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Friday, August 27, 2010

MLB.com: Pujols belts career home run No. 400

Albert Pujols’ 400th Major League home run wasn’t just historic, it was emphatic.

In the fourth inning of the Cardinals’ game against the Nationals on Thursday night, the slugger obliterated an 0-1 fastball from Jordan Zimmermann, drilling the pitch into the right-center-field seats. Washington center fielder Nyjer Morgan appeared to think for a while that he had a bead on the ball, but ultimately watched helplessly as it soared several rows deep into the stands.

Pujols is the third-youngest player in Major League history to reach the milestone at 30 years, seven months and 10 days. Only Eddie Mathews and Alex Rodriguez hit 400 at an earlier age

NTNgod Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:26 AM | 28 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: cardinals

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1. Srul Itza Posted: August 27, 2010 at 02:20 AM (#3627007)

If anyone is paying attention, it happened in a helluva game.

Cards down 2 in the top of the Ninth, tie it when Pujols is intentionally walked to load the bases -- and the tying run scores when Holiday is then hit by the pitch!

Two more runs come in on a single --

and then Washington ties it in the bottom of the Ninth with a two-run homer.

They're playing in the 10th now.

2. Coot Veal and Cot Deal taste like Old Bay Posted: August 27, 2010 at 02:26 AM (#3627011)

If anyone is paying attention, it happened in a helluva game.

I think everyone's in that Ground Zero Mosque thread... or the NBA playoffs, I dunno...

3. Der-K's enjoying the new boygenius album. Posted: August 27, 2010 at 03:32 AM (#3627036)

Nah, playoff thread has been slow lately. (This is when Melo gets moved).

T13 - last Nats reliever (Slaten, a Ken Phelpser) is on the mound, intentionally walking Pujols to face PH Adam Wainwright to make it 1st and 2nd w/ 2 out in a tied game.
EDIT: Adam out, going to B13.

Pujols has reached base 5 times tonight. Jon Jay is 0-7.

4. hokieneer Posted: August 27, 2010 at 03:46 AM (#3627041)

Pujols is locked in right now, but somehow the cards keep losing though.

5. NTNgod Posted: August 27, 2010 at 03:48 AM (#3627042)

Pujols has reached base 5 times tonight.

Not to take away from Pujols, but the last couple IBBs were no-brainers. He was batting in front of the pitcher (with two outs each time) once Holiday got injured - and the Cards were pretty much out of position players already by that point.

6. Der-K's enjoying the new boygenius album. Posted: August 27, 2010 at 03:54 AM (#3627044)

I didn't watch - was this classic TLR overmanaging*? Why run a double switch w/ Holiday (presuming that's what happened)?

*Yes, yes, he's done a ton of good for his teams - still, his methods have costs.

7. NTNgod Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:02 AM (#3627047)

Holiday injured his hand on the HBP, so he had to come out (but that doesn't mean he had to double switch, obviously)

But yeah, it ended up pretty much ended up taking Pujols out of the equation in extras.

8. Repoz

Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:04 AM (#3627048)

Why run a double switch w/ Holiday (presuming that's what happened)?

Didn't Holiday tweak something?

9. Perry Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:05 AM (#3627050)

Holliday was hit on the hand in the 9th; that's how the tying run scored. Nasty bruise on his hand at least, hopefully nothing worse. But yeah, Tony then double-switched and put the pitcher there, and first Lohse and then Wainwright pinch-hit in extras after Albert IBBs. Oh, and Albert injured his ankle trying to climb the tarp to catch a pop foul and was clearly hobbled the rest of the way. Doesn't look serious, but even 3-4 days would be a disaster at this point.

ISTR Tony double-switched the pitcher behind Albert in that 20-inning Met game, too.

10. Tom Nawrocki Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:09 AM (#3627053)

This was the third game in two days where both teams scored in double digits. Take that, Year of the Pitcher!

11. DCW3 Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:11 AM (#3627054)

Yeah, you can't blame him for taking Holliday out, but it was still a brutally managed game by La Russa. First he starts Felipe Lopez at shortstop--which should never happen if there are any other options at all, and if nothing else this game should prove that to La Russa. Lopez's defense predictably proves so unacceptable that Tony has to take him out after three innings, resulting in a depleted bench when the game goes into extras. Then in extra innings, La Russa twice pinch-hits with pitchers with runners on base and two outs rather than use Bryan Anderson. Just appalling.

12. DCW3 Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:15 AM (#3627055)

ISTR Tony double-switched the pitcher behind Albert in that 20-inning Met game, too.

Depending on when he found out that Holliday needed to leave the game, he may not have really had a choice but to put the pitcher there. Holliday got hit in the ninth but came out to play defense in the bottom of the inning; then, in the top of the tenth, La Russa used Allen Craig to pinch-hit for the pitcher, then Craig replaced Holliday in the field in the bottom.

13. vortex of dissipation Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:17 AM (#3627056)

Strange how the Cardinals and Reds both have key players hit on the hand by pitches on consecutive days. Hopefully neither Phillips and Holliday will miss extended time.

14. Forsch 10 From Navarone (Dayn)

Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:18 AM (#3627058)

Not to mention, I have no idea why the outfield was playing so deep with Alberto Gonzalez at the plate. This plus the sac bunt when down by two in the ninth against Pittsburgh the other night ... I could not be more ready for a new manager in St. Louis.

