If you are anything like me, you probably cringe whenever Rich Harden throws a baseball. While I will not pretend to be a pitching coach who knows the nuances of pitching mechanics, his delivery sure seems a bit unconventional.

The power he draws from his legs is exceptional, but his arm seems to lag behind the rest of his body. This possibly causes extra torque or pull on the arm, weakening the shoulder.

The good will generated by "Rocktober" is officially over, at least for me.

After today's 11-4 loss in Pittsburgh, Hurdle's record as the manager of the Rockies stands at a paltry 530-619. That's a .461 winning percentage in 8-plus seasons at the helm since taking over for Buddy Bell 22 games into the 2002 season.

With only one winning season in that bunch, largely the result of the aforementioned run in 2007, it's time for a change in leadership. Pitching coach Bob Apodaca should be sent packing as well.

My two main topics this week are going to be rather short, mainly because all my little notes and random bits work out to be long enough.

Can we start though with the ridiculousness (love that word) that is the fines in Major League Baseball?

Bobby Jenks was fined $750 dollars for throwing behind Ian Kinsler.

Not $7,500 or $75,000. No, he was fined $750 dollars.

To Bobby Jenks and most major league players, that is pocket change.

So I ask you, why even fine him if that's all you are going to fine him for? It seems rather pointless.

When the Mariners won a game against the Red Sox, the rubber match of the series, they did so on the starting pitching of Jason Vargas, the late-inning pitching of David Aardsma, and RBI by Russell Branyan, Ronny Cedeno, and Franklin Gutierrez.

The common thread between each is that none of them were on the team last year.

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The Mets have won three in a row and 11 of their last 13, and as a fan, it feels good. Because when you're winning, nobody talks about how many runners were left in scoring position. Or whether the starting pitcher was pulled too soon. Or whether the players have enough heart, passion, or desire.

The Mets have scored in the first inning in each of the last four games for a total of seven runs. They scored in the ninth to break a tie and beat the Giants Thursday, then after erasing a four-run deficit did the same thing last night.

Last week Howie Kendrick of the Angels hit an inside the park home run, or so he thought. That home run was taken away Friday and ruled an error on Kansas City right fielder Jose Guillen.

The MLB deserves credit for overruling the official scorer. It was a play that should have been made.

Guillen had a long way to go to get to the ball but got there in time and should have made the play.

Instead, Guillen dropped the ball and it rolled to wall. Kendrick crossed home plate standing up for the "home run."

Finally, the disaster in the five hole is over.

But, to my dismay, this problem has moved to the bullpen.

My utter joy for a rookie finally getting his shot, however, outweighs a future ineffective reliever (at least until Reyes blows a game up).

Anyway, the surprise to some fans may be the fact that a certain 22-year-old phenom isn't getting the call.

Instead, it is a 23-year-old reliever-turned-starter phenom named Kris Medlen.

Many may remember his great spring, but his season down at Gwinnett has been even better.

At the end of April, I asked several of our top Cubs writers to give me their overall impressions of the team after about one month. I want to thank the following writers for producing this analysis: Tab Bamford, Pat De Marco, Ricky Butts, Ryan Winn, Kane Simmons, Paul Swaney, Brian Livingston, and Jacob Nitzberg.