The Chicago Cubs today announced the team has exercised the 2009 club contract option for right-handed pitcher Rich Harden. Apparently all tests on his arm and shoulder turned out fine.

Harden, who turns 27 on November 30, combined to go 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA (34 ER/148.0 IP) in 25 starts for the Athletics and Cubs this season, his most starts since his career-high 31 outings in 2004.  He set a career high with 181 strikeouts while his average of 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a .183 batting average against led all major league starters with at least 25 starts.

Harden, who went unbeaten in his first 12 starts with Oakland, finished his season in similar fashion by going unbeaten in his final 10 starts with the Cubs.

Rich is 41-20 with a 3.23 ERA (220 ER/612.2 IP) in 109 appearances (101 starts) in six major league seasons with Oakland (2003-08) and Chicago (2008).  His .672 winning percentage is the fifth-highest mark among all active pitchers (minimum 50 decisions).

…According to a report on ESPN.com the 12 professional Nippon Professional Baseball teams have voted on a ban on any amateur player who tries to sign with an overseas professional team. Japanese amateur’s who sign with a overseas pro team out of high school will be banned from playing in the NPB for three years. Players out of college signing with a overseas team would be banned for two years.

The ban was brought on by 22 year-old pitcher Junichi Tazawa who hopes to sign with a Major League team and requested he not be drafted by a Japanese team. The ban is set to take effect during the October 30th draft and should apply to Tazawa.

…Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol was involved in a car accident on Tuesday in his native Dominican Republic. A truck hit the car that was carrying Marmol, his cousin and a friend. According to a Cubs official in the Dominican Repbublic he recived seven stiches in his forhead but other than that is just fine.

…TV ratings for the Division Series on TBS was down from last season. The fifteen games that TBS aired a 2.8 rating that down 26% from last season (where the avg was 3.8 in 13 games). Some say the Yankees not being in the playoffs this year, hurt the TV ratings.

…Historic Tiger Stadium again receives a stay of execution. The Detroit city council voted 5-3 on Tuesday to reject a resolution that if passed would’ve called for the immediate demolition of Tiger Stadium.

…The Seattle Mariners in their search for a new General Manager will interview five candidates this week. They will interview Peter Woodfork (Diamondbacks AGM), Jerry DiPoto (Dbacks director of player personell), Tony Bernazard (Mets VP of player development), Kim Ng (Dodgers AGM) and Tony LaCava (Blue Jays AGM).

…The Colorado Rockies have let go three coaches after a dismal season. Allan Cockrell (hitting coach), Mike Gallego (third base coach) and Jamie Quirk (bench coach) were all informed on Tuesday that their services would no longer be needed. Also bullpen coach Rick Mathews has been reassigned to a role to be determined later.

So, we got into an interesting discussion the other day in a post I did on Russell Branyan. While looking at his platoon splits over the years, I noticed that when given the opportunity, he hit left-handed pitching rather well despite a reputation to the contrary. Here’s how Branyan did when he was allowed to face lefties:

Compare this with how he fared when he wasn’t given the chance to face lefties:

The guy hit .264/.333/.604 against southpaws in 162 plate appearances from 2001 to 2003. How was he rewarded? By seeing his playing time against that subset of pitchers reduced. Gee, there’s a sensible response.

Now, I don’t want to fixate on Branyan too much because there’s a larger question looming in my mind. It has to do with matters of perception and reality.

Uh-oh, he’s going to start quoting Castaneda; lay off the peyote, dude.

My question is this: Why is it that, when presented with evidence that doesn’t fit their preconceptions, some people will continue to behave as though those preconceptions represent what is actually happening in the world?

It’s a little unsettling if you think about it… which is why I recommend you don’t.

It’s hard to believe another year of baseball has come and gone. And while we wait for the League Championship Series to begin at the major league level, let’s take a look at the star studded list of young prospects about to kick off their seasons in this year’s Arizona Fall League.

Twenty-seven former first-round draft picks will play in the 2008 Arizona Fall League. Seven — IF Gordon Beckham (8th in 2008, CWS), RHP Ross Detwiler (6th in 2007, WAS), LHP Brian Matusz (4th in 2008, BAL), IF Chris Nelson (9th in 2004, COL), OF Drew Stubbs (8th in 2006, CIN), RHP Casey Weathers (8th in 2007, COL), and C Matt Wieters (5th in 2007, BAL) — were top 10 selections.

Name Pos. Pick Year Affiliation Fall League Team
J.P. Arencibia C 21st 2007 Toronto Blue Jays Phoenix Desert Dogs
Gordon Beckham IF 8th 2008 Chicago White Sox Peoria Saguaros
Brian Bogusevic OF 24th 2005 Houston Astros Scottsdale Scorpions
Julio Borbon OF 35th 2007 Texas Rangers Surprise Rafters
Brooks Brown RHP 34th 2006 Arizona Diamondbacks Phoenix Desert Dogs
Emmanuel Burris IF 33rd 2006 San Francisco Giants Scottsdale Scorpions
Cesar Carrillo RHP 18th 2005 San Diego Padres Peoria Saguaros
Tyler Colvin OF 13th 2006 Chicago Cubs Mesa Solar Sox
Ross Detwiler RHP 6th 2007 Washington Nationals Peoria Saguaros
Josh Donaldson IF 48th 2007 Oakland Athletics Phoenix Desert Dogs
Sean Doolittle OF 41st 2007 Oakland Athletics Phoenix Desert Dogs
Tyler Greene IF 30th 2005 St. Louis Cardinals Peoria Saguaros
Jeremy Jeffress LHP 16th 2006 Milwaukee Brewers Peoria Javelinas
Brian Matusz LHP 4th 2008 Baltimore Orioles Surprise Rafters
Beau Mills IF 13th 2007 Cleveland Indians Surprise Rafters
Chris Nelson IF 9th 2004 Colorado Rockies Phoenix Desert Dogs
Justin Orenduff RHP 33rd 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers Surprise Rafters
Adam Ottavino RHP 30th 2006 St. Louis Cardinals Peoria Saguaros
Aaron Poreda LHP 25th 2007 Chicago White Sox Peoria Saguaros
Chaz Roe RHP 32nd 2005 Colorado Rockies Phoenix Desert Dogs
Drew Stubbs OF 8th 2006 Cincinnati Reds Peoria Javelinas
Justin Smoak IF 11th 2008 Texas Rangers Surprise Rafters
Brandon Snyder IF 13th 2005 Baltimore Orioles Surprise Rafters
Aaron Thompson LHP 22nd 2005 Florida Marlins Mesa Solar Sox
Brett Wallace IF 13th 2008 St. Louis Cardinals Peoria Saguaros
Casey Weathers IF 8th 2007 Colorado Rockies Phoenix Desert Dogs
Matt Wieters C 5th 2007 Baltimore Orioles Surprise Rafters

But there are plenty other stars littering the rosters of this year’s team including Arizona pitcher Maz Scherzer, New York Yankees starter Phil Hughes, and Boston’s Clay Buchholz. There’s also the Yankees Austin Jackson, Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson, Oakland’s Andrew Carignan, and the Cubs Donald Veal.

In fact, Hughes kicked off the season for Peoria today by tossing 5 shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 7. His control was a bit off as he gave up 5 walks, but all in all, I’m sure the Yankees and their fans have to be pleased with the outing from Phil.

If you’re like me and can’t get enough of young baseball talent, the AFL should be right up your alley. With expanded coverage on MiLB.com, you can follow your favorite prospects for almost two more months!