Not only did Albert Pujols win three MVP awards this decade, he also can lay claim to the ‘00s Triple Crown according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. He lead all National Leaguers in batting average, homeruns and rbis for the decade.
The last person to do that was Ted Williams in the 40s.
MLive.com should get an journalistic award or something for managing to use “Jim Leyland” and “Sexy” in the same headline.
The article was in reference to Leyland taking off his shirt to support Tiger OF Curtis Granderson’s charity event called “Passport to the Wines of the World” which supports his Grand Kids Foundation.
Midway through the event was when things got a tad seedy.
(Comedian Jeff) Dye mentioned that Jackson, like Perry, had tattoos. Jackson’s tattoos could only be revealed by removing his shirt, so he asked his manager’s permission.
"You take your shirt off, I’ll take mine off," Leyland yelled from the middle of the room.
Jackson obliged by removing his shirt and showing off his tattooed back and arms. He then demanded his manager keep his word. Leyland came up to the stage and said he would remove his shirt as long as the picture did not end up on TV or in the newspaper.
Thank goodness for that.
With the upcoming Chicago St Louis series almost upon us, let’s take a look at how Albert Pujols has done against the Cubs.
As it is, Pujols has played pretty much the equivalent of a near-full season against Chicago. He has 503 at-bats and 590 plate appearances versus the good guys.
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 138 | 503 | 92 | 147 | 25 | 1 | 39 | 104 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 59 | .292 | .385 | .579 | .963 |
A pretty solid “year” I’d say though I will point out his averages are all down from his total career numbers. Still nothing to sneeze at. And that homerun figure of 39? That’s the highest number he’s hit against any opponent. NL Central opponents Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Houston are all very close, though. Milwaukee, however has only surrendered 26 to Albert.
For what it’s worth, his Wrigley numbers are .282/.369/.563.
The Seattle Mariners defeated the Orioles last night behind a classic one-hitter pitched by Jarrod Washburn. The good pitching by Washburn was not necessarily out of character this season. The 9-0 win was.
After a few iffy seasons, Washburn has pitched well in 2009. He sports a 3.08 allowing 7.7 hits per 9 innings and has a WHIP of 1.10. Much improved compared to the last few years. Unfortunately for the Mariners, they haven’t been able to capitalize on his success on the mound. Despite the fancy-dancy stats, Washburn only has a 5-6 record.
Some are rumoring that Washburn will be tradebait considering this is his last year of his contract. The LA Dodgers are considered high on that list.
As hard as it may seem to believe, Rich Hill’s ERA jumped a full point in his start against the Red Sox last night. Hill allowed 9 hits 9 runs in 3 plus innings.
Fortunately for Baltimore, the Oriole bats were working overtime. They achieved the biggest comeback in franchise history saving Hill from being the goat. Baltimore won by the score of 11-10.
It was also the biggest comeback by a last-place team over a first-place team.
George Sherrill the young stopper for Baltimore, got his 17th save of the year.
"One-run saves are tough. I haven’t been part of a winning team yet, so I guess when we get to 83 wins, that will be more exciting. Until then, this is probably one of the biggest."
One-run saves are indeed tough. That’s why the good ones get paid the big bucks.
By the way, I’m don’t follow the Red Sox too closely but why is Julio Lugo leading off and Jacoby Ellsbury batting eighth? Lugo seems to be one of those players that just won’t retire. And I’m not sure if I mean that in a good way or a bad way.
Want Magglio Ordonez’ chopped hair clippings? Me neither. But somebody does. Ordonez cut his hair and it’s being sold on Ebay for a good cause.
If you are itchin’ (poor choice of words, I know) to run your fingers through Mags’ locks, be prepared to pony up because the current bid is $5100.
Magglio post-haircut
The proceeds will go to Imerman Angels which is a foundation which in their words “connects a person fighting cancer today ("cancer fighter") with someone who has beaten the same type of cancer ("cancer survivor"). The relationship provides a fighter the opportunity to ask personal questions and receive encouragement from someone who is uniquely familiar with the situation.”
The auction winner also gets 18 tickets in his skybox for the September 15th game plus an autographed bat. Act now! The listing will only be up for 10 days.
Offensively, Albert Pujols pretty much single-handedly won the game for the Cardinals today against the Indians. They had some good pitching from Brad Thompson and their committee of relievers they trotted out there who kept Cleveland to just one run.
But Pujols went 3 for 4 with a double and two homeruns. That gives him 22 for the year. If you take the trouble to pro-rate that out for 2009, he would have somewhere around 57 homeruns at this pace. That would eclipse his current career record by eight.
I was playing APBA baseball against my buddy Mike, who is a Cardinal fan while watching today’s game. We talked a bit about Pujols’ future and even hypothetically wondered to ourselves, “still in his 20s, would Albert get in the Hall if he retired today?”
Putting aside the 10 year requirement, you really could have a case. With 341 homers, 1304 rbis, 997 runs and a .334 batting average, those numbers put him up there. His rbi numbers are already above the average HOFer though admittedly Evers, Maranville and company do adjust the curve a bit.
But Pujols won’t retire and at age 29, he does have the potential to break some serious records.
Food for thought.
Disclaimer: don’t get the wrong idea… the author is a Cub fan
This story was first reported in June’s Phoenix Magazine, about Shea Hillenbrand. No, the former big league star is not attempting a comeback, he’s practicing giving back, which is much more important. In 2007 Shea & his wife Jessica started Against All Odds, a non-profit group, which takes care of more than 150 rescued & rehabilitated animals, ranging from emus to a zonkey (cross between a zebra & a donkey). They have more than 50 animals at their own house, including kangaroos and miniature cows. They bring kids’ groups out to interact with the animals, from child crisis to disadvantaged youth to disabled children to inner-city kids. The Hillenbrands say, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, with both the children and the animals benefiting. They have put over one million dollars into the project, most of the money going toward veterinary care. It’s great to see someone putting his money toward making this world a better place, both for the animals and the children.
On his blog WhatTeddSedd.com, our own Teddy Ballgame writes about how four major leaguers, Barry Zito, C.C. Sabathia, Nick Swisher, and Jake Peavy have donated to Tony LaRussa “pet” (sorry, couldn’t resist) project, Animal Rescue Foundation otherwise known as ARF.
I suppose it’s a good enough cause:
…these donations will make it possible for low-income schoolchildren in Contra Costa County (CA) to take advantage of two humane education programs.
I always figured C.C. was an animal lover but I had him pegged as someone who liked them on a plate with a little A-1.
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