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Pujols In The City

Posted on August 24, 2010 at 8:22 AM
Filed Under: Heroes and Goats | Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Cardinals
I think that, if I were the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I would petition Major League Baseball to make sure that the Cardinals never came to Pittsburgh in August.  It'd be bad enough to face Albert Pujols in his own park in the month that he's always hitting, but to have him come to PNC Park is just asking for a beating.

I couldn't help but laugh after his first at-bat.  You hate to see a pitcher leave with an injury that early, but especially when the first two batters have reached.  A lot of times, that can kill momentum as the new pitcher warms up as much as he likes, plus has his own new rhythm.

So Pujols waits through the delay....and then sends the first pitch over the wall.  No taking one to get timing, no waiting to see what the guy has, just first pitch boom.  He didn't even expect to swing, but his instincts and reactions are such that he just did it automatically, with the results we've come to expect.

After his 3-5 night, he's at .319, four points behind Joey Votto (and a point behind Martin Prado) in the batting race.  He's got a lead in the other two categories, so with him facing Paul Maholm, Votto going against Jonathan Sanchez and Prado getting Jorge De La Rosa (in Colorado), that order could shift around tonight.  Be interesting to see if AP could get on top of all the Triple Crown categories, at least for a day or so.

It was another night where finding a Goat was a tough thing, but with Felipe Lopez being the only starter without a hit, I put him in there, even though he did draw two walks.  I was pretty surprised to see him hitting in the fifth slot, though.

It was very good to see quality results from Kyle Lohse last night.  I'm not sure that he'd have put up a line like that against many teams, but if confidence is something he's needing, facing the Pirates can only help.  He gave up a few fly balls that were a little worrisome in the first couple of innings before allowing his two-run homer in the sixth, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.  He should be facing Washington next time out, so that will likely be another situation where he could gain a little momentum.

I was actually afraid I'd seen this game before for a while.  I remember a game against Pittsburgh I believe last year, when Ian Snell allowed four runs before getting an out, then held the line the rest of the way and Pittsburgh came back to win.  I was glad to see the offense didn't completely shut down after getting that early lead, especially since it wasn't Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright on the mound.  Lohse probably needed that extra cushion.

The injury news off the field is piling up as well, both good and bad.  The good is that Jason Motte is just about ready to go out on a short rehab assignment.  With the minors ending here in a week or so, it can't be a long one, but likely Motte doesn't need much.  Having him back in the pen will be a good thing, though the relievers haven't struggled much lately.

The bad (at least in theory) is that Dennys Reyes isn't doing well and that Colby Rasmus is still days away from returning.  Reyes has been so iffy this season anyway when coming into LOOGY situations that not having him available hasn't been the disaster that it might have been last year.  Maybe some rest will have him be more effective for October, if the Cardinals make it.

Rasmus is a different story.  More and more the "JD Drew" rumblings are coming to the surface.  Not that anyone doubts that he's hurt at all, don't misunderstand.  But it seems like it's tough for Rasmus to play a full season and, with Ryan Ludwick gone, the Cards really need his healthy bat in the lineup.  You'd hate to see him get into the doghouse like Drew did, but it seems like a strong possibility.

Cardinals get to send Adam Wainwright to the hill tonight, which is usually a wonderful thing to watch.  Pirates put out Paul Maholm, who has been a problem for St. Louis in the past.  This year, not so much, as in the one game he started against the Cardinals, he gave up six runs (four earned) in three and a third.  If it's another night like that for Maholm, Pujols might get to #400 and the Cards might be able to cut another game off that NL Central deficit.  Here's hoping!


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Heroes
Lance Berkman (24)
Albert Pujols (19)
Matt Holliday (15)
Chris Carpenter (10)
Kyle Lohse (9)
Yadier Molina (9)
Ryan Theriot (8)
David Freese (7)
Jaime Garcia (7)
Jon Jay (7)
Jake Westbrook (6)
Allen Craig (5)
Kyle McClellan (5)
Colby Rasmus (5)
Edwin Jackson (4)
Skip Schumaker (4)
Daniel Descalso (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Gerald Laird (2)
Nick Punto (2)
Marc Rzepczynski (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Lance Lynn (1)

2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Ryan Theriot (12)
Albert Pujols (11)
Jake Westbrook (10)
David Freese (8)
Ryan Franklin (7)
Jaime Garcia (7)
Fernando Salas (7)
Kyle Lohse (6)
Kyle McClellan (6)
Colby Rasmus (6)
Skip Schumaker (6)
Miguel Batista (5)
Chris Carpenter (5)
Daniel Descalso (5)
Matt Holliday (5)
Jon Jay (5)
Jason Motte (5)
Allen Craig (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Tyler Greene (4)
Yadier Molina (4)
Lance Berkman (3)
Mitchell Boggs (3)
Gerald Laird (3)
Edwin Jackson (2)
Trever Miller (2)
Corey Patterson (2)
Marc Rzepczynski (2)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Maikel Cleto (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Octavio Dotel (1)
Mark Hamilton (1)
Lance Lynn (1)
Nick Punto (1)
Arthur Rhodes (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Raul Valdes (1)
PJ Walters (1)

2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2011)
    Adam Wainwright 94.7% (down 0.9%)
    Matt Holliday 91.1% (up 6.6%)
    Albert Pujols 90.4% (down 8.3%)
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Derrick Goold 87.8%
    Chris Carpenter 86.9% (down 6.7%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Mike Shannon 84.9% (down 4.6%)
    John Rooney 84.3% (up 8.1%)
    Yadier Molina 83.7% (down 8.3%)
    Colby Rasmus 81.8% (up 5.0%)
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Jim Hayes 76.1%
    John Mozeliak 74.1% (down 12.0%)
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    Bill Dewitt 71.0% (down 12.0%)
    Tony La Russa 70.8% (down 10.2%)
    BJ Rains 70.4%
    Ricky Horton 69.1%
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Skip Schumaker 64.1% (down 17.0%)
    Al Hrabosky 63.2% (up 19.0%)
    Mark McGwire 62.5% (down 10.7%)
    Dan Lozano 58.7%
    Joe Strauss 57.5%
    Kyle Lohse 55.1% (down 11.7%)

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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