The Cardinals, coming into tonight’s game with the Phillies are 61-50, tied with the Brewers for the National League Wildcard. The Mets are 1.5 back, while the Marlins are 2.0 back. In those 111 games here is how our boy Albert Pujols has fared. MVP type season? Maybe!
Posted by APCMan on Aug 1 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Pujols Matchups
Check out the latest article on Y! Sports by a great writer Jeff Passan. On our guy!
Try to dissect Albert Pujols’ freakish ability to heal from injuries like a superhero, and the issue turns into baseball’s version of intelligent design, a God-vs.-Science debate that even Pujols can’t quite figure out.
First, he defers to the man upstairs. When challenged to put any of his accomplishments into context – say, returning from a calf injury a couple weeks ahead of schedule, then going 4 for 4 in his first game back Thursday and adding a monster home run Sunday in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 9-6 victory – Pujols falls back on faith.
“I give all the credit to God because he puts me on the field,” he said. “God is the only one who knows how quickly I heal.”
Except when Pujols is reminded of how hard he works. Now, there are some players for whom recovering from an injury is a task so Sisyphean, they end up getting crushed beneath the boulder. See: Pavano, Carl; Johnson, Nick; Sweeney, Mike; and other such denizens of the disabled list.
In his eight-year career, Pujols has spent two stints on the DL, and the first was much like the recent: An injury expected to sideline him for up to six weeks took less than three to heal. And as much as he defers to otherworldly beings, Pujols also doesn’t want to shortchange himself.
“It’s not amazing,” he said. “I work hard for it. Why should I be surprised about it?”
Hey, Pujols is batting .356, getting on base at a .483 clip and swatting balls to every part of the field, so let the man have his cake and eat it. What Pujols has done, and continues to do, is play at a level stratospheric among his peers, unique in the purest sense of the word, joyous to partake in.
“He is an amazing player,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “You’re seeing it. Comes off the disabled list and gets four hits. That’s amazing. If you watch him on a daily basis, he does something good every day. He does some amazing things often.
“I never take him for granted. I don’t take greatness like that for granted. I enjoy it too much.”
Well, that and the production. The Cardinals worried that without Pujols, their surprising start would go for naught. Instead, at 47-36, they own the National League’s second-best record, behind Central Division rival Chicago, are one of only five teams with winning marks at home and on the road, and now get energized by the league’s most fearsome hitter.
All of which makes June 11 laughable in hindsight. The Cardinals’ clubhouse transformed into a wake that night, the mood somber, everyone recounting stories about the deceased: St. Louis’ season. Pujols pulled up lame running to first base, and panic set in. He left the stadium on crutches. A return before the All-Star break was optimistic.
Along the way, something happened. Pujols started to say he would be back soon. No one knew how or why. The Cardinals just trusted him, like recovering from injury was some sort of a skill Pujols had mastered.
“You ever see ‘Rudy’?” Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg asked. “Rudy asks why he can’t get into Notre Dame. Remember what the priest told him? There are two facts in life. One, there’s a God. Two, I’m not him.”
In other words, Weinberg hasn’t the faintest clue. Nobody understands how Pujols continues to play at such an elite level with a high-grade tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which, at some point or another, will require Tommy John surgery. They can’t fathom how he shook off his last disabling injury, one to the rib cage, an integral part of a hitter’s swing, as though it were a hangnail.
“I don’t think there’s some magic button or special potion he’s taking,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Albert loves to play the game of baseball. That’s where he gets his joy from. Regardless of whether we’re 15 (games) up or 15 down, in first place or last place, he just wants to play baseball.”
Such has been evident over recent days, when Pujols would retire to his sanctum, the batting cage, and work through the routine that has helped him hone his swing in the fashion Tiger Woods does his. Pujols is, as teammate Jason Isringhausen notes, “a maniac” with his workouts, and he means that in the most complimentary way.
So to see Pujols slash a double down the line in the first inning Sunday astounded no one, and to see Kansas City issue him his 19th intentional walk of the season in the third inning was no shock.
“I think anybody will take the way I’m swinging now,” Pujols said.
True enough, which is why the only flabbergasting moment of the afternoon came when Royals pitcher Joel Peralta actually believed he could throw a 3-2 fastball by Pujols in the sixth inning.
Pujols turned on the 93-mph pitch and sent it soaring into a stiff wind, and it kept going, long over the left-field fence. Nothing in this world was going to stop it, and nothing – neither God nor science – could explain how he did it, either.
Posted by APCMan on Jun 30 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Pujols News
Brian Barton hit his second homerun of the season, and drove home two, reaching base three times, before being pinch hit for, which turned to gold as Skip Schumaker came up with a 2 run basehit, which put the Cardinals up for good. Nick Stavinoha, and Brendan Ryan also came up with big rbi hits, as the Cardinals knocked out Kenny Rogers and the Tigers 8-4.
