» Albert Pujols

So is this Manny Being Manny? Manny Ramirez is yet another PED user in the long line of “greats” to be caught up in this on going and depressing scandal…It’s not the news of it happening now that angers me, its knowing that this is definitely not the first time he has used these substances….much like the others being targetted, it is quite clear that this is more than likely not the first time they used PED’s…unless by some strange impulse they opted to try it at this stage of the game…even after all of the accusations taking place around baseball…

So the Dodgers will certainly have to step it up in his absence as well, he is not at all an easy bat to replace in the lineup. Who’s next? I hope against all hope each day that the name Albert Pujols is never, ever mentioned in these talks…that would be a tough pill to swallow…pun intended..

Well, let Manny be Manny off the field for a few months.

Hopefully you read one of my last posts regarding Johan Santana as the NL MVP for 2009 (http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/baseball-news/mets-rotation-johan-santanamvp-trade-needed/). Basically it gave Johan Santana’s stats up to that point and iterated the need for a starting pitcher via trade.

In Santana’s 1 loss, he had a line of 7 innings; 3 hits; 2 runs (BOTH UNEARNED); 1 walk; and 13 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he went up against Josh Johnson/FLA. Last night he went up against Chan Ho Park/PHL (horrendous). Nauseatingly, Park went 6 innings; 1 hit; 2 walks; 1 HBP; and 5 strikeouts. Santana 1-Up’ed him (not in hits) going 7 innings; 2 hits; 3 walks; and 10 strikeouts.

Johan Santana is now 4-1 with a .91 ERA and a .91 WHIP. He’s got 54 K’s in 39.2 IP. He’s 2nd in the NL in wins; 1st in strikeouts; 2nd in WHIP; and 1st in ERA.

Prior to last night’s game he was giving up 1.1 runs a game and was only getting 2.2 runs a game from his offense. Now he’s given up only .91 runs a game (not even a run a game!) and in last night’s win, he got less than half his 2.2 runs a game support. The Mets really need to start provding him with some runs. No matter how much I stress that statement, it will still be the understatement of the world.

Johan Santana is still undefeated against the Phillies, the Mets new and beyond obvious, nemesis. He is now 3-0 lifetime against the Phillies in 7 career starts with a 2.44 ERA – phenomenal.

Johan Santana now has 31% of the Mets wins on the season. With complete concerns and inconsistency from Mike Pelfrey, Livan Hernandez, Oliver Perez, and John Maine (pitched solid other than bb’s in his past 2 starts), Johan Santana is infinitely important. I understand that the CY Young is the award to receive for a pitcher, and it epitomizes how great of a season a starter had, however, the MVP is how fantastic a player is and helps his team. There’s no doubt in my mind that Johan Santana at this point is the NL MVP and should be by season’s end. Of course the obvious competition is Albert Pujols/1b-STL. He is absolutely amazing: .364avg-28r-11hr-31rbi-4sb-.467obp-.747slg-1.215ops. According to ESPN, he’s on pace for 167r-66hr-185rbi-24sb. These stats are sensational. He’s the best hitter in the MLB. And if those stolen bases keep up he’ll be by far the best fantasy player (even with out them he will be). If you’re willing to trade him for needed roster slots, you better get a top notch player at each position you need: I’m talking Youkilis/1b; Hamels/sp; McCann/c. And then you can provide an extraneous SP & C back (just a wee-bit of fantasy talk).

Honestly, it’s up in the air, and Albert Pujols (#1 overall on ESPN Player Rater) is so utterly valuabe to the Cardinals. They have other hitters performing right now though – Ryan Ludwick/of; Chris Duncan/of; and Yadier Molina/c. They also have 3 starting pitchers performing well: Joel Pineiro; Kyle Lohse; and of course Mets’ horror Adam Wainwright. I’ve explained before in my last post. The Mets have solid offense: Reyes-Murphy-Beltran-Delgado-Wright, but they only have one great starter: Johan Santana (#5 overall on ESPN Player Rater) – http://games.espn.go.com/flb/playerrater?

Awww, Blaine. Your hair now matches the uniform. As I watch Braves Live pre-game, I’ll start with the news of the recently DFA’d Blaine Boyer being sent to Albert Pujols and the Cardinals.

Like I’ve said, I’ll miss Blaine. I didn’t like his pitching, but I truly believe he could be better off somewhere else. I’m definitely going to keep an eye on him. I have no doubt that he could be a great reliever, but Atlanta just wasn’t working for him and maybe St. Louis will. Maybe the fans won’t boo him when he comes out (Atlanta fans, no offense. One of my favorite things about the Braves is the amazing fans, but booing your own player isn’t cool. At all)

(side-note: the tarp is being put on the field as I type this. Grrrr! No Rain-out! No, no, no!)

