Sunday, July 19, 2009

Everything is renewed in the second "half."

I'm a little late to the game with All-Star comments, but you must forgive me. The festivities were in my backyard (not literally).

My main grip with All-Star coverage really came after the event. St. Louis and national media felt compelled to write about how big of a let down Albert Pujols was. This is abso-fuckin-lutely ridiculous! This dude is the best player in a generation. He's better than A-Rod, better than Bonds, better than anyone else from the modern era that you want to name. What's that? Chris Duncan? Yeah, he's better than Chris Duncan too (this is directed at you, Yellow Dart.). All the media can write about is how Albert went 0-for-3...and how he didn't win the home run derby...and how he committed an error.

Let me break this down for you.

Concerning the HR Derby, this is a meaningly showcase. It's entertaining, but still meaningless. Players that do well in this type of competition are those who can hit a ball off a tee with enough of an uppercut swing for the ball to arc over the fence. This is why you see Josh Hamilton bust out. This competition made him. Pujols on the other hand muscles out line drive HR's. He's not good for this competition. Any yokel that can hit a lollipop out of the yard can participate in the HR Derby. Pujols distinguishes himself in the game of baseball by being able to consistently crush major league pitching...not lollipops.

Pujols went 0-for-3 in the All Star game. He's f'ing human and he's f'ing facing the best pitchers in the AL. Pujols faced Halladay in the first, Buehrle in the third, and Hernandez in the sixth. He saw 3 different AL All-Star pitchers in his three at bats. How do you expect anyone to adjust to the pitcher if you know you're facing some other stud next time around? Besides, this is a microscopic sample size of a whole season. They might as well have said, "Albert's a disappointment in 2009. He went 0-for-4 on April 23rd."

Pujols did commit an error, but in his defense he was screened by the runner. He tried to snag it behind the runner on an in between hop. He just missed it. It was a rough play.

Now that I am done defending a Cardinal, I need to shower. I feel dirty.

On with the second "half"...

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