Braden Looper picked up his 9th win, pitching 6 innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs. Looper has had t hree straight games of pitching exceptionally well. Kenny Rogers picked up the loss for the Tigers, falling to 5-5, as he could not get out of the 6th inning, going 5.1 innings, yielding 9 hits, 5 runs- all earned.
The Cardinals and Tigers will be back at it today with 9-2 Kyle Lohse taking on 7-2 Armando Galarraga.
Go Cardinals! This could be the last time the Cardinals are without Albert’s services!
Posted by APCMan on Jun 25 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Pujols News
A rematch of the 2004 World Series on the line this weekend at Fenway Park in Boston. The St. Louis Cardinals, losers of 3 straight, come in with a record of 42 wins 32 losses, while the Red Sox sit at 46 wins and 29 losses.
Friday’s matchup will feature Kyle Lohse 8-2, 3.77 v. Tim Wakefield 4-4, 4.19. Lohse has won five straight starts for the Cardinals, and is doing it with precise control of all his pitches. Wakefield is 1-2 career against the Cardinals, but is coming off a pretty good start last week against the Reds.
Saturday features rookie righthander Mitchell Boggs for the Cardinals. Boggs is 1-0 with a 5.56 era. He has made two starts this season, but may be a bit scary in homer friendly Fenway. For the Red Sox, they will counter with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 8-0 on the year, with a 2.53 era. This will be the 2:55 FOX game of the week on Saturday. Dice K has not made a start since May 27.
Sunday brings us Joel Piniero, 2-3, with a 4.02 era against Jon Lester 6-3, 3.18.
Good luck to the Cardinals this weekend! Let’s get two on the road!
Hurry back Albert!
Posted by APCMan on Jun 20 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Featured, Pujols Game Day, Pujols Matchups, Pujols News
It’s a good thing for the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up 20 runs, does not count as anything more than a loss in the W/L Standings. Without All Star first basemen, and with a horrible pitching outing by Todd Wellemeyer the Cardinals fell on Friday night 20-2.
The Phillies scored 3 in the first, 1 in the second, 9 runs in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, 3 in the sixth, and 3 more in the eighth, while the Cardinals picked up a tally in both the third and the sixth inning.
In the first inning after two men were retired Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell hit back to back to back homeruns, to put the Phillies up 3-0 early. Utley ended up 2-3 on the day, and Howard finished 3-5 with 2 homeruns, and 5 rbi’s. Pitcher Kyle Kendrick also got in on the action, getting two basehits, both in the fourth inning.
For the Cardinals, Skip Schumaker had three hits, and Troy Glaus had two, and they were the only two to drive in runs for the Cardinals.
Kendrick went 7 innings, gave up 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, walking one and striking out one.
Wellemeyer only went 3.1 innings, giving up 8 hits, 8 runs, all earned, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and gave up 3 homeruns to drop to 7-2 on the season.
Utility man Aaron Miles pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Cardinals.
Posted by APCMan on Jun 14 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Pujols News
With Albert Pujols on the disabled list, possibly until the All Star Break, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to get other production from the rest of their roster. The Cardinals begin a three game series with the very tough Philadelphia Phillies, starting at 7:10 tonight. The Cardinals and Phillies both come in with matching 40-28 records, and both would be playing baseball in the postseason if the season were to end today.
The Phillies currently lead the Florida Marlins by three games in the NL East, while the Cardinals trail the Chicago Cubs by 3.5 games, but lead the Marlins by three in the wildcard chase, and the Brewers by four.
Obviously, we won’t be giving you Albert’s career numbers against any of the Phillies pitchers, but here are the matchups set for this weekend:
Friday: Kyle Kendrick 5-2, 4.87 v. Todd Wellemeyer 7-1, 2.92
Saturday: Adam Eaton 2-3, 4.62 v. Kyle Lohse 7-2, 3.92
Sunday: Brett Myers 3-8, 5.34 v. Mitchell Boggs 1-0, 3.86
I like the Cardinals matchups. Wellemeyer skipped his last start, but has been unreal to start this season. Lohse has pitched well all year, as well, and Boggs had a good first outing. Kendrick, Eaton and Myers are not slouches for the Phillies, so this should be a fun series. Rollins, Utley, Howard and Burrell scare me.
GO CARDINALS!
And get well soon Albert!
Posted by APCMan on Jun 13 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Featured, Pujols News
The St. Louis Cardinals placed first baseman Albert Pujols on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, and activated pitcher Joel Pineiro in time to start against the Reds.
Pujols is expected to miss at least three weeks after straining his left calf while running out a ground ball in the seventh inning of the Cardinals’ 7-2 win Tuesday at Cincinnati. The six-time All-Star and 2005 National League Most Valuable Player is hitting .347 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs in 65 games. He is two home runs shy of 300 in his eight-year career.
The move is retroactive to Wednesday.
The right-handed Pineiro missed 19 games with a strained right groin. He was 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA in eight starts going into Thursday’s game.
Posted by APCMan on Jun 13 2008 in Cardinals Baseball, Pujols News
