Perhaps it isn’t fair to compare Dan Haren to Chad Billingsley – after all, Haren is now (at best) a number four or perhaps even a number five starter while a healthy Billingsley could be considered a solid number three or number four with the Dodgers and possibly a number two elsewhere. But the truth of the matter is that in spite of his current one-year/$10 million contract, the 33-year-old Haren may be nearing the end of his baseball shelf life.

No one will argue that Haren’s batting practice-like outing in Saturday night’s Freeway Series finale against the Angels is no big deal since it was nothing more than yet another meaningless spring training game, but the last spring training start for a pitcher is supposed to be a final tune-up before the season begins – and Haren’s final tune-up was a disaster.

Haren heads back to the mound after giving up a solo home run to Mike Trout – this immediately following a monster three-run shot by Kole Calhoun. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Most Dodger fans can live with the six runs on six hits (including two home runs) in his two innings of work in a spring training game, but it’s what Haren told reporters after the game that some might find a bit disturbing.

“Obviously the results stunk, but at least I got my work in,” said Haren after his scheduled two-inning start. “Now I’ll get out there on Wednesday.”

Okay, this sounds pretty good, but it sounds more like something that you would expect to hear after the first or second start of the spring, not the last one.

“It felt like it had been awhile since I was on the mound in a real game,” added Haren. “It didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but I feel OK and I’ll just flush it down and move on to the next one.”

Wait, did Haren suddenly jump into excuse mode? It kind of sounds like it – especially with what he said next about his cut fastball that, well, didn’t cut.

“If this had been a regular-season game, I probably would have just aborted [my cutter] and gone to something else.”

Usually this is something that is decided by a pitcher and catcher in the bullpen when warming up before a game, not on the field after the game has started; but here again, it was only a meaningless spring training game, right? The problem is, the Dodgers now not only entered their domestic season opener against the Padres last night with their two-time Cy Young Award-winning ace on the shelf, but they now undoubtedly have some concerns over Haren’s effectiveness. Haren is scheduled to start game three of the series on Wednesday.

As for Chad Billingsley, he has Dodger fans (and Dodgers management) feeling confident that he will return to the starting rotation sooner than initially thought. Bills entered spring training in great shape and was already throwing fastballs off of the mound after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April, and throwing curveballs (and good ones) three weeks after pitchers and catchers reported to camp. And while I will be the first to admit that I did not expect to see Chad in the Dodgers rotation until late June or perhaps even after the All-Star break, it now appears that barring any setbacks, he could be ready by mid to late May. This is a very good thing, as it will give Haren four or five starts to prove that Saturday night’s meltdown at Angels Stadium was an anomaly and not the norm. If it was not, Billingsley could step right into the rotation replacing Haren.

Chad Billingsley is recovering from last April’s Tommy John surgery at a remarkable pace and could be ready as early as mid-May. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Please understand that this is not a bag on Dan Haren. He deserves and will be given every opportunity to prove his value to the team and as of this very moment he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. It would be unfair to judge him based on his 0-1 / 6.00 ERA spring training numbers (which were 0-0 and 1.80 before Saturday night). He is also a great guy and absolutely loves being a Dodger, having been born and raised in nearby Monterey Park and having grown up a Dodger fan. But if the Guggenheim Baseball Management group has taught us anything, they have taught us that they want to win and they want to win right now; and one has to believe that they will begin to lose patience with Haren or any of the other Dodgers starters if they are not successful in their first four or five starts into the new season.

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A side note to the Freeway Series:

Having watched all three games of this year’s annual pre-season Freeway Series and having seen the Dodgers and Angels face each other several times this spring, I am now convinced that the Angels have a very good team, including their starting rotation. Whereas I once thought that the Angels might finish the 2014 season in fourth place in the AL West (sorry Houston), I now believe that the Angels will win their division – and quite possibly even run away with it.