Man. Dat's 'a lotta' homers!

It's unreal. I'm supposed to dislike him, but as a baseball fan (and fantasy baseball owner), I can't help but love watching him rake.

Triple crown year?

What stands out here — more than the names, more than the stains — is the 64-year gap between Ruth and Griffey. And then not a gap of less than four years until today, when baseball went eight years.

Let's see, baseball introduced the rabbit ball in 1994, and then made it less ridiculous in 2001. So that makes sense.

When does Pujols pass Musial on the Most Valuable Cardinal list, do you think?

In 1969, Reggie Jackson hit his 30th HR on July 1.

I just thought that would be worth mentioning in this context. He ended the season with 47.

Not on Goold's list: Reggie Jackson, 1969, who had 29 homers at the end of June, but 33 by July 2 and in his team's 72nd game, compared with 79 games for Pujols' team. That's pretty darned close to breaking the gap between Ruth and Griffey.

OCF: You want Diet Coke or regular? (And, yes, Reggie hit Nos. 31, 32 and 33 all on July 2).

I'm certain 74 is out of reach, but I would really like to see him hit 60.

I'm certain 74 is out of reach, but I would really like to see him hit 60.

And peeing clean samples the whole time. That would stop some of the roids insanity. Another reason to root for Albert.

And peeing clean samples the whole time.

He should show a urine sample to the crowd before his 1st AB in every game for the rest of the season.

And peeing clean samples the whole time. That would stop some of the roids insanity.

I wish (really, I do; I hope you're right). I actually fear just the opposite, that if Pujols gets too close to 60 home runs that, in and of itself, would start to fuel steroid suspicions.

When does Pujols pass Musial on the Most Valuable Cardinal list, do you think?

Whoa, that's still quite a ways away.

Triple crown year?

Trvia question: since Yastrzemski won the last actual Triple Crown in 1967, three other players have won "component" triple crowns: i.e. at some point in their careers, they won a batting title in one season, and also led in HR and RBI in some other season(s), but not all three in the same season.

Who are the three? Two are very easy to guess; the third, not as easy.

I think there are at least four guys who have done it:

Barry Bonds
Andres Galarraga
Manny Ramirez
Alex Rodriguez

And peeing clean samples the whole time. That would stop some of the roids insanity. Another reason to root for Albert.

Or just lead us to a string of ridiculous "OMG! CLEAN RECROD HOLDER" articles.

When does Pujols pass Musial on the Most Valuable Cardinal list, do you think?

I don't know, 2017?

When does Pujols pass Musial on the Most Valuable Cardinal list, do you think?

Well, let's look at offense only: Pujols, with eight and a half seasons in the majors, has 50.7 batting wins above average according to BB-Ref. That's an average of 6 per season. Musial ranks ninth all time with 93.8 batting wins. So if Pujols keeps up his current career pace, doesn't decline, doesn't get hurt, he still wouldn't pass up Musial until late 2015. Stan was pretty good.

"Stan was pretty good."
Only top 10 all-time.
My choice as #2 LF and #2 1B; if he'd played at either position for all his career I'd have a hard time not making him #1 @ 1B and maybe, just maybe #1 in LF.

I love Stan Musial but if you're considering putting him ahead of Gehrig and Ted Williams, you love him more than I do.

Williams, probably not, but putting him ahead of Gehrig sounds eminently reasonable to me.

Manny, aaargh, how did I miss him.

Galarraga was the outlier, the only one to be merely a HOVG-level player, and his HR and RBI titles clearly with an assist from Colorado. One assumes Pujols will win his HR and RBI titles eventually, but RBI are the least within a player's control; Willie Mays never led the league in RBI, for instance.

I didn't know Manny had a batting title, huh.

Pujols has finished second in RBI three times: 2002, 2005, and 2006. Only in 2002 was he that close to the lead (he finished one back of Berkman, ouch). He's also finished second in homers twice: 2004 and 2006, and in 2004 he was two back of Beltre for the lead. I still don't get that Beltre season, sheesh.

