Pujols so far

[Angelsjunky]

12 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Albert is not going to retire early and leave millions behind. He will rationalize that he needs the money for his foundation so he's going to stay for the good of all mankind. 

And people will believe him. 

Because Jesus.

[Docwaukee]

33 minutes ago, CALZONE said:

Albert is not going to retire early and leave millions behind. He will rationalize that he needs the money for his foundation so he's going to stay for the good of all mankind. 

And people will believe him. 

he doesn't have to rationalize anything.  he's owed the money Arte agreed to pay him.  

[Docwaukee]

4 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

With guys on base he does shorten up and go the other way. Two of his RBI hits are to the opposite field. Teams don't shift on him as much with runners on. 

And with the bases empty, it seems much more efficient for him to try to hit homers than to go for singles and hope for 2 more from the guys behind him to score him. 

here are Albert's wRC+ with bases empty and runner on since being a Halo

2012  -  124    144

2013  -  108    116

2014  -  124    122

2015  -  125    104

2016  -    78    137

total -    114     123

total bb rate - 5.2% vs. 10.1%

obp% - .297 vs. .352

ops -    .766  vs .825

his batted ball rates for opp vs. pull vs cent and his soft, med, and hard hit %'s are almost identical.  

It's the shift.  

How about this?  Instead of rolling over on an outer half fastball that you have no chance to hit out of the yard, hit a hard grounder or line drive to RF.  Keep doing this until they stop shifting as much.  If he hit half as many solo hrs but got on base at a .350 clip instead of a .300 clip, I guarantee that would help the team more.  

[Dick B Back]

I used to think bad things about Albert till I ended up with plantar fasciitis. I now cut him tons of slack for playing through multiple seasons with Albert Pujols Disease.

[Slegnaac]

40 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

He's getting paid 25 million. He better fucking get clutch hits. 

The money is irrelevant.  You are trying to apply a pay for performance standard.  This isn't a poker tournament where you get paid based on how well you perform. 

[Dick B Back]

3 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

The money is irrelevant.  You are trying to apply a pay for performance standard.  This isn't a poker tournament where you get paid based on how well you perform. 

Yeah, aren't the Mets still paying Bobby Bonilla? We know how his performance is going.

[NrM]

The last 3 years his fWAR has been.

2.8, 1.9, 0.9.

I expect his WAR to be anywhere from 0.5 to -1 this year

 

[ABC]

7 hours ago, bloodbrother said:

Guess the month and day that Pujols gets his BA over his body weight

Who lies more about their weight, Fat Alb or his wife? 

My money is on Pujols weighing more than Sosh in 2020.

[ABC]

6 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

With guys on base he does shorten up and go the other way. Two of his RBI hits are to the opposite field. Teams don't shift on him as much with runners on. 

And with the bases empty, it seems much more efficient for him to try to hit homers than to go for singles and hope for 2 more from the guys behind him to score him. 

 

Albert seems to shorten up this year when needed. Something he hasn't done in his entire Angels tenure. Hopefully, he keeps it up.

[Angels#1Fan]

2 hours ago, Slegnaac said:

The money is irrelevant.  You are trying to apply a pay for performance standard.  This isn't a poker tournament where you get paid based on how well you perform. 

I have to admit that I have very mixed feelings about Albert. On the one hand the guy is a definite gamer, on the other, he's had many nagging injuries that have hindered his performance since becoming an Angel that have been frustrating. Watching him run is painful and when he tries to take an extra base and is thrown out because he's so slow is maddening. Yet he'll get hot and start hitting bombs that literally carry the team for several days. His slow starts every year are hard to take yet when he warms up Albert can still play despite his age and injuries that have slowed him down.

Certainly it isn't Albert's fault for the contract the Angels gave him but I would argue that pay is indeed tied to performance. If it weren't Jeff Mathis would be getting $200+M like Albert is. Albert got the big contract precisely because of the performance he carved out the first 11 years of his career. The difference is that players are paid for past performance which teams use as a way to gauge what they will do in the future. Some pan out, some don't. Albert's Angel career hasn't been that bad if based solely on his play but it's impossible to not take into account his salary which doesn't match the out put.

I'll still like watching and cheering when Albert contributes to wins like he did the other day, but I'll also be frustrated by him at times also.

I guess I have to admit that makes me a fair weather Albert fan.

[GrittyVeterans]

He's become a total liability. below average hitter, can't play the field

 

Why is he still batting cleanup?

[Angelsjunky]

The problem with Albert is that he can't but be forever disappointing. I'm a happily married man, but its kind of like what I imagine dating someone on Match.com and when you meet them, they're 10 years older and 40 lbs heavier than their picture. 

We got Albert in the ultimate big splash: the best hitter in baseball, still only "31." Yeah, he had an off year but it was mainly due to a terrible start. Right? Wrong. The guy was in steep decline, and Dipoto and his goons didn't have the scouting smarts to realize it.

Sure, Albert still hits 30+ bombs and holds his own as an above average hitter. But we thought we were getting prime Frank Thomas but ended up getting Joe Carter.

[tomsred]

12 hours ago, Jig Stew said:

100% agree... teams are always shifting on him, just shorten the swing and go the opposite way.... also at Angels Stadium he's had a few warning track shots already this year, maybe use that approach more so on the road in smaller stadiums that are more hitter friendly... and if we have a big lead at home, go for the fences, who cares then when you have a good sized lead.

What's a "lead."

[ABC]

2 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

and Dipoto and his goons didn't have the scouting smarts to realize it.

Sure, Albert still hits 30+ bombs and holds his own as an above average hitter. But we thought we were getting prime Frank Thomas but ended up getting Joe Carter.

 

Fat Albert is all on Arte. Same with bomb sauce Hamilton.