When Dusty Baker was hired by Wayne Krivsky to be the Reds new manager in 2007, he brought some nice credentials with him:  688 wins and a .559 winning percentage.  He also took his Bonds-enhanced Giants to the World Series in 2002 (they lost to the Angels in six.  He also was named the NL Manager of the Year three times  (’93, ’97, ’00).   His winning percentage has taken a bit of a hit in the past two years in Cincy, but between injuries and bad signings, we can’t hammer him too much for that.

He also brought some baggage.  He has been known for having an affinity of putting “speed at the top” of the lineup, regardless of whether said speedsters have the ability to reach first base often enough to be a benefit to the ball club (before there were Corey and Willy with the Reds, there was Juan Pierre (Cubs), Neifi Perez, Calvin Murray (both with the Giants), and Corey I (with the Cubs).  He has  a notorious rep for mishandling pitchers, especially his starters.  Those pointing the finger often refer to the ruination of Mark Pryor and (to a lesser extent) Kerry Wood.  In fairness, there is little evidence that Baker misused Edinson Volquez to the point of Tommy John surgery, or that he wore out Johnny Cueto last season.  You could make a better case that the culprit was their anchoring the Dominican pitching staff in the World Baseball Classic last March.  With all that in mind, I submit

Exhibit A:  The pitcher is Aaron Harang.  The date – May 25, 2008.

Harang is entering his ninth MLB season, his eighth with Cincinnati.  His career to this point can be divided into three “chapters” (all stats are sourced from baseball-reference.com):

The Wonder Years (2002-05):  Harang had the typical problems of  young pitchers trying to figure out how to get big league hitters out, while showing the promise of a highly-touted prospect.  His body of work:  31-32, 4.51 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 2.35 K/BB, and a respectable K/IP ratio of .75.

The Studly Years (2006-07):  During these two seasons, Aaron Harang was as effective as pretty much any pitcher in baseball not named Johan.  On a team that had an average W/L record of 76-86, the 6’7″ right-hander was 32-17, with a 3.75 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.  He averaged 233 innings and 217 strikeouts.  His 4.02 K/BB was the best in the NL with pitchers averaging more than 150 IP.  He was establishing himself as a top five MLB hurler.

The Reds hope they get to break out the campaign posters for Aaron this season.

The Loser Years (2008-09):  12-31, 4.52 ERA, 1.39 WHIP.  Every Reds fan has an acute awareness of how ugly Harang’s pitching was during this period.  But let’s break it down . . . From Opening Day through May 24th, Harang had 2 wins and 6 losses, but he was victimized by non-support.  His ERA of 3.50 and WHIP of 1.22 belied the record.

Back to Exhibit A . . .

On May 25, the Reds were hooked up in an extra inning battle with the Padres that they ended up losing in 18 innings by a score of 12-9.  Harang was called upon to pitch (on three days rest)  and threw four scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.  He was back on the bump on the 29th (again on three days’ rest), and got shelled by the Pirates, allowing 10 hits and 6 earnies in 4 IP.

He ended up going 4-11 after that extra inning tilt, ending the season with a 4.78 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.  He was never the same after that game, and went on the DL with a right forearm strain in July.  His 2009 season ended prematurely (mercifully?) due to an emergency appendectomy, but he never had his game on the entire season.  It’s more than a stretch that state that Dusty’s mis-steps in mid-2008 carried over through the ’09 campaign.  But there is no question that, since that four-day stretch in May, he hasn’t been the same.

I’m just sayin’  . . .

Aaron Harang can still throw the ball hard, and he is a power pitcher who knows how to pitch.  He is supposed to be 100% this spring.  Let’s hope he finds his mojo again.

We need him.

And we miss you, Big Fella.