Well, depends how much extra playing time credit you want to give Gehrig and Williams. Neither had a short career -- Gehrig 2164, Williams 2292 games. But Musial played in 3026. Given the era, that's essentially 6 full seasons more than Gehrig. And Musial missed 1945 too. Gehrig basically played full-time ages 22-35 and put up a 179 OPS+ career. To make the games roughly equivalent, Musial ages 21-36 (again missing 1945) has 2266 games and a 168 OPS+. So he's short of Gehrig as a hitter for his peak and I'd assume Gehrig might have the defensive edge. Musial adds 5-6 seasons of a 124 OPS+ -- your call as to whether that would be enough to make up the peak gap. But it's gonna be close.

As a hitter, Musial's even farther behind Williams in peak but then Ted was almost certainly the worse defender and Musial still has those extra 5-6 seasons.

Of course, as I mentioned, if you give Gehrig 'credit' for the years missed due to illness and Williams 'credit' for the war years, then Musial's career wouldn't be substantially longer and he'd clearly be behind both of them (esp Williams since those were some of his peak years).

That Bonds guy was a pretty good LF too.

Why would you assume Gehrig gets a defensive edge?

I might be unique in that I like Pujols, and hope he's taking steroids (and that it's found out).

and I'd assume Gehrig might have the defensive edge.

Gehrig is supposed to have been a pretty bad defender, no?

Pujols has finished second in RBI three times: 2002, 2005, and 2006. Only in 2002 was he that close to the lead (he finished one back of Berkman, ouch). He's also finished second in homers twice: 2004 and 2006, and in 2004 he was two back of Beltre for the lead. I still don't get that Beltre season, sheesh.

On the other hand, when Pujols won his only batting title he beat Helton by just one point. On the other other hand, Pujols' .357 last year was the highest in five years, except, of course, for Chipper last year too.

Speaking of statistical one-upmanship, Helton, thanks mainly to that 2000-2001 stretch, has Albert beat - often by just the hairs of his mustache - in many single season highs.

Helton
Hits: 216
Runs: 138
Doubles: 59
BA: .372
OBP: .463
HR: 49

Pujols
Hits: 212
Runs: 137
Doubles: 51
BA: .359
OBP: .462
HR: 49

Albert, of course, has five OPS+ seasons above Helton's best (165). Heck, Albert's career OPS+ is 7 pts above Helton's career best, so there you go.

Amazingly, outside of 2000 (or 1 BSB, Before Super Barry, when Helton led the league in hits, 2Bs, RBI, BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, and TB) Helton has lead the NL only one time in ANY offensive category. That would be his .445 OBP season in 2005. This despite being MLB's active leader in OBP*.

*By one-ten thousandth of a point over Albert: .4268 to .4267.

EDIT - see below

Minor correction: Pujols' best OBP is .462, not .452.

Thanks.

Yeah, I was going from memory on Pujols' stats last year. I just knew Helton was one point better, and I sliced ten points off for both for some reason. Fixed now.

BTW, jumping back to the original discussion, did June 30 represent more or less the midpoint of the season in the years between Ruth and Griffey? How much of the explosion in "30 HRs by June 30" is because of the earlier start to the season? Post 7 suggest that could be a good part of it, no?

When does Pujols pass Musial on the Most Valuable Cardinal list, do you think?

in about 10-12 seasons I would imagine.

And so it begins: The Giants intentionally walked Pujols in the first inning, with a runner on second and one out. Figure the Giants to give Albert the Barry Bonds treatment.

Cards plated the run anyway on a Ludwick single, and then crapped out when Albert was doubled off second on a line drive.

IBBed him in the second with a man on 2nd and two outs.

Nine IBBs in a game? Dare we dream?

Whoops, that should say "third."

