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Tossing one hell of a gem tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals, Dan Haren lowered his Major League leading ERA to below 2.00. The Arizona ace went eight strong, striking out eight, while surrendering just four hits and two walks. He allowed one earned run.
Haren has now officially brought himself into the conversation of the best pitcher in baseball. I’m not saying he is by any means; I’m simply saying that he must be considered in that conversation.
He has thrown four consecutive seasons of at least 200 innings and, barring unforeseen circumstances, will easily eclipse that mark this year. From 2005 to 2008 (his four full years of starting), his strikeout numbers have gone 163, 176, 192, 206, respectively. Progress. His current strikeout to walk ratio: 137:18, 7.61:1. Unreal.
Sure, Tim Lincecum is deserving of a second Cy Young this year. But what Haren is doing is ineffable: a sub-two ERA. If he keeps up this pace, he will certainly defeat the San Francisco hurler.
And of course, in the National League, Matt Cain and Johan Santana are in the aforementioned discussion. And in the American League, there’s Roy Halladay, King Felix, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Justin Verlander… the list goes on and on; I left off a good amount of names.
But Haren has one statistic that, to my knowledge, is incomparable this year. (Call me out on it if I’m wrong). But, with tonight’s outing, Haren’s WHIP is now .80. Tim Lincecum is over 1.00 and so is Greinke. I don’t believe anyone limits baserunners as well as Dan Haren.
What does that mean? Of all the pitchers in baseball, he gives his team the best chance to win every time he starts. That is certainly a criterion for the best pitcher in baseball.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: American League, Arizona, Cardinals, Cy Young, Dan Haren, Diamondbacks, Felix Hernandez, Giants, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett, Justin Verlander, Matt Cain, National League, Pitching, Roy Halladay, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke
