It's time to check out of the Dan Haren honeymoon suite. Haren fell to 14-7 last night after suffering through another poor outing and he's now 1-4 in his last seven starts. Haren allowed five runs on 12 hits and three walks and fanned seven in only 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the year. Since going 10-3 with a stellar 2.30 ERA in the first half, Haren is 4-4 with an ERA of 4.45 in his 11 second half starts. Scarier yet is that Haren couldn't even avoid the century mark in pitches despite throwing less than five innings. He tossed exactly 100 and has reached triple digits in all but four starts this year. He's throwing more pitches per inning than he has since becoming a full time starter and perhaps the load is taking its toll.
Melvin Mora went 0-for-4 last night with two strikeouts and is suffering through a power outage that has seen him knock out only four extra-base hits in his last 111 at-bats. USA Today is reporting that rookie Scott Moore, who was acquired from the Cubs in the trade that sent pitcher Steve Trachsel to Chicago, will earn more playing time at Mora's expense. Moore is 0-for-12 so far, but the Orioles have nothing to lose allowing some of their youngsters to play. Even if Mora keeps his job, he's struggled mightily since the All-Star break and isn't worth starting at this point.
Curtis Granderson belted his 20th homer of the season last night and he's now only one steal away from accomplishing something that hasn't been done in 50 years. With his next stolen base, Granderson will join Willie Mays (1957) and Wildfire Schulte (1911) in the exclusive 20/20/20/20 club (that's 20 doubles, triples, homers, and stolen bases in the same season). Granderson is enjoying a career year and if he ever cuts down on his strikeouts he could be a superstar. He's improved his K rate from .26 last year to .22 this year, but that's horrible for a lead off hitter. On the other hand, as long as he keeps hitting for power ala Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonds, who are we to quibble? We projected him to be slightly below average, but he's turned into a fantasy star.
Troy Glaus is the latest major leaguer being implicated as a performance-enhancing drug user, according to SI.com, who has linked Glaus to Florida-based Signature Pharmacy, a company accused of distributing steroids to athletes. Glaus allegedly received the steroid nandrolone as well as testosterone in 2003 and 2004 while he was a member of the Anaheim Angels. Glaus supposedly had a prescription for the drugs, but the prescribing doctor, Ramon Scruggs, is on probation and is prohibited from selling drugs over the Internet. What this means for Glaus is uncertain. Jason Giambi admitted to taking steroids, but he received no penalty from Bud Selig. It's hard to imagine Selig suspending a player for something he did three to four years ago, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
Matt Stairs is a must play these days as Jays manager John Gibbons has vowed to get Stairs' bat in the lineup on a regular basis. Stairs hit second last night and went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs. Stairs has little history batting second-his best spot is the #5 hole-but he's been on fire of late, batting .431 with five homers and 19 RBIs in his last 65 at-bats dating back to August 1. He's also displaying better patience at the plate, recording an EYE of 1.71 in his last 25 games, after posting a .49 mark in his first 82.