Albert just got on for the fourth time tonight, stole second, seemingly rattled the Giants pitcher, offered hitting advice to his boy Yaddy from second base after Duncan walked, distracted the SS trying to field the ensuing groundball by stutter-stepping in front of it on his way to third, everyone safe, bases loaded, and then...Joe Thurston gets annihilated by strikes and the Cards have absolutely nothing to show for anything.

So how should one presume?

This 13-man pitching staff is driving me to madness. When we're not pinch-hitting with a pitcher, we're sending Ankiel up to face a lefty with breaking stuff. ####### ridiculous.

If they walk Albert in the 10th with nobody on, then you will know that he is getting the full on Bonds treatment.

So how should one presume?

Pretty good AB from Thurston, though; he fouled off a couple of tough pitches. If that lazy punk on 3B had just stolen home, he'd have gotten the walk-off win for AW.

He should show a urine sample to the crowd before his 1st AB in every game for the rest of the season.

"Daddy, why is that man holding pee in the air?"
"To protect our freedoms, Billy. Now quiet down while Daddy finishes placing his bets online and checking his drug dealer's Twitter feed. If you're good, we'll watch the copy of Transformers 2 Daddy just finished downloading from his private torrent site."

This 13-man pitching staff is driving me to madness. When we're not pinch-hitting with a pitcher, we're sending Ankiel up to face a lefty with breaking stuff. ####### ridiculous.

The next time someone mocks me for saying "We" when referring to UT football, I'm pointing to this. I'm glad (truly, no snark) to see professional journalists falling prey to the same habit.

BTW I consider articles like this, written by home town baseball writers, to be willful taunting of the GOB. Much like the "rasmus is a shoe-in for the rookie of the year" articles in May. It's like begging for a john tudor-style injury.

(yes, I saw how the game ended tonight- and it was glorious- but colby still hasn't taken a walk since May. And he bats in front of albert half the time.)

(yes, I saw how the game ended tonight- and it was glorious- but colby still hasn't taken a walk since May. And he bats in front of albert half the time.)

Well, shouldn't someone who bats in front of Bonds-like treated player be of Soriano sort - can hit everything in the zone and has power, but not too much patience? Player before automatic walk should see more strikes than balls and shouldn't be looking for a walk.

I disagree, drdr. I think the best protection for a Bonds/Pujols-like guy is to get people on ahead of him. Put a guy on first base in front of Pujols and he'll see more pitches. There is no one in baseball that would be adequate protection behind him.

Well, of course. That's why pitchers won't throw balls, they'll stay in the strike zone, and hence why he shouldn't go up there looking for a walk. He should take it if offered, but it ain't going to be offered.

Can you simply make the assumption that pitchers won't throw balls to the batter in front of Pujols? I'd say the best way to approach a free-swinger in front of Pujols is the same as when he's not in front of Pujols. That is, pitch him out of the zone and let him get himself out. From my (admittedly limited) reading, stat folks have concluded that the ability to walk is more dependent on the hitter than the pitcher and protection as it's traditionally viewed is hard to prove. Thus, I think you'd assume that the guy in front of Pujols isn't going to be so terribly different than when he's not in front of Pujols. Thus, you want to put guys in front of Pujols who will reach base but are disciplined enough to make the pitcher throw strikes. Of course the pitcher should be wanting to throw strikes, but you still have to have discipline to make sure he does.

I guess what I'm saying is that someone who doesn't have patience isn't going to see a lot of strikes no matter what. If I know they'll swing at anything, I can be more relaxed about throwing balls.

The next time someone mocks me for saying "We" when referring to UT football, I'm pointing to this. I'm glad (truly, no snark) to see professional journalists falling prey to the same habit.

Hey, I've got no problem with sports tribalism.

Hey, I've got no problem with sports tribalism.

I've always found it to be different with colleges. You choose a college and you participate in its functioning. The players are also "students" at the same institution. They stand for something in which you have a part. The argument for including oneself in a professional team is strictly economic, which connotes less inclusiveness, at least to me.

the copy of Transformers 2 Daddy just finished downloading from his private torrent site."

yeah, just buy it from the vendors at the bus station!

