"It was Lance Berkman who made the connection last week in Busch Stadium and again this week during his visit to Minute Maid Park, where memories from his those salad days as an MVP candidate greeted him.

When he's hit in April, he's usually hit all season.

Leaning against a wall during his first visit to the visitors' clubhouse at Minute Maid, Berkman was asked if he could remember having a start to the season like this one. And that was before he rapped eight hits in three day, including a four-hit, two-homer send-off on Thursday. Berkman nodded at the question. He could remember hot Aprils. He also mused that the times he remembers having a hot April were also the best seasons of his career.

"I don't know for sure," he said. "But I'd bet that's the case. It makes sense."

In an abbreviated entry today - I'm racing to catch a plane - I figured it was worth checking it out. After all, Berkman arrives at the final two days of April with a .410 average, a .795 slugging percentage and eight home runs. He didn't hit his eighth home run of 2010 until Independence Day. He had one home run righthanded in 92 plate appearances from that side last season, and he got his first Thursday. In 481 plate appearances in 2010, he hit 14 homers. In his previous 55 at-bats this season, he's hit eight. So, all that leads to the question: Is he right? Do April powers beget summer sluggers?"