When Mulder returns, Looper should move to pen

I've never been a huge Mark Mulder fan. If he returns in a week to 10 days and is ineffective, I won' t be surprised. But all indications are he is healthy and ready to contribute to the Cardinals' rotation.

When that happens, Braden Looper needs to go back where he belongs — to the bullpen. Looper was pressed into service as a starter last season because the Cardinals were desperate. The perception is that Looper had a good year, but his ERA was 4.94 and he surrendered 183 hits in 175 innings.

Looper blew up Sunday, allowing six runs in the third inning of the Cardinals' miserable 8-2 loss to San Francisco. SAN FRANCISCO! His final line: three-plus innings, 10 hits, seven earned runs. Yuck. Looper is 3-1, but he hasn't lasted longer than six innings in any start. His ERA is 5.49. He's given up 33 hits in 22 2/3 innings. This man is a reliever, as his track record indicates. Before last season, he never had made a start.

Looper loves being a starter. He's made it clear he has no desire to return to the bullpen. But this is a business. The Cardinals are in the business of winning, and despite his three victories, Looper hasn't pitched effectively enough to believe he will be a part of the long-term solution.

Mulder is not going to work out of the bullpen when he returns, possibly as soon as April 30 against Cincinnati at Busch Stadium. Let's all understand that. If Looper doesn't return to the bullpen, who does? Adam Wainwright? Todd Wellemeyer? Joel Pineiro? Kyle Lohse? That would be no, no, no and no.

Other questions loom for the Cardinals. Who leaves when Russ Springer is activated this week? Brad Thompson or Anthony Reyes? When Mulder comes back, who's the odd man out? Reyes? Perhaps. Rookie Kyle McClellan? I can't imagine that.

It's a fun time to be an armchair general manager.