Rich Harden went and got a second opinion on his ailing shoulder on Tuesday, and the diagnosis was the same as the first. There's no structural damage in his right shoulder, it's nothing more than a little irritation.[Dr. Lewis] Yocum advised several days of rest to get rid of the discomfort, so Harden will remain in the Bay Area and will not throw for as much as 10 days. That means he's unlikely to start for Oakland until the middle of the month at the earliest. He last pitched on April 15 against New York.
Brad Halsey is waiting by the phone. Your move Billy Beane.
Since this is not Rich Harden's first flirtation with an injury, questions have arose in the Bay Area about the possibility of the Athletics trading Harden. Buster Olney wrote about the possibility last week on his blog, and the idea seems to be picking up steam.
According to a source within the A's organization, the team has not had any talks with anyone regarding a trade, and the idea hasn't even come up.
I'm not sure what the Athletics should do with Harden. On the one hand, it's never an easy task to just trade away a pitcher with Harden's ability. He has the kind of arm that can carry a ballclub. On the other hand, he does seem to get hurt a lot. That means it's quite possible that these problems will follow Harden throughout his career, and the Athletics might be able to rid themselves of a very big headache over the next few seasons.
From somebody who lives in Chicago, I know full well how a star pitcher who can't stay healthy and on the field can derail an entire franchise. It won't be easy to pull the trigger, but if another team offers up a nice enough package of players for Harden, the Athletics may be better off in the long run without him.
I'm not sure if new manager Bob Geren has a habit of starving and beating his minor-leaguers behind closed doors, or whether Sacramento is just that boring of a city, but Athletics players sure are complaining about the team a lot.
A couple of days ago Athletics minor league pitcher 
