One month later, Harden hasn't disappointed

That promotion and sizable raise comes through at work, but now you are stuck in the top tax bracket.

A problem you like to have.

You are the Chicago Bulls with your 1.7 percent chance of winning the NBA draft lottery, but the next thing you know you are choosing between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley.

A problem you like to have.

Rich Harden can relate.

You have a Mark Prior-esque history of injuries and you want to get more outs early in the count, but instead your stuff is so unhittable that batter after batter whiffs.

"Obviously you want to pitch to outs, that way you are saving the pitch count, you can go deeper in games, but at the same time when nobody can touch your stuff that isn't a bad thing either," said Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson, who went 2-for-12 against Harden when they both played in the American League.

When Harden takes the mound tonight in Atlanta as the Cubs begin a six-game road trip, it will be a month to the day since he made his Cubs debut. Harden fanned 10 Giants in that first start July 12, and other than a hiccup against Houston the 26-year-old has dominated.

Expectations were sky high when the Cubs acquired Harden, and he has been as advertised - and then some. He's striking out hitters at a Kerry Wood rate, with 47 K's in 30 innings to go with a 2.10 ERA.

More important, he's healthy. The Cubs have kept those pitch counts down (averaging 98 in his 5 starts), so while he's failed to get through the sixth inning in 3 starts, Harden has avoided missing his turn like he has the past three seasons.

The Cubs are 18-11 since the trade.

"He's been the man for us," catcher Geovany Soto said. "He can be (No.) 1 or 2 on any team in the big leagues. He's going to be huge for us down the stretch."

Johnson said when he faced Harden, he had the same approach each at-bat. "You try to get him early and hit the fastball because you don't want to see the fork ball," Johnson said. "If you fall behind against him, a lot of times the at-bat is pretty much over anyway."

Harden has simplified his arsenal since then, now relying almost exclusively on a fastball and change and the occasional slider.

The results are still overpowering. Opponents are hitting .196 against him.

"His stuff is simple but yet nasty," Soto said. "His fastball is explosive, anywhere from 90 to 97 (mph), his changeup is unbelievable. We hardly use the slider. If we were to need it we would call it but his fastball and changeup have been lights out."

Harden has helped turn the Cubs' top four starters into one of baseball's best units.

"I've been very impressed," Harden said. "It's not often you sit in the dugout and get a chance to watch guys like Carlos Zambrano work, (Ryan) Dempster. I definitely put it up against (Tim) Hudson, (Barry) Zito, (Mark) Mulder when I first came up in Oakland."

If you ignore Jason Marquis - which seemingly every manager does with their postseason rotations - Cubs starters have combined for a 2.94 ERA since the trade. Throw out Zambrano's start Saturday against St. Louis and that ERA drops to 2.47.

"We're competitive with each other in a good way," Dempster said. "We push each other to try and be the best we can be. When you add another guy in the mix that does that it makes your whole starting rotation even better."

Overall, the Cubs rank second in the NL with a 3.81 ERA, and they seem to have the kind of rotation that sets up well for postseason success. They certainly are better equipped than a year ago, when Rich Hill faced the Diamondbacks in Game 3.

If the Cubs' top four continue at their current rate, manager Lou Piniella could have some work to do in deciding how to stack up his rotation in October.

And that most certainly is a problem you like to have.