Should Pujols chase the milestones?

[KevinJ14]

"A lot of people ask me about chasing records and stuff like that, but I don't chase ghosts."

 

http://m.angels.mlb.com/news/article/151423382

 

[Guest]

He hits like a ghost. 

[Chuck]

Personally I think Pujols is being dishonest here. 

 

Every player is chasing dreams, goals and milestones. 

 

Quit with the false humility. 

 

Thanks! 

[QuinlansMinion]

So thats why he barely hits anymore.

[Homebrewer]

I think he should just stop hitting altogether...oh wait.

[Hollyw00d]

If this is true then why does he pull every pitch and cheat on the fastball every at bat

[mtangelsfan]

If this is true then why does he pull every pitch and cheat on the fastball every at bat

 

Because that is all his limited physical skills is allowing him to do now?

 

Seriously, do any of you really believe that Pujols is deliberately hitting worse just to get more home runs?  Everything is a conspiracy.

 

My guess is that he cannot effectively go the other way anymore.  I know it sounds crazy.

[Angel Oracle]

The past 4 years have been mostly frustrating with this guy.

Three sub .800 OPS seasons in a row.

I guess even 2012 like production isn't obtainable anymore?

[Hollyw00d]

Because that is all his limited physical skills is allowing him to do now?

Seriously, do any of you really believe that Pujols is deliberately hitting worse just to get more home runs? Everything is a conspiracy.

My guess is that he cannot effectively go the other way anymore. I know it sounds crazy.

I do think he knows that he doesn't have much effective baseball left in him, and he's trying to make his way up the career homerun list while he still can.

Why would he not be able to go the other way effectively, or at least be more selective? If anything, THAT makes no sense

[yk9001]

Pujols is easily among my all time least favorite Angels.

 

Arte thought these milestones would be a marketing bonanza.

 

#businessgenius

[laagamer]

He should retire.

[Oz27]

The past 4 years have been mostly frustrating with this guy.

Three sub .800 OPS seasons in a row.

I guess even 2012 like production isn't obtainable anymore?

2013 was understandable and I was hoping for a significant bounce back in 2014 to more like 2012 numbers. But his alleged bounce back year was really pretty ordinary. He has seemingly plateaud in the .750-.780 OPS range and we have to hope he can stay there for a few more years. Whether he can or not is an entirely different question, but I feel we've seen Pujols' last .800 OPS season.

[tomsred]

I'm disappointed by his performance on the field, but pleasantly surprised by all the intangibles he brings.  I think he's a pretty genuine human being, he gives back to the community, he's a good mentor for someone like Trout, and provides some nice leadership qualities that someone like Hamilton could only dream about.  When he's healthy, he is still dangerous as a hitter, but not elite anymore.  I think he will hang it up before his contract expires.  Hopefully he gets healthy over the offseason, and we can squeeze a couple of more season of adequate performance out of him.  Is he ego driven over milestones?  I don't think he is any more driven in that regard than anyone else would be under the circumstances of having a Hall of Fame career.  As far as swinging to pull hits for home runs, that's about all he can accomplish with the foot and lower body injuries he has sustained.  He can do more damage that way rather than trying to leg out doubles and singles given the fact that he can't effectively run right now.