Albert Pujols: Should He Be Walked With the BASES LOADED?

It is a lack of courage that causd the Cincinatti Reds not to walk Albert Pujols last night, with the bases loaded. In this season where Pujols is virtually the entire offense of the St. Louis Cardinals, there was only one rational decision last night. The manager of the Reds simply did not have the couratge to make it, and I do not fault him for it. The fact is that there are few managers or coaches, no matter how good, that have the courage to face criticism for doing the unconventional thing. How ele do you explain the number of games LOST by the "prevent" defense in football? That is one rason I sort of like Tony LaRussa, even though he is as full of bull as most managers and coaches (bulll being necessary for the job--would you really want a manger telling his players that they are NOT a playoff caliber team, as this blog has done wiith regard to the St. Louis Cardinals--the only problem being that there are NO playoff caliber teams in the Central Division of the National League). Tony LaRussa is the manager who bats his picher 8th (to put more players batting in front of Pujols who are real hitters, maybe, and still bat Pujols 3rd). I am not convinced batting Pujols 4th, and the pitcher 9th, would not be better. But LaRussa has had the courage of his convictions. I digress (as usual).


Am I saying Pujols should ALWAYS be walked with the bases loaded. Well, that is no as bad an idea as it sounds. Pujols is actually more of a streaky hitter than his consistent overall statistics would indicate, and he is on an absolute TEAR. He has had what has to rant as a contender for the best first half of a season any baseball pllayr has ever had. And if you can rely on ESPN radio, Pujols is 6 for 7 this year with the bass loaded (actaully 6 for 8, since a sacrifice fly did not count as an official at bat). More importantly, he is batting .500 in hitting HOME RUNS with the bases loaded (4 out of 8)--a stat that does not even EXIST. Even for Pujols, this is extraordinary (following a year when his RBIs seemed to tail off a little, especailly while the season was in the balance, even though his overal numbers were still great). For comparison (with himself), Pujols now has 10 grand slame home runs, which means that prior to his year he had LESS than one a year. Plus, he has the Cardinal RECORD, which would indicate that it can hardly be winning strategy to be walking players with the bases loaded. Grand slams are not that prevalent (although it hardly takes a grand slam to make a walk the better alternative) .


At this time though, walkig Pujols is never a bad idea. And if you think managers are bad, you should listent to ESPN (which I don't do, since that mainstream media, "journalistic" disaster is one I boycott, except for live sports events I want to watch). An ESPN radio (I did not even know ESPN radio existed, until I happened to have the radio on that station this morning) person said this morning that he did not understand why pithcrers could not "pich arond" Alber Pujols, or any other hitter, without giving up a home run ball. If pichers were generally that good, of coure, no major league itter would be hitting above .300. You have to be a "jouranlist" to be that dumb, in that particular way--dumber than managers (without the excuse of having to avoid being second guessed).


Say you are a manager. Say you tell your pitcher to "pitch around" Albert Pujols with the bases loaded, but to try not to walk him. Say what. That is Barack Obama speak. The result is going to be a grand slam (half of the time this year--batting .500 in HITTING HOME RUNS witht he bases loaded still striking me as an unbelievable stat). Say you go further, as a manager. Say you tell the pitcher that you don't care if he walks Pujols, but you don't want Pujols to get ANYTHING to hit. Uh-huh, and why is it again that you don't order the intentional walk? That is what I thought. You--the manager--simply want to place the blame on the picher, while avoiding being laughed at (probably more by players and other managers than fans) for issuing an intentional walk with the bases loaded. And you WILL be laughed at, especiallly if the strategy goes wrong (as it might, although we are dealing with the Cardinals here, who seem to have NOBODY besides Pujols capable of driving in runs).


Let us review the situation last night. The Reds had a 3 to 0 lead, as Pujols had not produced any runs for the Cardinals YET. The Cardinals (remember "Casey at the Bat") amazingly managed to load the basis in the 8th inning, and Pulols was up to bat. If you are a manager, do your eally want to tel a pichter (who may not have hit his spot in 5 years or so, unless he is Greg Maddox or Tom Glavine) to "pitch around" Pujols in one of the manners I describe above? Nope. You need to WALK PUjols (forcing in a run). Sure, you might lose doing that, but the lesson of this season is that Pujols CAN beat you. The rest of the St. Louis Cardinals seem almost incapable of it. If you walk Pujols, you will still have a two run lead, and have a decent chance of winning the game. As it was, of course, the Reds went into the botttom of the 8th TRAILING 4 to 3, afterthe Pujols grand slam.


Purists may note that The Reds tied the game, and the Cardinals generated 2 runs in the ninth without Pujols (Pujols providing a third, as the Reds' manager STILL had not learned his lesson). Thowever, those ninth inning runs were provided by a two out single by a rookie second baseman of whom I have NEVER heard. He was just called up. He clearly has not gotten the message that that a player other than Pujols is not supposed to come trhough this year. Veteran Derosa learned that very quickly. This rookie just doesn't yet understand. No, I can't spell or pronounce the rookie's name, although you can go to the Cardinal website and look it up.


Yes. I am willing to state flatly: In the circumstances of last night, the Reds SHOULD have walked Alber Pujols intentonally, and told the pitcher to get the next guy. Oh well, that is the good thing about baseball, and most sports--it is NOT true of New Haven, Connecticut, where firefighters who hit a home run on their xam got the shaft, "Crimes", incuding the "crime" of the "prevent defense" are PUNISHED. You generally do not get away with wrong decisions for long.


The Reds' manager suffered condign punishment immediately last night. There is nothing I can do to him, or say about him, that will harm him nearly as much as that.