Pujols is the worst player in baseball (technically)

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, Glen said:

After this article, guaranteed 2 HR tonight. Scioscia will nod and say "yep" and pencil him in 3rd for the rest of the year.

Which he was going to do anyways.  

[nate]

20 minutes ago, Stradling said:

No one will believe that the next time he hits into a double play, even if it is true.  

So Scioscia is an idiot for putting him in the lineup at all...

[beatlesrule]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

That one isn't to be taken seriously. That was him talking about retiring to watch his daughter in the Olympics, which for various reasons is almost impossible. 

I do believe he has said at other times he would retire if he didn't feel he could compete. I haven't googled to find those comments exactly. 

Yeah that's great but he is delusional and always refers to his career numbers.  What is his definition of compete?  To me, breathing is his definition.  Waking up in the morning seems good enough for him.  We as fans are going to have to watch him lose a lot of games simply because of his ego or 114 million he is still owed.  This is all Moreno's fault though in the grand scheme of things and the Angels are his toy so we are at his mercy.

[Stradling]

Just now, nate said:

So Scioscia is an idiot for putting him in the lineup at all...

Or you know, there is an expectation that he plays because the team is paying him $24 million on average a season.  Do I think he should be batting 3rd, of course not, do I think they should bench him, no not really.  There is something to be said about how you handle this kind of situation.  This isn't CJ Cron you are dealing with, it is first ballot hall of famer Albert Pujols.   This is probably something that gets addressed in the off season, and that conversation should be started by Arte or Eppler.  It goes something like this, "you will be competing for a starting job next season, do what you need to do to be prepared for that".  

[beatlesrule]

3 minutes ago, nate said:

So Scioscia is an idiot for putting him in the lineup at all...

Are you going to be surprised/shocked when he gets a contract extension?  Moreno is in love with him for some reason.  Scioscia is like George Michaels butt.  Accept that he is the manager of your favorite team before it destroys you.

[Dtwncbad]

I don't see it as pointless to harp on this subject when the entire scope of people interacting with Pujols appears to be mutually complicit in this The King Has No Clothes situation.

Why would anybody in that safe haven world consider changing anything they doing (or not doing) on the subject unless there is growing pressure from the actual customers?

[nate]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Or you know, there is an expectation that he plays because the team is paying him $24 million on average a season.  Do I think he should be batting 3rd, of course not, do I think they should bench him, no not really.  There is something to be said about how you handle this kind of situation.  This isn't CJ Cron you are dealing with, it is first ballot hall of famer Albert Pujols.   This is probably something that gets addressed in the off season, and that conversation should be started by Arte or Eppler.  It goes something like this, "you will be competing for a starting job next season, do what you need to do to be prepared for that".  

The amount of money he makes and who he was should not matter.  This is a professional baseball team and all that matters is wins.

If the Angels had two more wins this season they would be in a much better position playoffs wise than they are now.

[beatlesrule]

Just now, Stradling said:

Or you know, there is an expectation that he plays because the team is paying him $24 million on average a season.  Do I think he should be batting 3rd, of course not, do I think they should bench him, no not really.  There is something to be said about how you handle this kind of situation.  This isn't CJ Cron you are dealing with, it is first ballot hall of famer Albert Pujols.   This is probably something that gets addressed in the off season, and that conversation should be started by Arte or Eppler.  It goes something like this, "you will be competing for a starting job next season, do what you need to do to be prepared for that".  

I really think since Pujols is latin, Moreno has a soft spot for him.  I highly doubt your conversation happens next year if at all.  Scioscia will pencil him in at 3rd or 4th.  Scioscia has more power than any manager in baseball.  The Arte/Sosh/Pujols trio cannot be contained.

[yk9001]

25 minutes ago, ksangel said:

And for only $185,000 per game for the next four years!!

 

http://www.ocregister.com/2015/02/22/could-albert-pujols-retire-before-the-end-of-his-contract/

 

Even in that jokey article, he talks about going on the DL.

So he can still get paid.

The man wants every single dollar.

[Stradling]

Just now, nate said:

The amount of money he makes and who he was should not matter.  This is a professional baseball team and all that matters is wins.

If the Angels had two more wins this season they would be in a much better position playoffs wise than they are now.

Of course it matters.  There is literally one team in baseball that doesn't cater to egos, and that is the Dodgers.  They also have all the flexibility in the world to fill all the holes they need to.  They also don't have an Albert Pujols.  This isn't like sitting down Adrian Gonzalez, this is like sitting down Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn or George Brett or Cal Ripken, except Albert was better than all of those guys.  

[yk9001]

4 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Or you know, there is an expectation that he plays because the team is paying him $24 million on average a season.  Do I think he should be batting 3rd, of course not, do I think they should bench him, no not really.  There is something to be said about how you handle this kind of situation.  This isn't CJ Cron you are dealing with, it is first ballot hall of famer Albert Pujols.   This is probably something that gets addressed in the off season, and that conversation should be started by Arte or Eppler.  It goes something like this, "you will be competing for a starting job next season, do what you need to do to be prepared for that".  

Which is why I hate our manager.  

The angels are in the middle of a pennant race.  This year.  2017.  What has Albert Pujols ever done as an Angel to deserve special treatment?  One all star game?

