Harden was relatively durable for the second straight season in '09, but he went through his share of rough patches, resulting in his highest ERA and WHIP (1.34) since his rookie campaign. The right-hander still showed he could be overpowering, though, as evidenced by an impressive 10.91 K/9 ratio. One of the top free-agent arms out there, Harden will likely find plenty of teams willing to overlook his injury history.

Harden, who has some fatigue in his right arm, made 26 starts and went 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA. "At this point, it would be a lot different if we were in it and they needed me to pitch," Harden said. "I'm still healthy and feeling good. I take that as a positive for the season." The injury-prone 27-year-old totaled 141 innings, after reaching 148 with Oakland and the Cubs in 2008. A free agent after this season, Harden also said he wouldn't mind coming back to the Cubs. "I really enjoyed pitching in Chicago," Harden said. "It's the best thing I did -- best thing to happen to me coming over in the trade [from Oakland in 2008]. It was a good fit for me."

Harden has been comparatively healthy by his standards this year, but Piniella ruled him out for a start this weekend, and time is running out on the 2009 campaign. Harden said if the Cubs were still competing for a postseason spot, there'd be no discussion regarding whether he'd be starting or not, but with the team out of the chase, the Cubs may opt to audition some young starters down the stretch instead of pushing their luck with the oft-injured right-hander.

The Cubs have maintained that skipping Harden had little to do with injury, but to prevent a future one. The brittle righty hasn't lasted past four innings in his last two starts.

The decision seems to be based on reasons related to Harden's performance, not health. "There's nothing wrong with him," Piniella said Thursday. "We'll just give him a breather." Harden, a free agent after this season, served up five runs on 71 pitches over three innings in the Cubs' 9-5 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday. He dropped to 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 26 starts. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just one start," Harden said Thursday. "I'm healthy and feeling good and maybe just a little tired, and the work in the last couple starts is catching up with me. It's a good time to get a couple days rest, work on some stuff, and I should be fine."

It wasn't the right-hander's shortest outing of the season, but it was close. He lasted two innings against the Brewers on July 4, giving up seven runs in that start. Harden (9-9) has forced the Cubs to go to the bullpen early and often because of his high pitch counts this season, and this was the fourth consecutive start in which he was unable to go beyond five innings. "He wasn't sharp at all," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. The scuffling right-hander will look to do a better job of harnessing his stuff in a rematch with the Brew Crew on Sept. 21.

Four of the Cubs' five starters have spent time on the 15-day DL this season, including Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly. "We have enough pitching here to do what we want to do," Piniella said. "We're still not eliminated, and we're still trying to win as many games as possible. We'll see when we sit down and talk."

Harden scuffled somewhat, and needed 102 hits to get through five frames against the punchless Mets, but he continues to pile up the K's and was much better in this start than he was in his previous outing, a six-walk, five-earned-run debacle against Houston. That outlier aside, Harden has pitched brilliantly since the All-Star break, and he's 4-2 with a 2.40 ERA and has allowed just 39 hits and notched an eye-popping 79 strikeouts in 60 innings over those 10 starts. He'll take his next turn on Sept. 11, at home against Cincinnati.

The Twins claimed Harden off the waiver wire, and the Giants -- who recently signed veteran righty Brad Penny, according to SI.com -- claimed Heilman. But Chicago wasn't able to come to an agreement with either club in the 72-hour window, meaning the two right-handers will stay put for the stretch run. That's good news for Harden owners, as switching leagues likely would have made sustaining his second-half surge far more difficult. The 27-year-old righty sports a 1.80 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 50 innings since the All-Star break. Heilman, meanwhile, is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in 58 appearances out of the bullpen this season

The Cubs put Harden on waivers the week of Aug. 24 and the Twins were awarded the claim, so both squads have until Monday to work out a deal. Harden has followed a stellar 2008 campaign with another fine year in '09, posting an 8-7 record with a 3.99 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP and a 10.4 K/9 rate. He surely would help a Twins starting rotation that has been ravaged by injuries.

FOXSports.com cited Major League sources Thursday as saying a National League team was awarded the claim on Heilman. The claiming team on Harden was not known, but presumably he did not get through the NL, either. Players must pass through their own league first before being exposed on waivers to teams in the other league. The Cubs will have until Monday to work out trades, allow Harden and Heilman to depart on claims, or pull them back them from waivers. Harden is 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in eight starts since the All-Star break. The Giants, Rockies and Dodgers all are interested in adding starting pitching, and Harden would be an attractive pickup. Harden is 8-7 with a 3.99 ERA overall in 22 starts, while Heilman is 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA.

Harden keeps churning out quality starts as Wednesday was his fifth in a row. And it would be eight straight quality outings if he had lasted one more inning during a July 31 appearance in which he fanned 11 batters. All is well in Harden's world as he's also just one of four starters to post a K/9 rate of 10.0 or higher, joining Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum and Jon Lester. He's a must-start, as always, Aug. 31 at home vs. the Astros.

Harden has been very hard to hit recently, and has emerged as a second-half star after generally struggling before the All-Star break. Harden is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 44 innings over his last seven starts. Yes, his season stats -- an 8-7 record, a 4.04 ERA -- aren't especially spectacular, but few pitches in the Bigs have been better since the break. He'll take his next turn on Aug. 25, at home against the Nats.

With Harden moving up, Randy Wells' start was pushed back to Friday, Aug. 22, vs. the Dodgers.

It was 16 up and 16 down for Harden until he walked Carlos Ruiz. He then retired J.A. Happ on a lineout before losing the no-no and the shutout on a two-run homer by Jimmy Rollins. Although he didn't earn a win, it was another nasty showing from the right-hander, who’s posted a 2.00 ERA and a 47/11 K/BB ratio over his last six starts. He’s clearly found a comfort zone since enduring extended struggles and a stint on the DL to begin the year. Owners should continue to throw him with confidence when he toes the rubber again Aug. 16 vs. a young Pirates lineup.