Player Profile on Reds.com
Cold Front Lingers On for Harang on The Dayton Daily News

Player Profile on Reds.com
Cold Front Lingers On for Harang on The Dayton Daily News

Aaron Michael Harang was born in San Diego, California on May 9, 1978. He attended Patrick Henry High School in San Diego and attended San Diego State University, where he majored in graphic design He still lives in San Diego with his wife Jennifer, who, as of April 2006 was 13 weeks pregnant.

Harang is a quiet, mellow guy who has always looked to me like he would make an excellent goth, specifically in the mold of Asriel Abyss, the giggling Prince of Sorrow from Saturday Night Live’s recurring bit, Goth Talk. I mean, just check out this photo. Couldn’t you just imagine him talking about a seance while offering you some Cheetos?

Aaron Michael Harang was born in San Diego, California on May 9, 1978. He attended Patrick Henry High School in San Diego and attended San Diego State University, where he majored in graphic design He still lives in San Diego with his wife Jennifer, who, as of April 2006 was 13 weeks pregnant.

Harang is a quiet, mellow guy who has always looked to me like he would make an excellent goth, specifically in the mold of Asriel Abyss, the giggling Prince of Sorrow from Saturday Night Live's recurring bit, Goth Talk. I mean, just check out this photo. Couldn't you just imagine him talking about a seance while offering you some Cheetos?

Time for another set of Human League/Better Know a Red player profiles. Today we consider the pitching stylings of Aaron Harang. Check out his Human League entry, then go ponder his stats on JinAZ's site.

Aaron Harang is the Reds’ number one pitcher. He’s a right-hander who makes his mark with more with good control and smart pitching than with overwhelming stuff. He’s also freaking enormous at 6′ 7″ and 270 pounds. Harang is currently under a 1-year contract with the Reds for $2.35 million.

Amid the steaming mound of crap that was the Reds’ pitching in 2005, Harang quietly developed himself into a nice little bright spot. Harang enjoyed a strong spring in 2006 and won himself the Opening Day start.

To be fair, it wasn’t exactly a hard spot to win:

• Paul Wilson, the 2005 Opening Day starter, was beginning the season on the disabled list.
• Eric Milton, the shiny and expensive acquisition at the beginning of 2005 had been responsible for so much of that steaming mound that they couldn’t have called him the number one even if he started throwing 105 m.p.h.
• Brandon Claussen, a fairly bright spot in 2005 himself, just wasn’t enjoying the kind of surge that Harang was.
• Bronson Arroyo was still crying too much about being forced out of the Boston bullpen to take the ball.
• Dave Williams just wasn’t that good.

Also, to be fair, Harang’s performance on Opening Day 2006 was pretty much a shambles. Since then, though, Harang has established himself as the undeniable ace of the staff. In fact, he’s not just an ace by Reds standards. When was the last time we had one of those?

Among his impressive accomplishments include a shut-out against defending Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals in which he knocked in the only Reds’ run for the 1-0 win.

That RBI was particularly poignant considering what a horrible hitter Harang is. His inability to hit was an ongoing joke through 2005. However, his skills at the plate have improved markedly in 2006.

Get more information on Harang, specifically of the stat persuasion, at JinAZ’s site.

Aaron Harang is the Reds' number one pitcher. He's a right-hander who makes his mark with more with good control and smart pitching than with overwhelming stuff. He's also freaking enormous at 6' 7″ and 270 pounds. Harang is currently under a 1-year contract with the Reds for $2.35 million.

Amid the steaming mound of crap that was the Reds' pitching in 2005, Harang quietly developed himself into a nice little bright spot. Harang enjoyed a strong spring in 2006 and won himself the Opening Day start.

To be fair, it wasn't exactly a hard spot to win:

• Paul Wilson, the 2005 Opening Day starter, was beginning the season on the disabled list.
• Eric Milton, the shiny and expensive acquisition at the beginning of 2005 had been responsible for so much of that steaming mound that they couldn't have called him the number one even if he started throwing 105 m.p.h.
• Brandon Claussen, a fairly bright spot in 2005 himself, just wasn't enjoying the kind of surge that Harang was.
• Bronson Arroyo was still crying too much about being forced out of the Boston bullpen to take the ball.
• Dave Williams just wasn't that good.

