Rich Harden pitched 6.1 innings of perfect baseball before Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz conived a walk off the right hander.  At that point, the Cubs were up 2-0.  Two batters later, Harden gave up a two-run homer and his no-hitter to Jimmy Rollins, and the game was suddenly tied.

Overall, Harden pitched a really good game.  Over 7.0 innings, he gave up two hits, allowed two runs, struck out six and walked two.  But the Cubs offense, which compiled seven hits in seven innings, could only muster two runs, so Harden got a no-decision for his effort.

In the eighth inning, Carlos Marmol came into the game and couldn’t find the strike zone.  He walked the first batter he faced  got two outs, and the hit Shane Victorino with a pitch.  With runners on first and second and two outs, Marmol walked Chase Utley to load the bases for Ryan Howard.  Marmol then walked Howard to force a run home and give the Phillies the lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs played some small ball.  Kosuke Fukudome walked and was bunted over to second before Milton Bradley singled him home to tie the game.

In the top of the 12, Kevin Gregg, who was pitching in his second inning, gave up a solo shot to Ben Francisco; the first guy he faced in the inning.  The Phillies then rubbed a little salt in the wound by bringing in former Cub Scott Eyre to close out his former teammates in the bottom half of the inning.

Overall, Cubs pitching only gave up three hits in 12.0 innings.  Unfortunately, they also gave up two homeruns, five base-on-balls, and a hit-by-pitch that ultimately doomed them. 

The series continues tonight as Pedro Martinez (0-0) takes on Jeff Samardzjia (1-1).  It will be the first start this year for both pitchers.

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Is it time to do something about Carlos Marmol?  He was a great story last year, but he’s a mess this year.  Marmol has walked 52 batter in 58 innings this year, and in August, he is averaging 14.73 walks per nine innings.   While he has the potential to be special, the reality is that his lack of control is killing the Cubs.  Marmol needs to be sent to Iowa (or Arizona) to work on his control.  The stakes are way too high for him to be doing what he’s doing at the major lreague level.

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Is Carlos Zambrano the most overpaid player in MLB?  Dave Kaplan thinks so.  Kaplan, the host of CSN’s Chigago Tribune Live! and WGN Radio’s Sports Central, had this to say on his blog:

“I am so sick of hearing that Carlos Zambrano is the “ace” of the Cubs staff and that he is considered one of the best starters in the baseball [sic]. That is such a pile of garbage and it is about time people start to call this guy what he really is, a fraud.

“Zambrano is not a big game pitcher, he is not an ace, and if the Cubs can, I believe they will look to move him and his bloated contract out of Chicago as soon as possible. What qualities does a #1 starter have? How about piling up wins? Zambrano has averaged 14 wins a season since he became a full time starter in 2003. Does he play the role of leader on the club? Don’t make me laugh. He is immature, doesn’t work as hard as the Cubs would like, and he is not what one would consider a big game pitcher. Many times Zambrano has had a chance to stop a losing streak or to win a big game and he has failed a majority of those times.”

That sounds horrible, but he was just getting started:

“The facts don’t lie. The Cubs are paying for top flight performance from a pitcher who has the skills to be a big winner. However, Zambrano’s performance does not warrant such a big contract and his 18 million dollar annual salary is one of the deals that is limiting financial flexibility for the front office. Talk to the scouts that attend every game the Cubs play and they all bemoan his incredible physical talents and lack of productivity for a guy whose reputation  is that of a superstar.

“Zambrano has won all of 7 games this season. That’s it. He has had incidents with a Gatorade machine, been suspended for his outburst towards a home plate umpire, and  has had two stints on the disabled list. Seven wins for 18 million dollars and enough headaches for management to drive them crazy.”

When Kaplan goes over the top, he goes WAY over the top.  Is Zambrano a “true” ace?  No, probably not.  He’s a good #2 or #3 starter, but truth be told, he’s probably not an ace.

Is Carlos Zambrano overpaid?  Yeah, I think that’s fair to say.  When it was signed, Zambrano’s contract seemed high, but not outrageous.  Considering his performance, I think it’s fair to say that he has not lived up to the level of performance that was anticipated when he signed the contract.  So yeah, I guess he’s overpaid.

Is Zambrano the most overpaid player in MLB?  No, not even close.  Guys like Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, and Gary Matthews, Jr. come to mind for that honor.  Heck, Zambrano may not even be the most overpaid player on the Cubs.  Alfonso Soriano’s contract is almost certainly worse than Zambrano’s.

I think a lot of Cubs fans are frustrated with Zambrano.  As Kaplan points out, Z has been on the DL twice this year, he was suspended for bumping an umpire, and he threw a tantrum that fatally injured a Gatorade machine.  But when he’s on the field, he does his job fairly well.  He only has seven wins through the middle of August, but he has a respectable 3.35 ERA, the lowest it has been since 2005, and his K/9 rate is up from last year. 

Kaplan’s hissy fit seems to be much more about garnering attention for its author than it does about making a salient argument about Carlos Zambrano being overpaid.  I especially like the last paragraph of his article:

“It is time for the Cubs to find a taker for the antics and the talents of Carlos Zambrano. I know that he has a no trade clause but perhaps Zambrano would also like a fresh start in a new city. He may have a golden arm but we have seen far too many other “qualities” from the man they call “Big Z” to call him an ace or a reliable starter on a team with championship aspirations. Pack your bags Carlos, it’s time to take your act to another team. We’ve tired of you and your immaturity.”

