Canadian pitchers bring hope to Windy City

Rich Harden pitched for weeks under a cloud of uncertainty this past summer as trade rumours linked the Oakland Athletics right-hander to the Chicago Cubs.

He managed to put aside the speculation and continued to baffle American League hitters until the deal finally went down on July 8, sending Harden to the National League Central Division leaders — and sending his mind wandering.

Could the oft-injured hurler stay healthy and lead the Cubs to a division title? Could he adjust to pitching in a new city and different league? And could Harden perform before a packed house every night after playing to sparse crowds in Oakland the past five-plus years?

Fortunately for the Cubs, the Victoria native has answered the call in every aspect under the big lights in northern Chicago, where fans haven't celebrated a World Series title in 100 years.

Besides a chance to help end the team's championship drought — Chicago clinched the NL Central on Sept. 20 — Harden and fellow Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster soon could make major league history as the first Canadian duo to start a game in a playoff series as teammates.

"It's good for Canadian baseball," Harden told CBCSports.ca by phone prior to his final regular-season start on Sept. 25. "It helps get [Canadian] kids excited, get them interested in baseball and realize it's a possibility for them, too.

"Growing up [Dempster] was one of the guys [I] looked up to. He was Canadian baseball and doing really well and it helps to have guys like that."

Dempster, who topped all Cubs pitchers with a career-high 17 wins this season, will start Game 1 of a best-of-five NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Oct. 1, while Harden is slated for Game 3.

Nearly unbeatable at Wrigley Field this season, Dempster posted a 14-3 record in 20 starts and struck out 114 batters in 129 innings pitched. The 14 victories fell one shy of fellow Canadian Ferguson Jenkins's Cubs record, set in 1967.

The 31-year-old Dempster first caught the attention of media and fans across North America on the first day of spring training in February when he proclaimed, "I think we are going to win the World Series."

'I believe in our team'

The Gibsons, B.C., native defended his remarks to CBCSports.ca recently, saying it was his feeling that Chicago was a stronger team entering this season than last year's outfit that was swept in three games by Arizona in a first-round playoff series.

"Everybody came into camp in pretty good shape and with a little fire in their eyes," said Dempster. "I believe in our team, I believe in the guys and I think we have to believe in ourselves."

While Cubs general manager Jim Hendry deserves credit for adding veteran playoff performer Jim Edmonds and the hustling Reed Johnson as a left-field platoon to an already potent lineup, many Cubs players consider Dempster the most important person in the clubhouse.

Even Harden, who wasn't close friends with his compatriot prior to arriving in Chicago, said Dempster was one of the first Cubs to make him feel comfortable in his new surroundings.

"Having another Canadian around was kind of cool," Harden said of Dempster, who lives four blocks from Wrigley Field. "He's done a really good job on the mound but off the mound, he's one of the best guys I've played with.

"He always gets people laughing and loosens people up. It definitely helps to have a guy like that around the clubhouse."

A free agent at the end of this season, Dempster prides himself on bringing a good attitude to the ballpark each day and leading by example.

"We have a lot of guys who are big professionals," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in August. "They show up every day and work their tails off even before the game begins. There's a lot of preparation that goes into trying to win a baseball game. And there's never a shortage of that [here]."

Dempster showed as much last winter as he prepared to return to his previous role as a starting pitcher after saving 28 games for the Cubs in 2007.

Gruelling off-season training

Focusing on shoulder and leg conditioning, Dempster turned the garage at his off-season home in the mountains of Colorado into a training facility. Part of his regimen included a personal trainer attaching a harness to Dempster's back and providing resistance while the latter ran at 7,200-feet elevation five days a week. The other two days involved a three-mile run through the mountains.

"Physically, I worked really hard to not just start off good [at spring training] or get myself a spot in the [starting] rotation," Dempster said. "I worked hard to be able to pitch strong throughout the regular season and prepare myself for a seven-month season [including the playoffs], not just a six-month season.

"I knew that if I just kept myself right physically, that mentally I'd be able to handle the challenges that come."

Pitching at cozy Wrigley Field is one of those challenges, especially when the wind is blowing in, but Dempster fashioned an earned-run average nearly a half-run lower at home (2.86) than on the road (3.13) in the regular season.

"I got my first major league start at Wrigley [on May 23, 1998 with the Florida Marlins] so I have a lot of good memories there. Now being a home guy, obviously [pitching in front of 41,000 fans every game] gets your confidence going … but I don't treat any start differently than another."

For Harden, he learned quickly it's important for Cubs pitchers to treat every start as if it were their last when taking the mound at Wrigley Field.

"Playing at home, every game is like a playoff game," said the 26-year-old, who has been limited to 32 appearances in the past three seasons because of back, shoulder and elbow injuries. "The fans are so into every single pitch. If I get behind 2-0 on a hitter, you can kind of hear the fans moan and groan a little bit. And then I come back and get two strikes and everybody's standing up for the strikeout."

The good thing for Harden is he didn't require a long period of adjustment after the trade. After going 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts for Oakland, he won five of his 12 outings as a Cub with a sparkling 1.77 ERA and allowed just 39 hits over 71 innings.

While Harden proved himself as a front-line pitcher before arriving in the Windy City — he has given up one run or less in 42 of his 100 major league starts — the quiet hurler made it clear his seemingly easy transition to the NL is largely due to the hard work of rookie Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.

"Within [my] first game [on July 12 against San Francisco] he had an idea of what I liked to do and what my strengths were," said Harden, who set career-best marks this season in ERA (2.07) and strikeouts (181). "I rarely have to shake [him off]. He's good at realizing when [hitters] are looking for certain pitches and pitching against what they're expecting. His confidence wears off on me.

"Oakland's known for having a very loose clubhouse, very relaxed and it's just as relaxed here [in Chicago]. Everybody's having fun. That's a great combination — talent and the ability to have fun and stay relaxed. I think that's what's so special about this team."

Competing for a World Series ring in late October would be equally satisfying.