foulke, who had neck stiffness that sent him to the disabled list retroactive to April 11, will throw approximately 30 pitches today at Triple A Sacramento and again Wednesday in Stockton, at which point he should be ready to return to Oakland.
This will of course provide Bob Geren with a nice problem to have: whom will he take out of the rotation to make room for Harden? The Athletics currently have the best ERA in the American League at 3.19, and they're also first in batting average against, .237, and WHIP at 1.20.
So I have to wonder, why mess with a good thing? While Foulke should blend seamlessly into the bullpen, I wonder if the A's might be better served to keep Harden in the pen as well. I think it's become rather obvious at this point that Rich's arm just can't hold up as a starter. By using him as a set-up guy out of the pen, they can possibly groom him to become a closer if the team decides to part ways with Huston Street after the season.
Though it's also possible that the A's would rather keep Harden in the starting rotation and hope he can perform well enough that they can possibly work out a trade for him.
