Sports Illustrated Article

[GoCrazyFolks]

Interesting article. Not for the original content so much, but for the fodder attached.

In it he refers to four certain "future HoF" including Barry Bonds. But his last paragraph in the story is;

"As for that former Cardinals first baseman and my Hall of Fame vote, Mark McGwire belongs in Cooperstown about as much as I do."

I'm not sure how he justifies the hypocritical stance. Doesn't seem to jive with me.

His next to last paragraph was also somewhat interesting;

"Unlike Derek Jeter, who took the high road after his MVP defeat, Albert Pujols questioned Ryan Howard getting the NL award after the Phillies failed to make the playoffs. Besides the fact that Pujols should show better sportsmanship, I'd like to point one thing out: Yo Albert, Howard's Phillies had two more wins than your Cardinals."

I hadn't read where Pujols had said anything. I guess I missed it. The press seem to have Pujols in their sites after this last post-season. Hopefully this fades away as he returns to his old self.

[BleacherBum593]

Here's a link to the article by Jon Heyman in SI -http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/12/01/scoop.friday/index.html - Winter Meeting Storylines

The paragraph on Pujols refers to an interview that Albert did recently down in the Domincan. Albert felt that the MVP should go to a player who took his team to the playoffs. (I agree)

Remember '98? The writers established that year that the MVP should come from a playoff team when they selected Sammy Sosa over McGwire, even though McGwire put up the better numbers.

[BleacherBum593]

Here's a link to an ESPN article on Pujols comments - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2680495 - Snubbed Pujols says MVP should be on playoff team

"I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP," Pujols said in Spanish at a news conference organized by the Dominican Republic's sports ministry."

[BrotherBri]

Personally, I don't take a strong stand on whether the MVP must come from a playoff team, or near-playoff contender. What I want is consistency, so that if Bonds wins the '03 MVP because the Giants were a playoff team and the Cards weren't, then Pujols gets the '04 MVP because the Cards were a runaway division winner and the Giants missed the postseason. If Pujols words came out in frustration, I would imagine it is much more from the prior inconsistency than from any desire to slight Howard.

[Kodiak]

Albert was giving his opinion on the matter. Its probably best to look at the context of the discussion that Albert was having with the reporter. I seriously doubt that Albert was trying to slight Howard in anyway.

For what its worth, I think Albert was robbed. He drove in a ton of big runs for the Cardinals with a lot of game winners. He had some HUGE hits toward the end of the season when we needed him the most. Albert had a better OPS, OBP, SLG, AVG. He struck out a ton less than Howard. He had more doubles and more runs as well. Furthermore, the lineup was not as strong around Pujols as it was around Howard.

Don't forget that Albert missed a couple of weeks on the DL and played 16 less games than Howard. Had he not gotten injured, the MVP would have been Alberts. While it is purely a guess on my part, I believe that Albert would have continued his torrid homerun pace that he was on at the time and ended up with more RBI's and possibly 60+ homers. But that doesn't matter anymore.

The point is that the MVP these days seems to go to the player with the most Homers. Little attention is paid by the writers to the true intention of the award (though I think they got the Morneou (sp?) decision correct. I don't know how anyone can be an "MVP" on a team with a $200 million dollar payroll...i'm talking about you JETER!).

I believe that the award should go to a player that guides his team to the playoffs and who couldn't be replaced should he get injured. He must show superior statistical numbers and he must have shown the ability to hit in the clutch when his team needs him the most. There is no single player in this game that is more valuable to his team than Albert is to ours.

[BleacherBum593]

Here's some quotes from Bernie's Bits in the Post today. It gives Albert's comments a little more context than what others are reporting.

Bernie's Bits Link - http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...6?OpenDocument

Albert Pujols, visiting the Dominican Republic, made seemingly sour-grapes comments about being more deserving of the NL's Most Valuable Player Award than the man who won it, Philadelphia's Ryan Howard. Of course, U.S. journalists and sports-news outlets took the reported comment at face value and ran the most acerbic Pujols blurb.

But Tom Finkel, editor of The Riverfront Times, read the Spanish-language newspapers to get a more informed handle on what Pujols actually said. And on his blog on www.riverfronttimes.com, Finkel offered a translation of comments as reported by news organizations in the D.R.

Some examples, as translated by Finkel:

— In Listin Diario, Pujols was quoted as saying: "I was a little hurt because I think I deserved the award, considering I had better numbers than (Ryan) Howard, but these things happen." And: "A player who doesn't help his team make the playoffs isn't the MVP. That's what I think, but, sadly, I don't vote."

— In Hoy, Pujols was quoted as saying, "I put up good enough numbers to be MVP again, but it's the baseball writers who vote and it's not within my power."

— El Dia reported that Pujols was stung by not winning the MVP but was happier to win the World Series. "I won the MVP in 2005 and said I'd trade it for a World Series ring, and that's what happened this year," Pujols said.

Pujols came across as a sore loser in his comments about losing the MVP, but his remarks weren't quite as harsh as reported in the United States.

[GoCrazyFolks]

Bleach,

Thanks for putting the link in. I guess I forgot to post it.

I think this is an example of piling on. Pujols made a few guys from the press core mad this post-season, and now they are trying to, for lack of a better word, retaliate.

As for the injury to Pujols, I agree that it hurt him. Not only did it hurt his overall numbers, but the Cards also won a good portion of the games he missed. Then when he came back from the injury they hit their first substantial bump in the road. Now I'm not sure if the national media is aware of this aspect, but if they are it might have affected the voting.

[Kodiak]

I doubt the national media noticed. Maybe if this was an east coast team.... Nor I'm sure did they noticed how torrid of a pace he was on to start the season. That trip to the DL really threw Albert off. There is no telling what kind of numbers Albert could have put up. Record breaking? Quite possibly.... Oh well. I'm predicting an AMAZING season for Albert in '07!

[Kodiak]

Gee lookie here...

In an interview with USA Today, Pujols said his recent comments about Ryan Howard's unworthiness as National League MVP were misinterpreted and he wants to apologize to the Phillies' slugging first baseman.

"I feel so bad because I love Ryan Howard," Pujols told USA Today. "I never said he didn't deserve the MVP. He is deserving of that award. He earned it. That's why he got it. I'm not trying to defend myself; I just want to tell him that I'm sorry for all of this because he earned the MVP. The last thing I want to do is spoil this for him."

Pujols told USA Today he was hurt at how his comments were portrayed in the media.

"The way that came out hurt me big time," Pujols told the newspaper. "I'm very angry about that."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2685770