The Counselor is IN: Michael Kaplan
It is probably getting tougher and tougher for Dan Haren to go back to the stadium for each start. Haren has gotten a total of three runs in his first four starts from that Diamondback offense. After his first three starts, he was 0-3 with a 1.89 ERA. He is now 3-4 with a 2.09 ERA which is a less than mediocre record and a fantastic ERA. The Diamondbacks probably needed to hire a therapist to get Haren through these tough times. Haren should be somewhat used to low run support after his years on the A's, but nothing could prepare him for these hardships.
There is a more or less new statistic floating around baseball called quality starts (or QS). A starting pitcher can get a quality start if he lets up three or less runs in six or more innings. Mathematics have calculated the winning percentage of a quality start should be about 75%, which means a pitcher should win three out of every four games. This year Dan Haren has started eight games; he also has a total of eight quality starts. This means that he should have about six wins, not three.
Even though his support is low, he is still a great fantasy player. Hopefully, Haren can work through these tough times and just keep pitching how he's pitching. It would be a shame if his confidence was taken away because of lousy run support, but that is not likely to happen with a pitcher of his caliber. If he was on a team like Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles, or Texas, he might just be 8-0 and we would be talking about him like he was Zack Greinke or Roy Halladay. However, Dan Haren is on the low scoring, 29th ranked in the league to be exact, Arizona Diamondbacks so he is having one tough start.
The Counselor is OUT:
