Where is All the Dan Haren Hype?
Dan Haren is like Rodney Dangerfield: no respect.
Sure, he gets respect from his Arizona reporters. A Google news search reveals headlines with such phrases as "Haren dominates," "Haren's gem," "Haren homers, shuts down Reds," etc. However, none of them contain the one phrase I think needs to be uttered.
"Haren a Cy Young candidate."
In fact, a Google news search for Cy Young reveals a slew of familiar names, most of them former winners. Peavy, Lee, Lincecum, et al are frequently featured.
Most of the articles listed have the hypothetical "first half Cy Young" in the NL going to pitchers like Chad Billingsly, Matt Cain, Josh Johnson, Yovani Gallardo, Johan Santana, and the aforementioned Lincecum. One article had Clayton Kershaw as the winner.
Where is Haren in all of this? He's listed, but seemingly as a dark horse candidate every time.
In what universe does that make sense?
So far this season, Haren has compiled a 10-5 record pitching for the horrible Diamondbacks. He leads the Majors by a big margin in both ERA (2.14) and WHIP (0.83).
You read that right. A 0.83 WHIP. Zero. Point. Eight. Three.
He's already pitched three complete games this year, including a shutout. He leads the Majors in K/BB ratio with a dazzling 7.42, the highest of his career after also leading last year with 5.15. Haren's ERA+ is 210, or exactly 110 percent better than the average pitcher, adjusted for ball park factors. Through 143 innings, he's walked only 19 batters.
Dan Haren is a ridiculously good pitcher in the midst of a career year. He's mowing down every batter he faces. He's statistically the most dominant pitcher in all of the Major Leagues this year.
So where is his Cy Young hype?
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