PEORIA, Ariz. -- It wasn't long after the Padres signed free agent pitcher Aaron Harang to a contract in December when pitching coach Darren Balsley sat down with the intent of watching video on his newest pupil.

Balsley knew exactly what game to watch.

In order to ascertain what went wrong with Harang mechanically in his last two seasons with the Reds, Balsley first wanted to find footage of when Harang was at his best.

That was easy enough, as Balsley remembered a game from May 15, 2007, when Harang pitched against the Padres at PETCO Park.

"He's pitched well against us in the past. I have a pretty clear mental view of when he's pitched well," Balsley said.

On that day, Harang tossed seven scoreless innings against the Padres before allowing a run -- on a balk, no less -- in the eighth inning. All told, Harang allowed two hits and had seven strikeouts in nine innings that day. That game ended up going into extra innings, with the Reds winning, 2-1, in 12 innings.

"We're trying to get him back to where he was mechanically. I've done a lot of work on video, trying to get him to emulate where he was on video from three or four years ago," Balsley said of Harang.

For Harang, that's getting back to 2006 and 2007, when he won 16 games in consecutive seasons.

"We've looked at a lot of video from '06 and '07 when I was pitching well, to see where I was mechanically," Harang said.

Balsley has made some slight adjustments with Harang, and the right-hander has pitched better as of late.