Back to the man with the fire-beard, for him Atlanta got OF Brian Barton. Last year, Barton has a .268 average as of May 1 of last year and he also has two homers and thirteen RBIs. So maybe this trade will be worth it! Maybe Blaine will be totally awesome in St. Louis and Brian Barton will be one of the best things Atlanta has ever seen! I sure hope so, because that will make a lot of my friends feel so much better. We’ll just wait and see.

Now, let’s hope the Braves get a chance to play tonight! According to Jon Sciambi of SportsSouth, the weather isn’t all that promising in DC. Booo! A rain out isn’t part of my plans tonight and I hope this gets better. Right now, though, I’m going to watch Hank Aaron In My Own Words. So, weather permitting,

LET’S GO BRAVES!

Hi. I’m Joel, your new Cardinals blogger. I’ll tell you a little bit about myself, but I’m going to keep it brief.

I’m 17 and a junior in high school. I live in Michigan, but I’ve been a Cardinals fan all my life, and a die-hard one at that. How did I become a Cardinals fan? It’s rather simple, really. My dad is a die-hard Cards fan himself, and I was a McGwire fan during the 1998 home run chase. Since then, I’ve bled Cardinal red.

The reason I joined MLBlogging was because I like baseball, and I hope to be a sports journalist someday. I’ve had the dream of being a journalist for as long as I can remember – longer than most people have known what they want to do for a living.  Okay, to put a number on it, since around the age of 7.

Enough about me, and now to the real Cardinals – of which, there’s not much to talk about.

The Cardinals are going to wait and see who will close for the team in ‘09,  and the most likely candidates are Chris Perez, Jason Motte, Josh Kinney and Ryan Franklin. Given that Motte is an unknown (who, as of last year, could only throw a fastball), Kinney has an injury history, and Franklin is shaky, I’d give the edge to Perez – but that’s just my own feeling.

Troy Glaus reported to camp, but he’ll still be out until late April, maybe even the first week of May. Things are looking good for him, so it sounds like everything is going to plan. Look for David Freese (who the Cards acquired in the Jim Edmonds trade to San Diego last season) to be the Opening Day starter at 3rd base.

Ryan Ludwick avoided arbitration and recently signed a 1 year deal for about $3.7 million. Here’s an interesting fact – the Cards have not gone to arbitration since 1999, when they last won their case with former Redbirds pitcher Darren Oliver.

Finally, Albert Pujols and Joel Pineiro will not play in the World Baseball Classic. Pujols will not play for the DR because of insurance reasons, while Pineiro withdrew his name from the Puerto Rican roster because he felt disrespected after being told that he would not be in their starting rotation.

That’s all the news for today. Goodnight, and Go Cardinals!

Albert Pujols still said on Sunday that it is confirmed that he will not be playing for the World Baseball Classics.

Underwriters of the World Baseball Classics are reluctant of insuring Pujols’ participation, due to the latter’s nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow last October. Pujols admitted that if he is not insured, then he will not be suiting up for the Dominican Republic, although there was a slight chance that he might be able to play in the Classic. 

“My main priority is here, to make sure that I’m ready for my season,” Pujols said. “Obviously it’s always good to represent the Dominican Republic. I’ve already done it once. I need to make sure everything goes the right way. I’m not going to go out there and play without insurance. I don’t think that’s a smart thing, myself coming from an injury. … I need to make sure right here in the next couple weeks how my elbow reacts to training here every day. I train during the offseason and it’s not the same as here in Spring Training.”

Manager Tony La Russa expressed his concern about Pujols playing in the Classics. Pujols may be currently feeling fine, but the manager feels that it is too risky for Pujols to play high pressure games instantly. Instead, it would be better for him to gradually play and taking things slow for a moment than to jeopardize the elbow again.

He admitted to that same instinct, saying that it was reason enough to be warned and cautious before going to any random decisions.
“I know that I can control myself, but I’m concerned about that the same way too,” he said. “Obviously when the games start, as you know, I don’t take it easy in the game.”

All other decisions will not rely on Pujols alone, which, in one part is a good thing. Without any expectations whatsoever to the insurance policy, he is positive that playing in the Classics is now out of his way.

“If they can’t get insurance, I’m definitely not going to play,” Pujols said.