[beatlesrule]

40 minutes ago, yk9001 said:

Even in that jokey article, he talks about going on the DL.

So he can still get paid.

The man wants every single dollar.

I think the whole Prince Fielder situation is very sketchy.  In theory, can't he pay a doctor like 5 million to say he is unfit to play baseball ever again?  Damn MLB guaranteed contracts are terrible.  I so wish all contracts were like the NFL.

[nate]

Except those guys didn't change teams.

Albert did, the Angels gave him a fat contract and he hasn't come close to producing what he is being paid so why should they care.  His legacy is not with the Angels.

[yk9001]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Of course it matters.  There is literally one team in baseball that doesn't cater to egos, and that is the Dodgers.  They also have all the flexibility in the world to fill all the holes they need to.  They also don't have an Albert Pujols.  This isn't like sitting down Adrian Gonzalez, this is like sitting down Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn or George Brett or Cal Ripken, except Albert was better than all of those guys.  

Hmmm.  what do all four of those guys have in common?  Played their entire career with one team.  They earned respect.

The Angels don't owe Albert anything.

[krAbs]

I just wanna point out - everyone posting in this thread has done more for the team than Pujols, because none of us have actively eaten up wins, unlike THE WORST PLAYER IN BASEBALL.

Cary on.

 

Edit- one more thing. Crap! I totally forgot! Runs are determined by how much you get paid, not by getting on base and crossing the plate. Man! I'm a fool for not thinking that pay should be a factor for being placed in the lineup!

[GrittyVeterans]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Of course it matters.  There is literally one team in baseball that doesn't cater to egos, and that is the Dodgers.  They also have all the flexibility in the world to fill all the holes they need to.  They also don't have an Albert Pujols.  This isn't like sitting down Adrian Gonzalez, this is like sitting down Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn or George Brett or Cal Ripken, except Albert was better than all of those guys.  

This is where you lose the argument. If Albert Pujols was a homegrown star I could somewhat understand it. But his great seasons were all in St. Louis. So why should it matter to the Angels that he was great? This is a team that has made the playoffs 1 time in the last 7 years and currently would miss the playoffs again if the season ended today. It's time to focus on wins/losses and not the accomplishments of a guy with a different team

[zenmaster]

We need something, anything from the powers that be. Bench him a week with an "injury", move him down to bat 7th or 8th, give him every other day off, or call up Tonya Harding , anything!

[Ray McKigney]

Patience, my friends. He's still adjusting to AL pitching. 

[gurn67]

15 minutes ago, nate said:

The amount of money he makes and who he was should not matter.  This is a professional baseball team and all that matters is wins.

If the Angels had two more wins this season they would be in a much better position playoffs wise than they are now.

If they hadn't traded Hernandez in that stupid last minute deadline deal, they'd have those 2 wins and then some.

[Dtwncbad]

25 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Of course it matters.  There is literally one team in baseball that doesn't cater to egos, and that is the Dodgers.  They also have all the flexibility in the world to fill all the holes they need to.  They also don't have an Albert Pujols.  This isn't like sitting down Adrian Gonzalez, this is like sitting down Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn or George Brett or Cal Ripken, except Albert was better than all of those guys.  

To be fair, at age 37:

Tony Gwynn OPS was .951

George Brett OPS was .902

Cal Ripken OPS was .721

So Gwynn and Brett were still beasts and Ripken was still a serviceable player.

The Pujols situation really is different.

Edit: I forgot to address Puckett.  He retired after he was 35 and had just posted .902 and .894 OPS.  Yes we know the medical reasoning but the point is there was never a situation with the four players listed where they were stinking up the joint and still being penciled in.

Pujols legacy NOW likely carries similar weight, but he will hurt his legacy compared to these other players if this keeps up for 4 more years since none of them had this stuff going on.

[ksangel]

I really hope the Angels and Albert do what is right after the season...it's a disgrace to fans (who pay for everything - not Arte, not sponsors...etc. - they only have money because we go to games, buy stuff, pay for TV to watch them...etc.) for Albert to keep playing and is disrespectful to the game of baseball and these forums prove how sick and tired us fans are of his poor play.

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, hangin n wangin said:

And Scioscia is a fucking idiot for batting him third. Say it.

Love it when someone goes all Sam Kinison in Back To School. 

Come to think of it, even he and Rodney Dangerfield, when alive, could have beaten that throw to 2B last night on the bobbled GB up the middle. 

[Stradling]

8 minutes ago, ksangel said:

I really hope the Angels and Albert do what is right after the season...it's a disgrace to fans (who pay for everything - not Arte, not sponsors...etc. - they only have money because we go to games, buy stuff, pay for TV to watch them...etc.) for Albert to keep playing and is disrespectful to the game of baseball and these forums prove how sick and tired us fans are of his poor play.

Oh bullshit. 

[Angelsjunky]

I would pay to see a leg race between Albert and Bengie Molina, however old Bengie is now. Let's throw Jose in there too.

[Angel Oracle]

Just now, Angelsjunky said:

I would pay to see a leg race between Albert and Bengie Molina, however old Bengie is now. Let's throw Jose in there too.

And Mo Vaughn