Also, to be fair, Harang's performance on Opening Day 2006 was pretty much a shambles. Since then, though, Harang has established himself as the undeniable ace of the staff. In fact, he's not just an ace by Reds standards. When was the last time we had one of those?

Among his impressive accomplishments include a shut-out against defending Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals in which he knocked in the only Reds' run for the 1-0 win.

That RBI was particularly poignant considering what a horrible hitter Harang is. His inability to hit was an ongoing joke through 2005. However, his skills at the plate have improved markedly in 2006.

Get more information on Harang, specifically of the stat persuasion, at JinAZ's site.

Since I went to all the work to write these freaking questions, I figure I might as well share what I would have asked if I’d had the opportunity. I think you’ll agree that this would have been a killer interview

I would have asked these questions on May 1, 2006, after his complete game against the St. Louis Cardinals:

Tonight’s start –
swapping rotation to face Mulder
complete game; 4 hits, 1 run, 4 strike-outs, 5-0 recordBeen on fire. How’s it been pitching in Cincinnati?
How’s the media different?
How’s the team different?
How are the fans different?

When you were traded, you had some not-so-nice things to say about leaving Boston. Would you still rather be pitching out of their pen than what you did tonight?

Are you still in touch with your old Boston teammates?
What do they think of your performance?
What do they think of Wily Mo?
You’ve got to have a sense that you’re proving them wrong for trading you

The Sox beat the Yankees tonight, 3-7. Are you sad to have missed it?

You’ve got two home runs and a .125 batting average, which isn’t horrible for a pitcher. How are you liking hitting again?

What do you think of the Reds chances continuing through the season?

Lots of people testify about the influence of Bob Castellini on the team this season. Are you feeling his impact as well?

When are the cornrows coming back?

Do you have any new musical projects in the works?

What do you think of the new Pearl Jam album?

Looks like your next start will be in the heat of Arizona. Are you ready for a climate change?

The best of luck to you, Mr. Arroyo. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Since I went to all the work to write these freaking questions, I figure I might as well share what I would have asked if I'd had the opportunity. I think you'll agree that this would have been a killer interview

I would have asked these questions on May 1, 2006, after his complete game against the St. Louis Cardinals:

Tonight's start --
swapping rotation to face Mulder
complete game; 4 hits, 1 run, 4 strike-outs, 5-0 record

Been on fire. How's it been pitching in Cincinnati?
How's the media different?
How's the team different?
How are the fans different?

When you were traded, you had some not-so-nice things to say about leaving Boston. Would you still rather be pitching out of their pen than what you did tonight?

Are you still in touch with your old Boston teammates?
What do they think of your performance?
What do they think of Wily Mo?
You've got to have a sense that you're proving them wrong for trading you

The Sox beat the Yankees tonight, 3-7. Are you sad to have missed it?

You've got two home runs and a .125 batting average, which isn't horrible for a pitcher. How are you liking hitting again?

What do you think of the Reds chances continuing through the season?

Lots of people testify about the influence of Bob Castellini on the team this season. Are you feeling his impact as well?

When are the cornrows coming back?

Do you have any new musical projects in the works?

What do you think of the new Pearl Jam album?

Looks like your next start will be in the heat of Arizona. Are you ready for a climate change?

The best of luck to you, Mr. Arroyo. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Remember in 2005 when I started calling Javier Valentí­n the Latin Love Machine and adopted him as the darling of Red Hot Mama? Wasn’t that fun?

This year, I’m going a different direction. Just as Javy was a surprising choice for binky, I’m making a surprising choice for team whipping boy 2006: Bronson Arroyo.

It’s surprising, but not without reason. It started out in Sarasota this year, the day Mr. Arroyo was traded. We had pulled up in front of Re/Max to log on, check the comments, and download our e-mail. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but an e-mail message from one of Bronson Arroyo’s “people,” offering me an interview with the would-be Cincinnati star.