Then in extra innings, La Russa twice pinch-hits with pitchers with runners on base and two outs rather than use Bryan Anderson. Just appalling.

This. I am beyond sick of the "I cannot use the second catcher under any circumstances" thing. This absolutely killed us in that 20-inning game against the Mets, when TLR let a reliever hit twice with the winning run at third.

15. hokieneer Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:19 AM (#3627059)

First he starts Felipe Lopez at shortstop

Dear god. I'm going to call TLR if I ever need some weed.

Checking B-ref, before tonight Lopez has started 18 games at SS this year. Now I'm confused.

16. vortex of dissipation Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:23 AM (#3627061)

This. I am beyond sick of the "I cannot use the second catcher under any circumstances" thing. This absolutely killed us in that 20-inning game against the Mets, when TLR let a reliever hit twice with the winning run at third.

What's the reason for LaRussa having such a fear of doing this? It seems much more of an albatross than any other manager's reaction to similar situations. Was there a game early in his managing career where he ran out of catchers and had to use a player out of position with bad results?

17. DCW3 Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:28 AM (#3627064)

Checking B-ref, before tonight Lopez has started 18 games at SS this year. Now I'm confused.

Almost all of that was much earlier in the season, when Brendan Ryan was badly struggling, so you could sort of understand it, if not excuse it. But now that Ryan is hitting much better and back to being the best defender in baseball, there's no excuse at all.

18. DCW3 Posted: August 27, 2010 at 04:34 AM (#3627067)

What's surprising to me is that this was the first time in his career that Pujols has ever gotten three intentional walks in a game.

19. Dr. Vaux Posted: August 27, 2010 at 05:41 AM (#3627087)

It looks like MLB got the juiced ball out there for Wednesday and Thursday's games. I'm almost half-serious about that seeming phenomenon, because there are days when almost every game is high-scoring, and other days whern almost every game is low-scoring.

Or it could just be the weather, I suppose.

20. Greg Goosen at 30 Posted: August 27, 2010 at 09:22 AM (#3627100)

Eddie Matthews's home runs are legitimate. A Fraud's are not. Pujols should be regarded as suspecte until MLB gets a WADA approval stamp.

Saw the game..a wild and woolly affair. There is a lot to beetch about the game nowadays but technology makes it possible to see almost all of them live or taped.

21. Alex Vila Posted: August 27, 2010 at 12:24 PM (#3627123)

Time goes by so fast. I remember it like it was yesterday, me opening a pack of 2001 Bowmans, looking at his card and asking my wife "Who the hell is this guy? Is this the guy who nearly killed us with a line drive foul last August?"
Good for him.

22. Forsch 10 From Navarone (Dayn)

Posted: August 27, 2010 at 12:55 PM (#3627149)

Pujols should be regarded as suspecte until MLB gets a WADA approval stamp.

Dumbest thing I'll read all day.

23. Fernigal McGunnigle Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:06 PM (#3627157)

Pujols should be regarded as suspecte until MLB gets a WADA approval stamp.

That'll never happen, because I've heard that Albert had a shot of espresso in 2005.

24. Levi Stahl Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:16 PM (#3627168)

Wow, that was a frustrating game, especially coming on the heels of the Reds coming so close to blowing the previous day's game, which they had led 10-1 at one point. To adapt the words of the girl I overheard as she and a friend left a neighbor's place at 7 last Saturday morning ("I'm not sober, but I'm not not sober?"), I'm not fully not feeling it with this team yet, but I'm not quite not not feeling it.

25. hokieneer Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:17 PM (#3627170)

Time goes by so fast. I remember it like it was yesterday, me opening a pack of 2001 Bowmans

You are a lucky man, esp if you got a chrome and or auto version. I collected baseball/basketball cards all the way up to around 1999, so I never got the chance to pull a Pujols and/or Ichiro rookie (I do have a bunch of Kobe, Nash, Iverson, Garnett rookies though). I started collecting again around 2004 for a few years, mainly through eBay. I did get to invest and collect the 2005-2006 rookie card crew. It's a pretty good crew that still has potential, it's just missing that one HOF superstar: Zimmerman, Kemp, J Weaver, Ellsbury, Braun, S Drew, Carlos Gonzalez, Phil Hughes, Bruce, and my memory is getting fuzzy now.

26. cercopithecus aethiops Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:40 PM (#3627190)

Pujols should be regarded as suspecte until MLB gets a WADA approval stamp.

They should put that stamp right on the ball. Maybe it could be an asterisk or something.

Dumbest thing I'll read all day.

Sarcasm detector fail? Or maybe troll detector fail on my part? So hard to keep track.

27. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 27, 2010 at 01:49 PM (#3627194)

Sarcasm detector fail? Or maybe troll detector fail on my part? So hard to keep track.

Goosen is definitely a troll.

28. Karl from NY Posted: August 29, 2010 at 01:35 PM (#3629059)

ISTR Tony double-switched the pitcher behind Albert in that 20-inning Met game, too.

The funniest part of this was listening to Tim McCarver never figure out what had happened. Every time Pujols was walked or pitched around in extra innings, he complained about the Mets being unfair and cowardly.

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Friday, August 27, 2010

MLB.com: Pujols belts career home run No. 400

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