On June 19th, St. Louis Cardinals superhero Albert Pujols Pujols homered in the bottom of the fifth inning after taking an up-and-in pitch from Royals reliever Louis Coleman. The go-ahead shot left Busch Stadium in under two seconds and put an electric charge into the capacity crowd. After his blast, Pujols was sitting on eight home runs and 14 RBI in the 17 games he had played in June, including two memorable walk-off home runs against the Chicago Cubs on back-to-back games.
Yet, that energy was erased quickly in the top of the sixth when The Machine was dented.
The fracture sustained to Albert's left wrist silenced the fans of both teams. It's been well-documented that Pujols' final year of his contract is this year. If we are making a net worth of each of his limbs and appendages, I would probably price his left wrist somewhere around $3.7 million.
This is what Pujols can do and what he has done since donning a Redbird uniform. He is the single strongest influence in any Major League lineup, and now is the single strongest influence when he is out of the lineup. The doctors initial prognosis of 4-6 weeks would have left Albert out of the All-Star game and back into the Cardinals lineup, at best, around July 17th - four weeks from the fracturing.
Somehow, through the powers of the divine and the miracle of being misinformed, Pujols has been activated from the disabled list some 12-28 days ahead of schedule. This news came to the public rather swiftly and the all-star first baseman was in the lineup for today's game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Some fans and teammates might feel that Pujols recovery isn't that big of a deal since, after all, he is Albert Pujols. Today on my drive to practice, I listened to Matt Holliday as a guest on the Doug Gottlieb show. Holliday told Gottlieb that he felt Pujols was ready because Pujols shoke his hand with a really tight grip and that the doctors said the bone that was beat-up was an necessary bone.
Thank goodness Dr. Matt Holliday shed some light on the matter.
It isn't that bold of a prediction to say Albert Pujols is going to be a Cardinal next year or for the rest of his career. The Cardinals have been a presence in the National League Central since the six-team division format was adopted. The organization knows how to win and how to rally. I really enjoy watching Pujols - unless he's playing the Pirates - tear apart pitchers and/or allow his buddies below him in the lineup force the oppostion's hand. There is a clear void in the starting nine when he is out.
However, after the initial sulking by the Cardinals when they lost five or their next six games PAI (post Albert's injury,) they have responded by taking six of their last eight, including tonight's 8-1 pasting of the Reds. The lineup has stepped up considerably. Consider these three major stats the Cardinals have in their favor during the 14 games played since Pujols' injury:
1) Lance Berkman's career revival includes six home runs, including one tonight.
2) David Freese, who was batting .371 before his DL stint, has return and hasn't missed a beat.
3) and most importantly - have you noticed who has won his last three starts in convincing fashion. Chris Carpenter. The stud righter started 1-7 this year, but in his three starts that Pujols has been on the DL, he's 3-0, pitching 24 innings and allowed two earned runs, winning all three contests against the Phillies, Orioles and Reds.
If the Cardinals lose their remaining 75 games, that would be awesome for me, but not for St. Louis or any baseball fans. If Pujols is really not as injured as we thought and he explodes in the final parts of the season, all will be well. I just wonder if the Cardinals are rushing him back prematurely or and the urging of Albert to prove to the league he healthy and mends quicker than any average human. The organization knows plenty more than I ever will and Tony LaRussa is a very smart manager. If the Cardinals rush him back too soon, it could halt a lot of St. Louis' momentum in their season.
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