LaVern Will Turn Into Shirley

Speaking of that untrackable game against Braden Looper, I can't think of a situation recently where I have been more eagerly awaiting the drop of the other shoe. The Cardinals have only provided him with 11 runs of support in 19 innings (eight of which came in his start Sunday against Milwaukee), yet Looper is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA through his first three starts. How do we know Looper will soon come crashing to Earth? Track record, of course. Looper has been in the majors full-time since 1999, and in pro ball since 1997. There is probably a very good reason why the Cardinals (the team that originally drafted him) moved him to the bullpen when they promoted him to AA 10 years ago, and an equally good reason why he was never moved back to the rotation.

As most baseball fanatics are aware, guys are typically moved to the bullpen because they don't have either the stamina or the variety in their pitching to fool the hitters more than once or twice per appearance. Looper is also 32 years old, so it is unlikely that the Cards moved him to the rotation because he suddenly learned a new pitch or increased the speed of his fastball.

Looper may be 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA, but there are signs. He has only struck out nine of the 75 batters he has faced, and three of those came against opposing pitchers. He also has walked six batters, and has only recorded 26 of his 57 outs (46.5%) by ground balls.

So Looper doesn't strike anyone out and isn't really utilizing his excellent defensive infield to help him out. This means that when batters see him a second time and have probably figured him out, those numbers are going to skyrocket unless his pitches get heavy real soon.

Don't worry, Bucco fans, St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati and Houston's rotations, combined with Chicago and Houston's inability to hit consistently, mean that warmer weather should equal better hitting from LaRoche and Paulino, along with a requisite jump in the standings.