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Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off The Island
Published by MoonDog on July 1, 2009
Albert Pujols, the reigning National League MVP, is having another stellar season. The St. Louis first baseman hit two more home runs on Tuesday night to increase his major league leading total to 30, but the Cardinals lost their third straight, falling to San Francisco 6-3.
Pujols is generating better numbers to this point in the season than at any time throughout his nine-year career. He’s currently hitting .332 with 77 RBIs, .453 OBP, .743 SLG, 1.197 OPS and if that wasn’t enough, he leads the team with nine stolen bases.
Pujols has produced those incredible numbers despite the fact he has no protection in the Cardinals lineup. He is, literally, a man alone on an island as the rest of his Cardinals’ teammates fail miserably to support him.
The Cardinals outfielders – thought to be the strength of the team entering the season – have been a huge disappointment.
Chris Duncan is batting .249 with five home runs and 31 RBIs in 233 plate appearances. Rick Ankiel is batting .236 with 5 home runs and 21 RBIs in 195 at-bats.
Ryan Ludwick, who last season earned a trip to the All-Star Game, hasn’t come close to his 2008 numbers. Through 59 games, Ludwick is batting .233 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs, well off his 37 HRs and 113 RBIs from last season.
As if the outfielders lack of production wasn’t enough, newly acquired Mark DeRosa suffered a potential sprained wrist during Tuesday’s game against the Giants.
DeRosa, who was picked up from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for reliever Chris Perez, is hitless in nine at-bats since arriving in St. Louis.
Maybe there’s something wrong with the water in the Cardinals clubhouse.
The acquisition of DeRosa was an effort by Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to provide a bat in the lineup that could help protect Pujols. If DeRosa misses substantial playing time due to an injury, St. Louis will be no better than they were before the trade.
Other than Pujols, St. Louis has only five players currently batting better than .260, with the quintet combining for 17 HRs and 87 RBIs. Pujols will have 87 RBIs before the All-Star break.
The man that is widely considered to be the face of Major League Baseball, and the focal point of this year’s All-Star Game in St. Louis, deserves better than what he’s having to deal with from the rest of the Cardinals’ roster.
Pujols’ teammates – all 24 of them – should be ashamed of themselves for letting another MVP caliber season potentially go by the wayside without a playoff appearance.
The Cardinals could win the NL Central if Pujols can get some help from his friends. But as it stands now, he will be spending another October watching other teams vie for a World Series title.
If Pujols does win his third NL MVP award later this year, it will truly have been a singular accomplishment.
The rest of his Cardinals’ teammates can’t say they helped him along the way, when all of them, at least as of now, have done nothing but get in his way.
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Pinkies Up!!! Julianne Hough Edition on Wed, 1st Jul 2009 12:38
[...] Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off The Island (MoonDog Sports) [...]
Albert Pujols Hits 30th HR of 2009, Continues Assault on Record Books on Wed, 1st Jul 2009 15:13
[...] [Editor's Update: Even more amazing is the fact that Pujols is doing all of this with very little protection in the Cardinals lineup, as discussed earlier today by our good friend Moon Dog in his article Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off the Island.] [...]