Let’s get this out of the way now: We’re a big fan of Dan Haren and have perhaps an unhealthy, lingering resentment of the trade that dispatched him from St. Louis. He’s one of our favorite pitchers in the game today and we were secretly cheering for him last night

So the Cardinals incredible ninth-inning win against Haren’s Diamondbacks in the first game of their series was perhaps the best-possible outcome for this writer. Perhaps also the win makes it easier for Cardinal fans to appreciate how well the guy pitched. If we were ever to make a case for a starting pitcher deserving a win — and make no mistake, we never will — it was Haren Monday night.

Against a pretty tough Cardinal lineup, Haren not only tossed a gutsy 59-FIGS game, but he hit a home run, nearly completed the game and came up big when occasion demanded. In short, it was Dan Haren against the Cardinals. His was a performance that Christy Mathewson, who wrote how to "pitch in a pinch," would’ve appreciated. A couple of at-bats illustrate how masterfully Haren handled the Cardinals’ top hitters.

In the fourth inning, Haren faced Colby Rasmus with the based empty and one out. Rasmus drew a quick 2-0 count on balls outside. Haren then, probably knowing that Rasmus was looking to swing, swerved a pitch just low and inside enough that Rasmus couldn’t handle it. Having gotten a nibble from his fish, Haren came high-and-tight, inducing a foul ball to even the count. Haren then went too far up the ladder on pitch five. With the full count, Rasmus was temporarily off the hook. Remembering where his big fish had bit before, Haren zinged another low and inside but that Rasmus just missed on. Knowing that he made it too fine, Haren came farther inside; another foul. Again, Haren went up the ladder, but it stayed over the plate. He got lucky and Rasmus fouled it back. Thus, with his hook sunk into his catch, Haren reeled Rasmus in with a wicked curveball down and in.

But Haren saved his best for last. With the outcome in the balance, the first three Cardinal batters in the eighth reached on singles to bring up Albert Pujols, and Haren looked like he didn’t have anything left in the tank. On a 1-0 count, he sneaked a fastball down the middle that Pujols just watched. He took something off his next fastball, and Pujols fouled it off. Now in command, he went back outside, then jammed Pujols again with a fastball under the hands, which Pujols barely fouled off. Having thrown all fastballs, Haren then unveiled a curveball over the inside half that froze the great Pujols. He went on to strike out Holliday and retire Rasmus on a fly. That was some major-league pitching, folks.

Watching the Cardinals nick Haren for a couple of runs in the first, one of which scored on a wild pitch that catcher Miguel Montero misplayed, we couldn’t help but wonder how much more effective Haren would be if he had the likes of Yadier Molina backstopping him. With a ham-handed catcher like Montero, Haren’s repertoire is effectively stunted. With Molina, he would have confidence in breaking pitches in the dirt. Which leads us to a final point about Haren’s performance. With Haren attempting to finish the game in the ninth, Cardinal manager Tony La Russa drew an ejection for arguing balls and strikes. TLR prolonged his feigned outrage on the field, interrupting Haren’s flow and requiring the Diamondback hurler to take a few warmup pitches while he waited. It was fine as gamesmanship goes, but it was a bush-league move for a manager who would’ve been apoplectic had an opponent pulled the same stunt.

Other notes:

• It was a tough last half inning to score: Schumaker got an RBI, but no earnie for Haren because the runner who scored would’ve been only on second base without the previous error.
• Two pitchers scored to win it for the Cardinals (Garcia pinch running, Wainwright reached after PH sac bunt).
• Haren and Carpenter engaged in their own bit of gamesmanship in the second inning. Carpenter came to the plate and struck up a conversation with the umpire. Not to be outdone, Haren returned the favor by stepping off and making Carpenter wait a few seconds. Fun to see a couple of pitching heavyweights working not only the physical but the mental advatange against each other.
• Was Aaron Heiman really the best option against lefty Skip Schumaker in the ninth inning? Do the Diamondbacks not have any LOOGys?
• Four of the Cardinals’ first five hits were on first pitches. Haren adjusted, throwing a few more balls on first pitches. Even still, Haren threw an impressive 71% of his pitches for strikes (compare with Carp’s 58%).
• If the Diamonbacks have any self-respect, they’ll avenge TLR’s antics. Dontrelle Willis is slated to start for the D-backs Tuesday, so we suppose they’ll at least have plausible deniability if he hits a few guys.

This entry was posted by Pip on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 12:01 pm and is filed under recap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.