Two Down and One Out

Two down and one out. This has been a tough week in sports, at least for me. My Pistons got closed out by the Heat on Friday, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals injured himself on Sunday, and I fear for the Cowboys’ season ahead. The Pistons are now in the past, and the Cowboys are the future, so, I’ll try to focus on the frustrating present.

Albert Pujols is batting .308/.442/.751 (batting average/on-base/slugging) and leads the Major Leagues with 25 home runs, 65 RBIs and 52 runs scored. Well, he was anyway. He is a gold glove first baseman. Well, was. Sunday, while chasing down a foul ball, he strained his oblique abdominal muscle. This has forced Tony LaRussa to sit Pujols on the 15 day Disabled List. I’m sure I’m just being a little pessimistic, but let me tell you why this injury is a big deal.

First, it’s a big deal to the Cardinals of course. They are leading the National League Central Division and Pujols is their captain. They have become perennial playoff participants, and don’t intend to miss this year. Even with injuries to Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols, the Cardinal lineup still packs a potent punch and should keep them on top until the big boys can play again. But it still hurts.

This is a big deal to Albert. This is his first trip to the DL due to a real injury in five years of play at the Major League level. I know that he will bounce back and be better than ever, but, better than ever is what he was already this season. He was batting at an unbelievable level. He has to be disappointed that most of the records he was potentially going to break, are most likely out of reach if indeed he misses 15 or more games.

This is a big deal for baseball. Baseball, in the past few years, has noted many great, historic moments. But most of these moments seemed to be veiled by controversy. Of course, I refer chiefly to the use of steroids. The culture of baseball and its fans really need Pujols to make a run at the single season homerun record. We, the fans, are pleading for a legitimate slugger to rally around. We long for a guy who has a pure reputation and represents everything that’s good with the sport. Pujols is that man. Albert is also MLB’s most likely candidate to be a Triple Crown winner. This is, behind the homerun record, probably the most exciting achievement to watch unfold during the course of long season.

And finally, this is a big deal to Barry Bonds. Barry has, as you probably have noticed, commanded the majority of media attention so far this season. And rightly so. He has just passed the unshakable Babe Ruth. The most famous baseball player of all time, the unmovable Bambino, has just been bumped from his runner up position for career homeruns. But now the anticipation is over. Barry has hit 714 and 715. Now, he’s just a steroid user again. An proud purple stain on baseball’s freshly vacuumed carpet. MLB would welcome any distraction from the Barry Bonds circus, and Pujols was it. Pujols was going to make everything better. Bonds himself instructed the press and everybody else to “go watch Albert Pujols, He’s doing some amazing things.” But now, with Pujols on the bench, the media pendulum may swing back to Barry. I know he, and me, and everyone else hopes it won’t, but it probably will.

So, the Cardinals will be fine. Albert is not going to rush his return, which is smart. He certainly does not want to make a chronic condition out of this simple strain. Mr. Pujols, we wish you a speedy recovery, our thoughts are with you, and work on your enunciation. You say good words, it’s just hard to understand them.