As fun as it has been to watch Kyle Lohse emerge from obscurity this season, I will be the first to claim that the fairytale is over for Mr. Lohse.
As a Cardinals fan, it pains me a little because Lohse has been the de facto ace in place of injured arms, and he's been a fun story for Cardinal fans to follow.
But that time is done.
Lohse has returned to his role as a back-of-the-rotation type of talent, and the Cardinals' playoff hopes have disappeared as his ERA has ballooned.
The fact of the matter is, Lohse's numbers declare that he is barely better than teammates Todd Wellemeyer and Braden Looper. He has been better for most of the season, but Lohse is the only one out of the trio that is a full-time starter, and there is definitely something to be said about that.
- B/R Ticket Guide
With a season ERA of 3.90, and an ERA of 7.48 in his last four starts, Lohse can merely claim to be luckier, not better, than the rest of the Cardinals' mediocre rotation. He has definitely served his purpose.
With hopes of gaining Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder at the beginning of the year, and having no idea that Adam Wainwright would go down, too, Lohse has been a great No. 4 starter for $4.25 mil.
But should Lohse be re-signed for the ridiculous figures that agent Scott Boras will likely demand? Absolutely not. Anything over $5 million is too much. I laugh when some newer Cards fans claim that Lohse is re-signable.
If only it was that simple.
Scott Boras has wrought havoc for both the Cardinals and MLB's free-agent market before, and he won't hesitate to do it whenever possible.
Scott Boras will send Kyle Lohse to Japan if he can get over $10 million next year, and pitching is too scant in the MLB. So Lohse is destined to become another Jeff Weaver: signed to a high-paying team and finished with a barely-average career as a mere side note.
The Cardinals have had a great run this season, and Lohse has been the mascot for overachieving and utilizing talent. But Lohse has come to earth, as have the Cards. This guy is what we initially thought. A back-end guy. A good one, but nothing special.
Look to see Lohse in a different uniform next season. And don't expect me to care.
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3 months ago
You're right, Lohse has been outstanding this year, given his past numbers. But I think the comparison to Jeff Weaver might be a little harsh. Weaver could never be consistent for even HALf a season, so a big part of me wants to give Lohse the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, the moment I do that, he's gonna end up on my Dodgers for Schmidt-size money, and look the whole YEAR like he has for the last four starts, just to spite me.
3 months ago
Lohse has alwasy been a streaky pitcher and showed some promise on the Twins early on but he could never seem to put it all together...it seemed like he might have finally done so in STL this year but I was waiting for him to do it a full year beofre I could say that he has reached his potential...the truth is that he doesn't strike out many batters and his stuff is definitely not overpowering...once he starts losing his command he is nothing more than a mediocre pitcher in the big leagues
3 months ago
Well I'd give the guy a few more games. He's having a hard time lately but he did a heck of a job stepping up in the face of injuries and if he goes downhill from here I'll still have respect for the guy. The Cards dream is slowly coming to an end though and they'll probably have to wait until next year to make the playoffs.
3 months ago
i was hoping for a great year so we could at least pick up some compensation picks in the draft
good teams turn key player-turned free agent into a future starter who makes a difference in 5 years or fewer
3 months ago
I guess Kyle Lohse finally realized that he's actually just Kyle Lohse.
3 months ago
I'm just glad Mozeliak did the smart thing by not resigning him while he was hot, like many cards fans wanted him to do. While I would like to see Lohse re-sign, I too doubt it will happen.
2 months ago
Well, Lohse has re-signed with the Cards for 4 years, :-)
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