A couple e-mails and a very long telephone call with the contact later (the call alone, btw, cost $75. Gotta keep an eye on that roaming), the interview was set. I readied my iRiver and waited nervously for information on where to meet our number two pitcher at Ed Smith stadium.

The phone call never came.

One after another, promised interview nights came and went. It was always something: this night would be too stressful because he was facing Boston, that night he’d had a bad outing and didn’t want to talk to anyone. Soon, it was a “maybe once the season starts.”

Fine.

The season started and Arroyo was doing well. Surely he’d be interested in an interview now. But it was always something. He was going to be travelling or we really ought to wait until after a start.

Finally, it was really going to happen. On Monday, May 1, as I sat smack-talking with Bellyscratcher, my Arroyo contact promised an interview that very night. In fact, said contact wanted to know if could I be ready to get on the phone as soon as he was pulled from the game.

Of course, it was always something. This time he went the complete game. Despite my late night, I was ecstatic for him. I wrapped up smack talk and set up the computer in my kid’s bedroom, the only place I can get high enough quality off the telephone for use in a podcast. I had made the kiddo go to sleep on the couch in anticipation of the event.

I sat there, hurriedly preparing for the interview, anxiously anticipating the phone ringing. I breathed a sigh of relief when I completed my questions. Still, the phone did not ring. The Crack Technical Staff fell asleep on our child’s bed.

I checked in with the contact. This time it was that he needed at least an hour after the end of the game for interviews and unwinding. I’m an interview, I thought, but apparently I didn’t rank. I relaxed and waited for the phone to ring.

I wrote my game wrap to fill some time. It was after midnight, and I stared at the clock, thinking about the alarm clock ringing at 5:30 a.m. Still nothing.

I cleaned up my son’s room and watched 1 a.m. come and go. Still I waited. Still nothing.

1:30 a.m. I got an e-mail that says he’s not calling. In my exhaustion, I politely said I understood, but it was nagging at me. Utterly exhausted I lay in bed, unable to sleep. It wasn’t right for Bronson Arroyo to have treated me that way. If he was too busy celebrating to talk to me, that’s fine, but he shouldn’t have kept me waiting all night.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t right for him to have kept me waiting all spring either. I drifted off, images of giving Arroyo a tongue lashing–and not the good kind–playing in my mind.

When the alarm went off four hours later, I sent off this e-mail to his contact:

I know that YOU are sorry, but I hope your boy knows I think he’s a jerk for standing me up. If he couldn’t make it, at least he could have said so so I wouldn’t sit around waiting for him. I know he’s a big superstar and everything, but I don’t think a little consideration for other people is too much to ask.

I would be happy to do the interview and give him a chance to explain himself, both for the stuff he’d said about Cincinnati when he was traded as well as for the way he’d acted toward me. I put off posting his Human League entry to give him that opportunity. I think the e-mail was OK, but posting my frustration over the whole issue might have hurt my case a little.

It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that I got a terse e-mail from the contact a few days later saying that Arroyo didn’t want to do the interview. I responded that I wasn’t surprised, but that the offer remained open. I sorta doubt he’ll ever take me up on it, even to explain himself, because there’s nothing to explain; I’m telling the whole story. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if he came through with an interview for another blog. I recommend Church of Baseball. Daedalus loves him.

Honestly, people, what is wrong with me? An interview with Bronson Arroyo would have been an enormous boon for Red Hot Mama, the sort of thing that might have gotten national attention. All I would have had to have done was continue forcing my 4-year old to sleep on the couch until it suited Arroyo’s mood to invest 10 minutes on the phone with me.

I always thought I’d be the first one to sell out. The first hint of an opportunity to do so, and I totally drop the ball.

Of course, it occurs to me that perhaps this “contact” that I worked through doesn’t even know Bronson Arroyo. I don’t have any reason to think so, but you just never know. Maybe I let myself get all irritated about Arroyo through no fault of his own. But when he’s so touchy about his relationship with his catcher and the way he’s never come out and said that he wouldn’t still rather be in the Boston bullpen, it seems to fit his pattern.

You know: it’s always something.