FanHouse Preston Wilson

After the first start it was mildly amusing. Braden Looper... effective starter? How ludicrous. But then it happened again. And again. And again. And it's still only April and great starters are certainly not made in one month, but suddenly Braden Looper is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts. Win number three came this afternoon against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in which Looper and the Cards beat the Cubs 2-1 on Looper's seven one-run innings.

Lost in Looper's gem was Ted Lily, who might have "Hard Luck Loser" attached to his name by the end of the month. Lily's only misstep today was giving up a two-run homer to Preston Wilson in the seventh inning, which more or less negated his seven strong innings in which he struck out six and only allowed four hits. This loss comes on the heel of a ten strikeout performance in which he lost to Kyle Lohse. Lily would kindly like pitchers that are supposed to suck to go back to sucking, if you please.

This is kind of a tough break for the Cubs, they got Aramis Ramirez back and he's hitting (he doubled in the Cubs only run today), but now they're waiting on Alfonso Soriano to return. Lucky for them, Soriano's return seems to be right around the corner. However soon it is, it probably won't be soon enough, though.

Previously at the Fanhouse
This Is Not a Typo: Kyle Lohse Dominates Cubs

As aptly described at Fark Sports, the Dodgers April 15th game against the Padres will be just like that old Bugs Bunny episode.

Playing first base for the Dodgers, # 42. Playing second base for the Dodgers, # 42. Pitching for the Dodgers, # 42.

Because as announced on the Dodgers official site, the team will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball in a unique way.

the Dodgers decided to have their entire team wear uniform No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in tribute to the late Hall of Famer who broke baseball's color barrier while wearing Dodger Blue.

Check out Sons of Steve Garvey who obtained a sneak peak at the Dodgers scoreboard for that night. Additionally, Juan Pierre and Marlon Anderson will conduct a youth clinic at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in South Central Los Angeles the previous day. While there's no possible way for baseball to thank and honor Jackie Robinson enough for what he went through and endured in paving the way for many future black players, the Dodgers are certainly making their attempts.

Furthermore, Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. will also wear jersey No. 42 in honor of Robinson on April 15th. Griffey Jr. petitioned the league to wear the number, since it was retired throughout baseball in 1997 on the 50th anniversary. Padres OF Mike Cameron will also wear No. 42 in honor of Robinson when they play the Dodgers on the 15th, and he will even go completely old school.

The Cardinals opened the season in front of a national audience on Sunday, but what we didn't know was that a lot of players probably weren't sure they'd make it back to St. Louis alive after hitting some vicious turbulence on their flight home from Memphis on Saturday. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Saturday's flight home from Memphis left several players still shaken Tuesday. "I was scared," reliever Tyler Johnson said. "I thought we were going to die."

The 45-minute-flight experienced severe turbulence en route to St. Louis, dropping several times in air pockets and at one point severely banking to avoid more severe winds.

Third baseman Scott Rolen thought the flight was the worst of his career. A flight attendant fell and food flew about the cabin. Preston Wilson watched the contents of his cup jump toward the cabin roof then land in the adjoining seat.

Reports that Tony La Russa was piloting the plane were unfounded. (Zing!)

On the eve of Opening Day, Major League Baseball is set to honor the Civil Rights movement and Jackie Robinson's historic career tonight when the Cardinals and the Indians play the Civil Rights game in Memphis.

It is sure to be an important celebration, but at the same time, it is a reminder that many African-Americans are gravitating away from the game of baseball, a trend Preston Wilson talked to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about today:

The veteran Wilson is the only African-American player on the Cardinals' projected opening day roster. He has witnessed the steady ebb of black athletes from the game for two decades.

"I think the perception is if there's a dark-skinned Latin guy out there, then he's black," Wilson said before Friday's game against the Memphis Redbirds. "A lot of people don't differentiate. But it's not the case. There are a lot of issues involved." ...

"There are no mediocre guys who are black who are the 25th man on their roster. It just doesn't happen. We don't get those jobs. You can say it sounds whatever. But it's true. Name one."

There are all sorts of issues here, most of them sensitive, so I'll just say this: it's good the sport is trying to address this issue, or that they are at least openly aware of it. There's too much athletic talent out there -- the next Ken Griffey Jr., perhaps -- that is being lost to hoop dreams and football pads. Bully for those sports, sure, but the loss of those athletes and their cultural perspectives is a sad loss for the MLB and baseball in general.

For more on the Civil Rights game, including MLB V.P. of baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon's take on MLB's race issue, here's MLB.com's story.

(Post-Dispatch story via Baseball Primer Newsblog)

Preston Wilson has hit just .219 through his first 32 at-bats, but he's not concerned about it. Apparently, that doesn't sit well with Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Wilson ran afoul of the Redbirds skipper when La Russa read comments in which Wilson played down the significance of Grapefruit League numbers. La Russa, who is deflated by exhibition losses, suggested Wilson take a more urgent approach during what the player called an "honest dialogue."

"There are innings available. There are at-bats available," La Russa asserted. "Do you want 100 at-bats or do you want 400? This club is serious about winning. It's not 'whatever happens, happens.' "

If Wilson really called the conversation an "honest dialogue," I hope his end of the conversation entailed breaking out a calculator and pointing out that the difference between hitting .219 and hitting .300 in 32 at-bats is less than three freaking hits!

I find it amazing that people so frequently place such importance on such a small sample-size of statistics, whether it's 50 at-bats in spring training or (in Alex Rodriguez's case) 14 at-bats in the postseason. Over time, a guy's talent will show. In Preston Wilson's case, that'll likely result in him hitting about .260 this year, no matter how serious or how lightly he takes these spring games.