Saturday, June 27, 2009

Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals: Can One Man Carry an Entire Team on his Back to a Championship?

Albert Pujols can be overpraised (hard as that is to believe). He did not deserve the "Most Valuable Player" award last year. I follow the St. Louis Cardinals because of my childhood in Arkansas, lilstening to Harry Carey, and marvelling at Stan Musial.


For most of last year, Pujols was NOT even the primary run producer for the Cardinals. It was Ludwick. When the season was on the lin, Pujols failed to come through on a pretty large number of occasions. His overall RBI number was NOT that good, given his home run number. And his numbers were padded by a late surge after the season was OVER for the Cardinals.


Now don't get me wrong. For an ordinary mortal, Pujols had a great year last year. However, for Pujols (perhaps because he was plagued with some nagging physical problems), it was a SLIGHTLY disappointing year. It was not a "Most Valuable Player" year, in my opinion.


Nor do I like the sometime excuse for Pujols "mini-slups" that he does not get pitches to hit Are major league pitchers trying to give ANY major league hitter pitches to hit? Oh, I undestand that Pujols gets less than others, because pitchers would rather walk him than "give in" to him. So he doesn't get ANY "Hail Mary" fastballs right down the middle, no matter what the count. Seill, EVERY great hitter has this porblem. Tony LaRussa--who says a lot of bull, like ALL managers and coaches--overhypses this "problem". Great hitters have to live with it, and Pujols showed signs last year he was slipping just SLIGHTLY. I saw several of those cruicial games when the Cardinals were still in the playoff race, and Pulols GOT pitches to hit. He jsut miseed them, often with players on base.


All of this is prelude to this statement: Albert Pujols is just finishing up the BEST single half year I have ever seen from a baseball player--other than the steroid hyped years of Barry Bonds. If there is any question about whether Pujols "deserved" the MVP award he got last year (and I am probably the only person on the plantet who questions it, and I hardly think it was a grave injustice), there should be no question that Pujols deserves the award THIS YEAR (absent a second half slump).


Pujols single handedly won the Cardinals game today--hitting two home runs to bring his total to 28 for the season. That has been the norm this season. The Cardinals have NO offense outside of Pujols--NO other RBI man this year. They hit well the frist month, but thereafter a good part of the team, aside from Pujols, is hitting around .200. Ludwick (who I thought was about as valuable to the Cardinals last year as Pujols), has faded. Rick Ankiel, who used to be a picer before mental "yips" caused him not to be able to throw stikes, has seemingly started to develop apparent hitting "yips" (or maybe just fundamental swing problems). NO hitting at third base. NOT MUCH hitting across the entire outfield. Despite hype from the manager, touted rookie Rasmus has provided little (despite flashes). About the only bright spot is the second basemen converted from an outfielder las year--in the illusion that the Cardinals were "set" in the outfield (where Duncan has also not done much). Molina, at catcher, has been solid, although he has tailed off at the bat from an extremely hot start. In short, Pujols is IT.


Pujols has CARRIED the Cardinals for over a month more than I have ever seen a player carry a team. For that period of time, he has been the OFFENSE for the Cardinals. It has been a truly impressive performance. For once, I agree with the manager as to the "problems" of being Albert Pujols. How much pressure must it be to be the ONLLY offense on a still contending team? I can't even imagine it.


Yes, I don't see how this can continue. If Pujols has not seen good pitches before, what is he going to see as the other teams simply refuse to let him beat them? He walked twice today, and hit two home runs. When will teams decide that walking him FOUR times is the better strategy--at least until the other Cardinal hitters prove they can beat somebody?


In short, the Cardinals are presently doing it with mirrors (incuding a pitching staff that has been very good in spots, but very bad in spots--excpet for a generally good bullpen, headed by Franklin having a caeer year).


Can a team get into the playoofs with ONE dangerous hitter? I don't think so, although Pujols has proved me wrong for almost two months (albeit with help from losses by other "contending" teams in the division). You would think that the pressure of being the ENTIRE offense would have to get to Pujols, but he is certainly holding up well. It just figures teams will more and more take Pujols OUT of the game, as an RBI hitter--forcing some other Cardinal hitters to step up.


I am not even sure it is possible for Pujols to have a bad enough second half of the year such that he does not deserve the MVP award this year. Hey, did I just JINX him? But to expect even Pujols to carry an entire team this way for the entire last half of the year seems the stuff of fantasy rather than reality.


In short, the St. Louis Cardinals had better find some offense outside of Albert Pujols. In the meantime, at this particular point in time, Albert Pujols is unchallenged as the best baseball player on the planet. Hell, he ven leads the Cardinals in STOLEN BASES--which should shame some of the other players. Of course, you don't WANT anyone to steal a base IN FRONT of Pujols, which might account for part of this seeming absurdity (absurd in terms of just how much one man can be expected to do).

2 comments:

krusher233 said...

Pujols absolutely deserved the MVP last year, anyone who says otherwise is very, very stupid.

Pedro Applebucks said...

The Cards need another bat if they want to get to the playoffs. It could be worse, the Cards could be the Giants. The Giants can't hit for their lives.