The good news is that Rich Harden’s shoulder seems to be holding up despite a pre-existing tear.
The bad news is that the seemingly manufactured back injury is actually real. And actually kind of bad. Slipped into a game recap by the Tribune was this unfortunate nugget:
Rich Harden’s DL time may be extended, and he could miss three or more weeks.
Well that sucks. Fortunately, for now both Randy Wells and Sean Marshall are pitching well enough that the Cubs haven’t noticed Harden’s absence. But as much as I like both Wells and Marshall, you don’t just replace a healthy Rich Harden.
Fortunately, Harden did some tossing yesterday, and apparently responded well. Still, optimistic time-tables have him out another 10 to 14 days – which would put his total time out at right around three weeks.