Cardinals All-Star Report: Albert Pujols is still the best

"As it stands now, Albert Pujols ranks 15th among position players in Wins Above Replacement (WAR). That’s great for most guys, but Pujols has finished at the top of that list in three of the last five years, so something seems wrong. Pujols’ Weighted On Base Average (wOBA) is .412, which is 23 points lower than his career average. And after examining some Pitch F/X data, we can see why Pujols is “struggling.”"

ESPN ran this story on the MLB page last week in hopes of breaking down why the great Albert Pujols was having a down year. The ESPN Insider access blocked me from reading anymore of the story.

Somehow, it didn’t bother me. I didn’t care to find out why Pujols looks human this year because the truth is, he looks like a Machine to me. […]

Pujols has had some slumps this year, including the worst of his career. And yet, he is hitting .305 with 20 homers and 60 RBI heading into the All-Star Game in Los Angeles where he will start at first base for the National League.

No, Pujols isn’t the same Machine that hit 32 home runs and drove in 87 runs before last year’s Midsummer Classic. That Pujols was historically amazing.

That Pujols is also the reason ESPN and the rest of the world is trying to find a reason for the drop in numbers and clutch hits in 2010. His WAR numbers are down and so is his wOBA. Clearly, there’s a problem if those numbers aren’t Pujols-like.

Except there are no problems. Albert Pujols is an All-Star for the ninth time in his brilliant career. It’s that simple. He isn’t struggling or on the decline.

The sky isn’t falling in St. Louis. Pujols has had more to overcome at the plate this year and the Cardinals haven’t lived up to the expectations, but there’s plenty to smile about as we take a breather next week.

This All-Star version of Pujols is still worthy of the Machine moniker.

The 2010 model is just a different one. Not as smooth but still amazing for other reasons.

This Machine has had to battle through slumps and droughts like never before. Pujols went through a 12-game stretch in May in which he didn’t hit a home run or drive in any runs.

It was during those struggles that Pujols snapped on Tony La Russa in the dugout. He was frustrated and he took it out on his manager. The two handled the situation professionally and all was right with the world the next day. The fiery Pujols was scuffling with the bat, but he still cared. He wanted to fix it and he did.

Since then, he’s back on track and among the league leaders in many offensive categories. Pujols may have looked human at some points this summer, but it has only made his greatness shine brighter.

He has proven he can handle adversity. Everything isn’t easy for him like it appears. He’s a fighter too. And he’s a winner. The trying times told us more about the three-time MVP than the smooth sailing we loved to watch in the past.

Greatness has many shades. It’s not black and white. It’s not always so easy to see. Sometimes, it’s too bright to miss. Sometimes, the expectations of the past cloud our vision. But it’s always there. We just have to dig deeper to find it again.

Pujols’ greatness thus far is in his fight. He dug deep in May when nothing was going right in this unforgiving game. And now, his star will shine brightly among baseball’s best in Los Angeles.

Numbers can’t make sense of the shades of greatness. Numbers are black and white. This Machine goes beyond numbers.

Albert Pujols is having a great year. And the Cardinals are still in the hunt for a division title. Soon enough, the light will shine a little brighter and the anxious Cards faithful will find their hope and faith in this team again.

With Pujols leading the charge, there’s always hope. Struggles are for the stat sheet.