Is this really what Harden has become?
He better be careful or a performance like Friday's will start being called vintage Rich Harden.
That term used to apply when the Cubs' starting pitcher would go at least 6 innings, maybe even 7. He would strike out 10, yield 4 hits and give his team a chance to win.
Those were the good old days. Lately Harden has been to the pitching staff what Milton Bradley has been to the offense.
In a word, awful.
"No, sir, I don't," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said when asked whether he had any idea what was going on with Harden.
This is what went on with Harden in Friday's 8-3 loss to St. Louis: 5 innings, 7 hits and 4 earned runs.
"We expected him to be better," Piniella said.
Why? Because Harden was throwing on an extra day of rest after a short outing that was even worse: 8 hits and 7 earned runs over 2 innings.
Remember, this is a guy who is supposed to be like an AMPM minimart, as in "too much good stuff." Instead he has been more like bullstuff while going 1-5 over his last 7 starts.
The Cubs needed Harden at his best in the opener of this four-game series against the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
"You want to come out and set the tone for the series," Harden acknowledged.
The Cubs can only hope that he didn't.
Fellow starter Ryan Dempster is on the disabled list. Unheralded rookie Randy Wells is helping hold the rotation together. The Cubs need Harden to be all that he can be.
Frighteningly, maybe this is all he can be. Maybe he won't ever locate his $7 million repertoire anymore.
My goodness, last season Harden gave up 39 hits in 71 innings after the Cubs acquired him from Oakland. This season he has given up 78 hits in 74 innings.
Last season Harden was 5-1 with a 1.77 earned run average in 12 games with the Cubs. This season he's 5-6 with a 5.47 ERA in 14 games.
The regression is similar to Alfonso Soriano going from a force leading off to an enigma demoted to No. 6 in the batting order.
Against the Cardinals, Harden was sort of like that restaurant review citing two problems: The food is bad and the portions are too small.
It was difficult to choose whether it was worse that Harden was bad or that his stint was so short.
The 5 innings is about his average per start this season. He throws so many pitches so early in the game that his arm is exhausted along with everybody else's patience.
Friday the numbers for 5 innings were 101 pitches, a mere 60 for strikes. If only Harden were as efficient as St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter, who in 1 more inning threw 8 fewer pitches and 9 fewer out of the strike zone.
Carpenter had enough left to pitch a scoreless sixth inning. With Harden spent, Cubs reliever Aaron Heilman came on to provide the Cardinals with 4 runs in the sixth.
"I'm giving everything I have but it hasn't been enough," said the normally injury-prone Harden, who insists he's healthy now.
In a way it would be more comforting to hear Harden is hurting than to think this is what he has become.
mimrem@dailyherald.com