Aug. 02--One of the first text messages pitcher Dan Haren received after his trade from the Miami Marlins to the Chicago Cubs came from catcher Miguel Montero, who caught Haren with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"He already wanted me to stay at his place," Haren said Sunday. "I don't know if I can handle that much of him. I like to sleep a little, too."
Haren was joking about being reunited with Montero, but Haren was more than delighted to escape from the Marlins, who dealt some of their veterans after falling out of contention in May and firing manager Mike Redmond.
"It was a rough situation," said Haren, 34, who is leaning toward retirement after this season. "It definitely wasn't what we all planned. But I feel bad for a lot of the players there, especially a lot of the older players.
"Going into the year with so many expectations and the last few days it blew up with a lot of veterans gone and a few left has got to be rough. I'm definitely happy to be here."
Another perk to joining the Cubs is that Haren will have nearly three weeks to get settled in Chicago before embarking on a six-game trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles at the end of August. Haren grew up in Southern California and excelled at Pepperdine.
"One of the first things I saw was the schedule," Haren said. "I'm excited we're going back West."
Haren will make his Cubs debut Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.
