Funny how life works

[missionhockey21]

When Aaron Harang was acquired in the deal that sent him and Joe Valentine to Cincy for Jose Guillen, the deal was met with disappointment by a lot of us. Most of us felt like we should of gotten more but Guillen was still at that time, a bit unproven. And some, like myself, felt Joe Valentine was the key to the deal. Harang had solid numbers in AAA for Oakland, but it looked like we were getting leftovers from Beane. It's not like I was upset with getting him, quite the contrary. An arm at that time was an arm plus I liked the minor league numbers. I just don't think many had high hopes for the kid.

While Valentine still does have a potential in the future, Aaron Harang has slowly made himself into the prized player acquired. It was a general thought that Harang had at best a #5 ceiling; a guy to stick at the backend who could do the job. Harang was a big fella (still is actually) but he was determined to get into great shape in 2004 and the results, while inconsisent showed that he needed to. He had a solid string of starts in the summer and ended up with double digit wins. And as a whole, looked like a more refined pitcher in comparison to the time he had with us in 2003.

Now, here comes 2005. Despite the ten wins, most of the papers and forums didn't want to gurantee him a roster spot, leaving him open to compete for either the 4 or 5 spot in the rotation. We were supposed to depend on our big money starters, sadly that hasn't worked out to Dan O's plan. Wilson goes strong.... for about three innings. Milton can look like an ace, then a scrub, from one start to the next. In fact, one could call these two the bash brothers. Not because they are skilled with the bat, but because batters love to face them (.295 BAA for Wilson, .301 for Milton.) Ortiz, being the happy go-lucky guy you want to see succeed has been plagued by injuries so it's not fair to judge him yet based off his two starts. And Claussen, has looked awful. Not only in terms of his stuff but with results. As a whole he is still having control problems and is now just getting crushed with hits in his outings, not a good combo.

This leads us to Harang. One of the backend starters who lack the big paycheck of our top three or the once hyped status of our number 5. And he's been the only solid pitcher in our rotation. He is still having problems finding his consistency, but his numbers overall are solid. He has the lowest homerun total of Milton, Wilson, and Claussen. He has kept his BAA against to a resaonable .256, ERA to under 4 and WHIP at 1.27. Now I am not saying Harang is a legit ace, far from it. My point is that it's pretty cool with his hard work and determination he's made himself into an appreaciated pitcher for us (at least by myself.) Now if the other pitchers pitched to performance, he wouldn't shine as greatly, that's why I enjoy the results he has given us to this point. I really think if he can continue to refine his control like he has over the past year or so, he could find himself being a decent #3 in a rotation.

[redsrbetter]

Very nice mission.

Harang is our man right now. Every off season has been a hard working, trying to get there type of winter for Harang. He has shed quite a few pounds and has worked extremely hard at staying in shape. To me, he is another Coffey. I like how Harang has confined his windup and stays really tight when delivering the ball. He also has made a good job of keeping the ball down. I rarely see any control problems and he is just a guy that gets it done. I am proud to have him on my team.

I just wish he would not wear no. 39 on his jersey. That is for me! LOL

Great read mission!

[CincyRedsFan30]

Nice summary mission. I agree. Harang has really stepped things up. He could be a true ace if he could ever cut down on the HR.

[missionhockey21]

Yep. One thing I like about the kid is that he seems to stick with a plan in his start. Unlike Claussen, he was getting hit up but it seemed like he was feeling the pressure last night against Rolen and decided to approach batters differently and the results showed that to be a mistake. Harang does get in trouble but he seems to keep his composure on the mound and just try to pitch through it.

[missionhockey21]

Harangatang Update!!

ERA down below 3.5 (3.45)
6.90 K/9 over his career average now
BAA is now down to .231
WHIP now down to 1.15

He has given up the fewest homers (4) among our starters, yet has pitched the most innings (44.1). Tonight was a thing of beauty, Harang when everything is working for him. With such a tall frame that he has, he can have troubles locating his control. I think he is doing a better job on finding strikes and getting the outs when he is having control problems, staying effective in other words. But when his control is in sync, he can find the strikeout pretty easy to come by. Plus, I want to dispel the notion that he is a softtosser. Almost all of his starts I have seen him consisently hit 92-93 with his fastball (last year even 94 fairly often.) I know that 92 or so isn't big heat or anything, but with his easy motion, it doesnt look that fast because it doesnt look like he is digging deep to find that heat. I think that also works to his advantage though, a lot of Padres looked silly on an Aaron Harang fastball.

We can't count on gems like that all the time, but I'll take what I can get.

(If you havent figured out by the big orange text, this thread is my update thread on our young 6-7 righty)

[CincyRedsFan30]

Good stuff. I really like Harang. We need to hang on to him and try to build/add four talented starters around him eventually.

[Slyder]

I was among the ones who loved the deal. Guillen was a guarenteed gone after the season since he wouldnt get guarenteed at bats here and I didnt blame him. We at the time got Harang, who had seen some time in the majors, I liked his style but thought maybe he needed to work on being more of a Glavine type pitcher and work on improving his other pitches. He will never be a Cy Young candidate but you can usually count on strong performances from him, now if we could just get Valentine to that point and to me would look like a steal for Guillen.

Anyone know much about the third guy we got for Guillen? http://www.sports-wired.com/players/profile.asp?ID=4698

[missionhockey21]

The two things I like about Harang so much are:

He seems to keep his emotions in check on the mound. Tonight early on there was some defense misplays and the camera showed Harang and he looked unphases. I dont think it was due to not caring but just not letting it effect him. He then goes on to pitch a tremendous game. Although I wouldn't blame him for an expletive or two when his win went down the toliet. For the most part, he seems effective in working out of a jam and I think it is due to his levelheaded and calm personality.

