Dodger fans who were “fashionably late” to Dodger Stadium for Friday night’s series opener between the Dodgers and Mets never saw that Dan Haren – the one who is consistently inconsistent; the one who is always coughing up home runs; the one who, at times, can be really bad. No, fans who arrived after the first inning, or even after the third pitch, saw the Dan Haren who began the 2014 season with an amazing 4-0 record and an ERA well under 3.00.

It’s no secret that the 33-year-old Haren carries the mantra of being the weakest link in the Dodgers rotation, but then why wouldn’t he? He’s the number five starter in the Dodgers rotation and number fives are supposed to be the weakest link, right? Well guess what – Haren is one of very few number fives in all of baseball with double-digit wins and he picked up yet another one on Friday night to go 11-10 on the season.

When Mets leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson launched Haren’s third pitch of the night halfway up the Right Field Pavilion, those Dodger fans who were already in their seats collectively said “Here we go again,” and with good cause – Haren holds the dubious honor of having given up more home runs in all of baseball by anyone not named Marco Estrada (Haren has allowed 25 to Estrada’s 28). But after allowing that leadoff solo home run, Haren retired 19 of the next 22 batters he faced including, at one point, four in a row via strikeout.

While Dodger fans are quick to remember all of the home runs Dan Haren has allowed, they seem to be quick to forget that he is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last four starts. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

When all was said and done, Haren allowed only the one run on three hits while striking out six and walking none through seven strong innings – and that ain’t bad for a number five starter; in fact, that ain’t bad for a number one starter.

“Kind of the reverse Kershaw,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly in describing Haren’s performance after Friday night’s game. “He gave up the run early and then didn’t give up any more. Danny looked like he had depth tonight, looked like he was able to locate. The first couple of hitters, probably the first three, four or five, he was kind of getting behind and then after that he just kind of got in the groove and looked like he was getting the ball where he wanted to.”

The one thing that you have absolutely got to love about Dan Haren is that he is brutally honest about himself – to the point where you can often times see the pain of his occasional bad outings on his face. But to his credit, he accepts full responsibility for his bad outings yet is almost Kershaw-like humble when he does well.

“I’ve adjusted the game plan,” said Haren. “I really had good stuff, that’s why I was so mad giving up the home run to start the game. I felt it would be a good day, that I wiped away the last [bad start]. I wanted to stay on track. The curveball has gotten better as the year has gone on.”

Indeed Haren’s curveball has gotten better. In fact, when he locates it well it is nearly impossible to hit. Where Haren gets into trouble is when he relies too heavily on his split-finger fastball. When it is working well, Haren’s splitter has good downward movement on it, but when it is not, it becomes an 87-MPH meatball that a good fastball hitter, say… like… Curtis Granderson, usually doesn’t miss.

Ironically, when the Dodgers signed Haren to his one-year/$10 million contract this past off-season, they included an interesting option in the deal. If Haren reaches 180 innings pitched this season, a $10 million player option for the 2015 season vests. In other words, if Haren hits that mark he is guaranteed another year with the team if he so chooses. After his seven innings on Friday night, Haren has pitched 150 innings thus far. That leaves him only 30 innings shy of his option vesting with (likely) six starts remaining. And what did Haren have to say about this?

“It may sound stupid, but who knows if I’ll want to play?” said Haren. “I’d rather throw 179 2/3 innings this year and win the division. I’ve made enough money in my life. I don’t want to demean that, make it sound like I’m a snob, but my goal is to win. That [vesting option] is the last thing on my mind.”

While Haren will undoubtedly continue to be bashed by Dodger fans for his excessive number of home runs and occasional runaway game, if he can continue to pitch as he has in his last four starts (3-1, 2.70 ERA with 20 strikeouts and only four walks), maybe having him around next season as a number five starter isn’t such a bad thing.