Good points. A little faith mixed in with some luck and I think Harden can do it. Remember, Santana's a notoriously slow starter, so anyone who wishes to beat Santana has to get off to a blazing start during the first few months and hang on the rest of the way while Santana's A-game gradually rounds into form.
Last season, Francisco Liriano (the Santana clone) was actually outpitching Santana until his unfortunate season-ending injury. Didn't he have to undergo Tommy-john surgery or something? Ouch
As for the Sox, at this point, I doubt they could afford to add even an NHL minimum salary to their payroll after what they've committed to Dice-K. Although the Yanks claim they are becoming more fiscally responsible, like a bad habit that doesn't go away, they'd pony up another ARod-like $200Million+ contract if Santana's services were to come available next winter