I've always found it to be different with colleges. You choose a college and you participate in its functioning.

Not everybody. The only college team I root for is one I never went to. Then again, I was born in Nebraska, where the team IS the state.

Then again, I was born in Nebraska, where the team IS the state.

I think this is true for a lot of big state schools. In North Carolina, no matter which state school you went to, save NC State, or if you never went to college, you tend to be a UNC fan. In Oklahoma, pretty much everyone ends up an OU fan unless they went to OSU or have some tie to OSU. Basically, the state's flagship school represents the state on a national stage and you root for that. I pretty much hate OU, but when they play Florida State or USC that has so much more of a national following in a nationally televised bowl game, I tend to pull for them out of home-state pride. Had I gone out of state to college or not gone, I'm sure I'd still be a die-hard OU fan.

The argument for including oneself in a professional team is strictly economic, which connotes less inclusiveness, at least to me.

Strictly economic? I think it's more geographic and/or social. I'm a Red Sox fan because I grew up in RI and Massachusetts. The fact that I have lived in the D.C. area for more than a decade can't overcome that, the moreso because the vast majority of my family and longtime friends are also Red Sox fans.

Yes, fans who are local to their team of choice have a stronger economic connection as well, but I think it's much more about a community. Or a tribe, if you prefer.

Any chance Albert leads the league in Power/speed also? he's currently second.

People certainly say "we" for college teams, especially the college they went to, as andrewberg notes. Hey, I once ran into Magic Johnson in the MSU library, so I feel safe in saying that "we" won the 1979 NCAA tournament :) People tend to say "they" for pro baseball teams because the guys are all pros, all mercenaries.

NFL fans fall somewhere in between. Lots of Cowboys fans say "we" for the team, but not all. Hardly any Rangers fans do. Well, there are hardly any Rangers fans.

People tend to say "they" for pro baseball teams because the guys are all pros, all mercenaries.

not where I'm from, it's definately we for our pro baseball team, unless we are bagging on the owners.

But there are plenty of Cardinal fans that know we can't beat a soft tossing lefty, that we can't get a third out with man on third and two outs without allowing the run to score. And why would any team run on us with Yadier behind the plate?

Well, of course. That's why pitchers won't throw balls, they'll stay in the strike zone, and hence why he shouldn't go up there looking for a walk. He should take it if offered, but it ain't going to be offered.

It's been offered quite a bit, and will be offered more and more until he calls the bluff. The book is out on him; he's a free swinger (which is strange, because he WASN'T a free swinger in the minors, or even early this year; he was a good hitter because he worked the count) but since he is behaving like one, why throw him anything he can hit? If he's gonna swing at anything close, give him something close but unhittable.

Anecdotally, he's been getting himself out swinging at pitcher's pitches/ooz pitches in hitters' counts. Looking it up on B-R, he's hitting .125 on 3-1, and .222 on 2-0, and those numbers include his great start. That's ridiculous.

Some European teams are either owned by trusts consisting of fan-investors (like the Green Bay Packers but nobody else in this country), or are actual "sports clubs" with teams representing numerous sports, including non-profit teams consisting of amateurs. And the fans of these clubs may actually pay a membership fee, and become part of the club, which may let them use the public facilities that the club owns.

For example, the beginning of a Wikipedia entry:
"Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (commonly Beşiktaş) (English: Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club) is a professional sports club based in Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1903, and registered 13 January 1910, it is the first registered sports club in Turkey.[2] The club competes in numerous branches including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, chess, cards bridge, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, and paralympic sports.[3]"

In Germany (for a club that is basically just a soccer team): "Other front office heads are expected to roll at the club, while a group called "Our Kaiserslautern" has collected 900 signatures demanding changes in the front office and a new coach. That's enough to force a special general assembly of the club's members."

So in these situations, the fans could truly say "we" or "us", because they are actual members of the club who can participate in its activities or have some democratic say over its affairs. And if the typical fan isn't an actual member of the club...well, they could be if they wanted to spend the money.

