Let's not sugarcoat this: Dan Haren is bad.
Not "bad" in general (any pitcher that can last 11 years in the majors can't be that bad) or "bad" as in
"good" like the kids say, but this season has been pretty awful for the Nationals pitcher.
Tuesday against the Rockies, Haren allowed six hits -- including two home runs -- in a five-run fifth inning that blew the game open in an 8-3 loss, his fifth in his last six starts.
"I was kind of dumbfounded," manager Davey Johnson told reporters. "He was really making pitches, he was breezing. In the fifth inning it seemed like he ... lost the feel for the ball. Just seemed like he couldn't locate it from that point on. He was pitching a great ballgame, making all his pitches. I don't know what happened."
Haren has allowed a league-high 17 home runs this season, while his 5.70 ERA ranks 96th out of 101 qualified pitchers.
"I just can't keep the ball in the ballpark," Haren told reporters. "That's what it's coming down to. They're good hitters too and they're going to make me pay for my mistakes, but I've never had so much trouble with homers in my career. I got to really try to focus on keeping the ball down and do the best I can."
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Haren is averaging only 5.5 innings per outing, the lowest of his career. He also has been hurt by the lowest run support of any starter on the staff, nearly 2.7 runs per game. The Nationals are 4-9 in games Haren starts, the worst winning percentage of any of the team’s starters.
Not only that, but Haren's 46 earned runs (29 of which have come via home run) are fourth-most in the majors and batters are hitting .301 against him, 95th out of 101.
I'm sure there are other advanced statistics that could further prove my point, but I don't understand them and I think it's pretty obvious that Haren's not doing so well.
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