Thanks, Dave, for speaking for all of us.  You could have said “You’re” tired of Carlos Zambrano and his immaturity, but instead, you drug us all into your ridiculus tirade.  In the future, if you’re going to say something so indefensible, please leave “us” out of it.

The easy answer is that they need a new owner in place before July 31 who is willing to take on payroll.  That answer’s not much fun since it is highly unlikely that the Cubs new owner will be in place before the trade deadline.  So for the moment, let’s assume that Jim Hendry will be given permission to add Halladay to the roster if he can make a deal.  Otherwise, this will be a very short post.

According to reports, the Phillies, Yankees, and Dodgers are the three most likely landing spots for Halladay if he is traded.  In my opinion, the Yankees are an extreme longshot since they play in the same division as Toronto.  I can’t imagine the J.P. Ricciardi would be willing to trade his ace inside the division. 

Another way to look at this is that the entire purpose of trading Halladay is to acquire prospects that can help the team win in the future (as well as budget relief).  So why would Toronto trade Halladay, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, to one of the teams they will be competing against in the division?  To me, it just doesn’t make sense.

However, Anthony Reber of Newsday.com has an idea that could potentially make sense to Toronto.  What if the Yankees were willing to take on the contracts of Halladay and CF Vernon Wells in exchange for 3-4 prospects?  Wells is owed $110 million over the next 4 1/2 years, a contract that Toronto would certainly like to jettison.  If the Blue Jays could rid themselves of two very big contracts, they would be able to redirect their payroll in ways that could make the team more competitive more quickly.

It’s an interesting argument.  With so much payroll flexibility and 3-4 of the Yankees top prospects, the Blue Jays could build a potential contender.  However, my argument holds.  I just don’t see Toronto trading Halladay in the AL East.

What about the Dodgers?  Any trade for Halladay would likely include Clayton Kershaw going to Toronto and Ned Colletti of the Dodgers has basically made him untouchable.  The Dodgers love their prospects and with one glaring exception, they normally shy away from commiting too much of the payroll to one player.  Halladay will cost them (or anyone else that trades for him) about $7 million for the rest of this season and $15.75 million in 2010.  With the exception of Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers don’t have anyone on their roster commanding that share of the payroll budget.  I consider the Dodgers to be a longshot to land Halladay.

That leaves Philadephia.  They just signed Pedro Martinez for the remainder of this year, but they insist his signing will not prevent them from pursuing other players.

Philadelphia has a definite interest and need for Halladay.  They also have the prospects that would be needed to make the trade; or at least they did until yesterday.  According to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports, Jason Knapp, one of the Phillies top pitching prospects, went on the DL yesterday with shoulder fatigue.  That could throw a monkey wrench into the works.

In recent days, the Angels and Cardinals have emerged as potential trade candidates for Halladay.  Rosenthal dispels the possibility that the Angels could land Halladay.  Sure, they have interest, but they don’t have the trade chips necessary to make the deal.

The Cardinals also have interest and they have top prospect Brett Wallace who the Blue Jays once coveted.  To make the deal even more appealing, Halladay and Cards ace Chris Carpenter are close friends.  The one sticking point for the Cardinals is that they don’t have the MLB-ready starter that the Blue Jays say they want as part of any package.  The Cards already have to send a pitching prospect to Cleveland to complete the Mark DeRosa deal, so they’re currently a bit thin on pitching prospects.

That’s where the Cubs come in.  Not only would it be great to add Halladay to the rotation, but it would also be important to keep him out of St. Louis.

The Cubs have the MLB-ready pitching that Toronto wants.  Any deal could include Sean Marshall or Randy Wells.  A deal would also likely include the Cubs top prospect, 3B Josh Vitters.  I know Cubs fans would hate to see him go, but trading a prospect (someone with the potential to be good someday) for the best pitcher in baseball seems like a good move to me.  Plus, the Cubs don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to developing prospects.  Consider that before Vitters took the title, the Cubs top prospects were Felix Pie (2006-07), Brian Dopriak (2005), Angel Guzman (2004), Hee Seop Choi (2003), Mark Prior (2002), and Corey Patterson (1999-2001).

Adding Halladay will obviously cost the Cubs money and prospects, but he’s the type of pitcher that can instantly turn around or solidify a rotation.  And unlike CC Sabathia was last year for the Brewers, Halladay is just a few month rental.  He’ll be around for at least a year-and-as-half and the Cubs will have first shot at signing him to his next contract.  A rotation in 2010 of Halladay, Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, and either Marshall or Wells would be mighty nice.

As long as we’re dreaming, let’s dream big.  What if the Cubs were to pull the same type of stunt that Anthony Reber suggested the Yankees pull, namel trading for both Halladay and Vernon Wells.  The Cubs could send Marshall or Randy Wells to Toronto along with Vitters and Milton Bradley (one bad contract for another).  Sure, Vernon Wells is overpaid and signed through 2014, but he is a better CF than anyone the Cubs currently have, he’s hitting better than Bradley (even though he isn’t hitting that great), and he isn’t the distraction that Bradley is.  There’s a lot to like about this deal!

Okay, while this has been fun, let’s be honest.  The likelihood that the Cubs will be involved in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, let alone land him, is remote.  My best guess is that if Toronto trades Halladay, he’ll end up in Philadelphia.  Unfortunately, I think the Cardinals are next in line should Philadelphia falter.  That could hurt. 

Hendry has pulled off some impressive trades in the past.  Can he somehow, some way work something out for Halladay?  Doubtful, but you never know.