Also, he seems to be learning his limitations. Claussen for instance, when his game isn't going right, he relies on the fastball. Well, at 88mph, and nothing spectacular movement wise, it's not a strong pitch and he proceeds to get light up like a Christmas tree. Where as Harang really seems to be learning what are his strong suits and how he can be the most effective pitcher he can be with his talent.

He does have his faults and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have bad outings from time to time because he has been inconsisent, I just like what I have seen of him on the mound and heard of him off the field. You got to love players with determination (Griffey, WMP, FeLo and Harang) the last three of those four have really stepped up their game and I believe a lot of it is just because of the right attitude and motivation.

[volzok]

I agree with you mission. Harang seems much more confident this year. He knows how he wants to pitch guys and he doesnt back off when he gets in trouble. That may hurt him at times but I like it. It seems like when Claussen gets in trouble, he backs off and gets lit up.

I also agree about how some of the young guys bring it every night. You would think that would be enough to get them playing everyday, especially when they are hot. But not even Freel gets that luxury.

[NFLman2033]

The two things I like about Harang so much are:

He seems to keep his emotions in check on the mound. Tonight early on there was some defense misplays and the camera showed Harang and he looked unphases. I dont think it was due to not caring but just not letting it effect him. He then goes on to pitch a tremendous game. Although I wouldn't blame him for an expletive or two when his win went down the toliet. For the most part, he seems effective in working out of a jam and I think it is due to his levelheaded and calm personality.

Also, he seems to be learning his limitations. Claussen for instance, when his game isn't going right, he relies on the fastball. Well, at 88mph, and nothing spectacular movement wise, it's not a strong pitch and he proceeds to get light up like a Christmas tree. Where as Harang really seems to be learning what are his strong suits and how he can be the most effective pitcher he can be with his talent.

He does have his faults and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have bad outings from time to time because he has been inconsisent, I just like what I have seen of him on the mound and heard of him off the field. You got to love players with determination (Griffey, WMP, FeLo and Harang) the last three of those four have really stepped up their game and I believe a lot of it is just because of the right attitude and motivation.

good post, except i think Griffey is coming around, I was down on him for stupid reasons, and that is because i want WMP to play everyday, but with that not an option right now, i am liking what i am seeing with Jr, i know he isn't going to hit the HR's anymore, but if he can get the hits we need, when we need themm, and drive in runs, then i am going to be happy, mostly due to the fact that he is isn't albe to go anywhere.

Its sort of like i said in a post about potetial, i see KGJr as a Steve Finley type of player, which isn't bad, its just not the same guy that we all grew up watching in Seattle.

anyway back to Harang, I liked him from the get go really, I have really been more impressed with him this year, as always he needs to be more consistant, he looks fantastic on some outings.. ala last night, and then he has gotten rocked.. but maybe it is his age that has helped him grow up to keep things together when he gets rocked... there is no doubt in my mind he is the best pitcher we have.

[redsrbetter]

Yep, Harang is our ace. I love his hard work and determination as well. He is able to keep it all together and I like that in him. Just think, he was battling out Hudson and Claussen in ST for a starting job. Now he has become our best pitcher and I believe that we have a chance evertime out with him. Inconsisitency or not, he has brought a lot of great games to the Reds favor so far this year. He gives us the best chance vs the rest of our staff. Thanks Harang!

[missionhockey21]

Harangatang Update!!

Harang picked up only his second win so far this season tonight. And although he did see a slight inflation in some of his stats, anyone who say's this was a disappointing outing is just wanting to be a hater. Tonight Harang essentially pitched 7 ok-good innings with having only one bad inning in which he gave up (IIRC) 4 of his total 9 hits allowed and 3 runs on the Abreu homer. First off, it was Abreu and he is a monster, especially in that park, so that's understandable to some degree. I am not trying to make excuses for him, I am just saying if he is going to get mashed, might as well be against one of the premier hitters (unlike our other pitchers who seem to get mashed 1-9 for the most time.) And despite this rocky inning in which we were all fearing the worst given Randy Wolf's dominance on the mound, he toughed it out tonight. He got his act together, and with some help from his D and our offense, he pitched a solid enough game of 8 innings to get the win. It was so encouraging to see a guy who started to slide, pull out of it. It seems like we only witness that of other teams starters (Padres come to mind.) Not to mention he went for the 3rd straight game of more than 7 IP (7,8,8 now), giving the bullpen a much needed rest.

Even if the stat line isn't the prettiest, he showed what he is made of to me tonight. Congrats on the win Aaron.

[volzok]

I agree with everything you say here mission. The innings are definetly important. But unlike the Reds other starters, after a jam, he fights back and makes good pitches. Good to see someone fights back.

[missionhockey21]

I know what you mean. Almost all of our starters (even the past one's of recent memory) seem to be on a slippery slope when it comes to their pitching. As they start to slip, there is no stopping them from reaching the bottom. Harang does seem to be plagued by a "big inning" through his time as a Red but it seems like those are becoming less often and less severe. Good to see the bullpen finally get a rest thanks to Harang.

[Sea Ray]

This one was a great trade for our Reds...a rarity in recent years. Some idiot sportstalk hosts in town were moaning the loss of Guillen just last week...shows how little guys on the radio know aabout baseball.

This was a case of beating Billy Beane in a deal. Oakland is having huge pitching problems now with the loss of Mulder and Hudson and they could really use Harang. Didn't Guillen miss the post season that year with Oakland for some reason???