The Sabathia-to-Milwaukee deal made perfect sense.  The Brewers are in the playoff hunt, while the Indians are already looking toward 2009.  Sabathia was the best pitcher on the market, while Matt LaPorta is a top-notch hitting prospect.  (Not to dismiss them entirely, but the other three minor leaguers are a significant step down from LaPorta.)

It was a classic win-now vs. win-later deal, and both teams appear to have made out well.What I don't get is the Harden-to-Chicago trade.  Yes, the Cubbies are in the playoff hunt and want to upgrade their starting pitching, but the A's are also very much alive for the post-season.

Oakland sits 3.5 games out of the wild card and six back in the division, though their run differential is much better than the division-leading Angels.Sure, Rich Harden is prone to injury, but's he's pitching regularly and quite well right now.  And Chad Gaudin isn't shabby, either.  What A's GM Billy Beane received in return is nothing more than a menagerie of mediocrity.  Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson are merely adequate major leaguers.  John Donaldson is a single-A catcher hitting .217 - 'nuff said there.

Now, maybe this is Beane getting the best he can for a pitcher always one pitch away from the DL.  Maybe he sees some thing in Gallagher or Murton (an Oakland-type hitter) that others don't.  Maybe he doesn't think his squad can make another great second-half run.  But Harden isn't a free agent until after next season, so he's not a three-month rental, and you'd think a hurler with his potential could garner better quality in return than this.

Billy Beane is more often right than wrong, and this deal will take time to fully evaluate, but right now this move appears to signficantly favor the Cubs. 

MLB cubs, a's, billy beane, rich harden, sean gallagher, chad gaudin, matt murton, eric patterson