Uncertain Times for Kyle Lohse

Among the more baffling things of last offseason was how things played out with Kyle Lohse. While the trade winds were blowing, multiple teams were thinking about offering him around $27M for 3 seasons. Maybe more when all was said and done. When the winds stopped, no one would take him for 1 year, $7M. Maybe less. That's pretty cheap starting pitcher depth for a number of contending teams. I still don't get it. He ended up a Cardinal on a one year contract for 4 and a quarter. Through six starts he's doing quite well.

Thus far he's 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA. That's not likely to last for a whole season, but it seems the alchemists Duncan and La Russa have turned him into a different pitcher. He's giving up a lot of hits, but not walking many, and his groundball ratio is way up. Hitters seem to have no trouble making contact off him, but they're not doing much damage. Through 34.1IP, he hasn't given up a single homer. A lot of people have looked like someone they're not over six starts, but Lohse is working with one of the best pitching coaches in the business, and it will be interesting to see how long and how well he can keep this up. Especially because if the Red Birds are serious about stealing the division, people like him are going to have to do things like what he's doing now.