I have to say, I never expected Dan Haren would be this good for this long of time. I always thought he’d be a decent pitcher but he’s been nothing short of phenomonal this year. Probably his most impressive number is how he’s simply dominated left handed pitching despite throwing from the right side. He’s held left handed hitters to a .151 batting average this year and this reverse platoon split is evident in his career numbers (.232 batting average against lefties versus .268 against righties).  He’s also 6-0 at home despite actually having better numbers on the road. Still, you’re looking at a guy who, if the ballots came out today, should win the Cy Young.
And not to be outdone, Joe Blanton has put together a season that’s been pretty good He’s on pace to set career highs in just about everything while his walk rate is comfortably down. He’s also averaging seven innings start, which in this day and age is pretty impressive. And with two complete games, he’s shown he’s able to work deep into the games and give the pen a much needed break.
With Haren and Blanton as a nice one-two punch, the A’s have by far the best ERA in the American League. Only the Padres are better in all of baseball. So even when you combine that with a mediocre offense, the A’s should be primed to compete with the Angels all season. They sit just six games back (five in the loss column) but the surprising Mariners are right there as well. The Wild Card is even closer with the A’s being three games back of the Tigers.
Next up is going to be one of those weird series. The Mets are a good team but they’ve been ice cold in June. And the A’s have to travel to the east coast so this could be one of those series that could go either way. Lenny DiNardo gets the start in the opener tomorrow and he’ll face Tom Glavine. We’ll also have Milton Bradley back from the DL (again) so hopefully that will give the team a boost. The Angels play the Pirates, who aren’t the doormat the used to be so hopefully they can swipe a game (or two or three) over the weekend.
