Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Harang is definitely to be considered a successful starting pitcher. Having said that, what you see from him the last couple of times out off of the mound is not successful at all. One game he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits. That is fairly acceptable except for the fact that he only lasted 5 innings. The next time after that the Texas Rangers touched him off for 8 runs on 8 hits in only 4.2 innings. That led up to tonight when he faced off with the Los Angeles Angels. The result was still not good.
Harang, though overall successful has never really been a shut down type pitcher. His career ERA is 4.22 which certainly is not something to write home about. The worrisome thing about his start for the Seattle Mariners isn’t just the amount of runs he is giving up but the number of innings he is pitching. Usually though he might give up a few more runs than most, Harang is good for 170 to 190 innings over the course of the season. He hasn’t come close to that type of a number so far this season. At this rate he’ll be way below that.
The quest to right the ship against the Angels did not turn out well. Another 5 runs given up and this time he lasted only 3 innings. His ERA has ballooned up to well over 11.00 and he really looks to be in a mighty struggle to get things together. The American League West is not a church camp this season so the Mariners can’t expect everyone to be all nice and let them catch up. If Harang continues to not be able to get the job done, he will simply have to do something different and they will need to bring in someone that can.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