Not so in the USA. "We" and "us" sounds dumb outside of references to college teams.

Not so in the USA. "We" and "us" sounds dumb outside of references to college teams.

Disagree. I'm a cardinal fan because I'm from St Louis, even though I haven't lived there in 15 years. I'm emotionally invested in the cardinals because they represent my home town. That's no different than a college team, imho.

And actually, I feel much more connected to the Cardinals than I do to the colleges I went to. The cardinals have been with me all my life; the colleges, for 4 years and then 1.5 years, and for practical reasons. I had a business relationship with the colleges, but the cardinals are family (even if DeWitt doesn't know or care who I am).

Top of the 8th, Pujols up, bases loaded, Reds up 3-0.

Should have IBB'd him. Instead . ..

Cards up, 4-3.

jeebus... that's what, 4 slams in 5 chances this season?

the Reds got a run back to tie...

jeebus... that's what, 4 slams in 5 chances this season?

yep 4th slam in 7 bases loaded plate appearances, 6 at bats(1 sacrifice), 5 hits, 4 homeruns and 20 rbis.

He has 4 GS for the year? That ties the record, doesn't it?

He has 4 GS for the year? That ties the record, doesn't it?

haven't heard anything other than it's a Cardinal record, didn't Ryan Howard tie the record recently?

record is 6 by Mattingly and Hafner(not kidding about the last one)

That explains it. My memory of it being 4 is from Larry Parrish hitting 3 in one week and that being 1 off the seasonal record, Mattingly and Pronk are both since then.

I find Hafner easier to buy than Mattingly. For a guy who didn't hit all *that* many homers, Mattingly is (was?) tied for the consecutive games with HR streak and GS in a season, I find that bizarre.

I find Hafner easier to buy than Mattingly. For a guy who didn't hit all *that* many homers, Mattingly is (was?) tied for the consecutive games with HR streak and GS in a season, I find that bizarre.

weirder is that Mattingly only hit 6 grand slams in his career.

Almost as weird is that Ryan Howard already has eight career slams -- and Mike Schmidt only had seven.

Almost as weird is that Ryan Howard already has eight career slams -- and Mike Schmidt only had seven.
Pujols just passed Stan Musials team record also. (nine for Stan)

10 career should put him well up the list. If it's not top 10, it's damn close.

There's a 4-way tie for ninth place at 16, so he still has some way to go to make the top 10.

Dusty's reaction. Priceless.

Also, Jarrett Hoffpauir must be on cloud nine tonight - his Major League debut as a 26 year old, and he walks to load the bases for AP's grand slam and singles in the winning runs in the 9th.

There's a 4-way tie for ninth place at 16, so he still has some way to go to make the top 10.


Jesus, when did that get so crowded?

So it was apparently always more crowded than I thought, but there has definitely been a lot of adding in the last few years. Who the hell knew Torii Hunter had 10 GS?

The league OPS for the NL is .752. Pujols' slugging percentage is .748.

The league SLG is .415. Pujols' isolated power is .412.

The league OBP is .337. Pujols' batting average is .336.

weirder is that Mattingly only hit 6 grand slams in his career.

That is the most incredible statistic I have ever seen in my life.

For thse that missed it, and I'm a little drunk so i apologize if I mised the scope. But again,

Don MatTINGly. Grand Salamies

1983: 0
1984: 0
1985: 0
1996: 0
1987: 6 (MLB record)
1988: 0
1989: 0
1990: 0
1001: 0
1992: 0
1993: 0
1994: 0
1995: 0

Was he taking CEDs (Clutchy Enhancing Drugs?)

And he had 130 ATTEMPTS in his career. That's crazy.

1987: 6 (NFL record)

Hmm.

1985: 0
1996: 0
1001: 0

Something is off here...

CEDs (Clutchy Inducing Drugs?)

What the heck is...

I'm a little drunk

Oh. There we go.

ah crap, sorry.

Why apologize? I laughed. :)