Jay Mariotti Doesn't Do Research Often, Or Maybe Ever

But at least he manages to correct himself without acknowledging his mistakes. On Tuesday, in the aftermath of the Sabathia trade and before the Harden trade (emphasis mine):

Job One should be Rich Harden, he of the 5-1 record, 2.34 ERA, 91 strikeouts and nine consecutive impressive starts until recent speed bumps. The Oakland righty is healthy, and while a hefty talent package will be extracted by A's dictator Billy Beane, the Cubs should have enough youthful pieces to make a match.

Your job essentially entails nothing except knowing about sports. That means that it shouldn't be too hard to be aware as to whether or not players are healthy; that goes triple for players who your hometown team may be targeting in trades. There have been many well-published reports in the last week or so that Harden's velocity is down and that he has felt like he has a "dead arm." Is that a diagnosed injury? No. Is that a massive red flag for a guy who hasn't cleared 100 innings in the last three years? Yep. So... how does that slip past you if you're Jay? That's rhetorical.

So then, today:

But in his last two starts, including Sunday against the White Sox, his velocity dropped -- and red flags instantly rose. Didn't the same thing happen to him last July? Didn't it lead to a dead arm and, inevitably, his fifth of six DL excursions over the last four seasons? Wouldn't that be a sensible explanation why Billy Beane, the cunning general manager of the A's, was so quick to deal Harden three weeks before the trading deadline? Can't Beane sense an impending crash when he sees one?

There you go. Better late than never.

Maybe the reason I made this post is because I hate the Cubs and I'm hoping this trade blows up in their faces. I mean, it's not like Harden is officially confirmed as hurt. I am being a little tough on Jay here. But all that considered, I would bet everything I own that he didn't know about the "dead arm" reports until after he wrote Tuesday's article and subsequently got a bunch of email from people letting him know that Harden might be damaged goods. I guarantee it.

Bonus material- more Jaylogic, again from Today.

There will be severe disappointment, if not unprecedented despair and depression, if this team doesn't win it all or, at least, the NL pennant.

Wow. If you're the Cubs, how do you say in early July that you're possibly headed for "unprecedented despair and depression" if you don't win it all? What? The Yankees, the recent Red Sox, maybe. But if you're the CUBS, where do those expectations come from? A bunch of 120 year old fans hanging out around Wrigleyville and telling everyone about the glory days? Seriously, that's bizarre. This is like the LA Clippers being 35-17 at the NBA All-Star break and claiming that anything short of a ring will be a crushing defeat. Or the Minnesota Vikings being 6-2 after week 8 and feeling the same way. Very strange.

I don't have to rewind the gloom-and-doom tape very far, back to last October, to present evidence of a club that looked Series-bound but stumbled miserably in the playoffs. Nothing quashes an October dream quite like two or three power arms in the rotation.

Yeah, watch out for guys like Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez (Arizona's game 2 and game 3 starters in that series). "Power arms" like that can really end their opponent's season quickly. Just like Colorado's Franklin Morales (currently in A ball) and Josh Fogg subsequently buried the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Power arms.