01-18-2009, 03:59 AM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->But sources also confirmed Saturday that Harden has a tear in the joint, just severe enough that some players might seek surgery but slight enough to be in a range often treated effectively with a strengthening program, therapy and a well- managed work schedule.
That's more than the Cubs let on last fall, even after the revelation that Harden had a cortisone shot for ''rotator tendinitis.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No surprise. Sounds like he's training hard though and his shoulder feels better than it did when he joined us:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->But Harden has been working six days a week this offseason on a program that might be the most rigorous of any Cub -- and the first of his career to focus this strongly on his shoulder, team officials say. In fact, the team estimates his shoulder is stronger now than it was when he joined the team in July and started piling up 97 mph scoreless innings.
''I'm on a set program, and I'm not behind at all,'' Harden said. ''I'm right on schedule and feeling great. I'll be ready for the start of the season for sure. There's no doubt in my mind. Nobody has any doubts whether I'll be ready or not. I will.''
If anything, that might have been the confusion with Rothschild's comments -- that Harden isn't ready to throw from a mound by design. He's on a deliberate throwing program to ease him up to pitching condition by the end of an extra-long 2009 spring training.
When he's right, Harden is the best pitcher on the staff -- going 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 71 innings after joining the Cubs.
''I don't think he'll be a question mark,'' Piniella said, adding that 25 or 26 starts each from Harden and lefty Sean Marshall will make the Cubs happy -- underscoring the need to add or develop a sixth starter for the rotation.
Harden, who only started throwing less than two weeks ago and got high marks from the training staff the day he threw for Rothschild, seems confident with his newfound level of strength.
''We're just going to have to manage my pitch count and innings,'' he said, ''and my goal is to pitch a full season and hopefully get 200-plus innings. But I know that if I need to cut a game short or something like that, we're going to have to do that and try to really manage my pitch count. I feel like I'm in better shape now, and my shoulder's stronger than it has been in a long time.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Linkage(Sun-Times)
That's more than the Cubs let on last fall, even after the revelation that Harden had a cortisone shot for ''rotator tendinitis.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No surprise. Sounds like he's training hard though and his shoulder feels better than it did when he joined us:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->But Harden has been working six days a week this offseason on a program that might be the most rigorous of any Cub -- and the first of his career to focus this strongly on his shoulder, team officials say. In fact, the team estimates his shoulder is stronger now than it was when he joined the team in July and started piling up 97 mph scoreless innings.
''I'm on a set program, and I'm not behind at all,'' Harden said. ''I'm right on schedule and feeling great. I'll be ready for the start of the season for sure. There's no doubt in my mind. Nobody has any doubts whether I'll be ready or not. I will.''
If anything, that might have been the confusion with Rothschild's comments -- that Harden isn't ready to throw from a mound by design. He's on a deliberate throwing program to ease him up to pitching condition by the end of an extra-long 2009 spring training.
When he's right, Harden is the best pitcher on the staff -- going 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 71 innings after joining the Cubs.
''I don't think he'll be a question mark,'' Piniella said, adding that 25 or 26 starts each from Harden and lefty Sean Marshall will make the Cubs happy -- underscoring the need to add or develop a sixth starter for the rotation.
Harden, who only started throwing less than two weeks ago and got high marks from the training staff the day he threw for Rothschild, seems confident with his newfound level of strength.
''We're just going to have to manage my pitch count and innings,'' he said, ''and my goal is to pitch a full season and hopefully get 200-plus innings. But I know that if I need to cut a game short or something like that, we're going to have to do that and try to really manage my pitch count. I feel like I'm in better shape now, and my shoulder's stronger than it has been in a long time.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Linkage(Sun-Times)
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