Pujols showed me a lot this year

[Erstad Grit]

I am NOOOOO way a Pujols homer.

 

I hated the deal from day 1.

 

From day 1 he has been a major disappointment except for a few small stretches.

 

6 more years sounds disastrous. 

 

He gained my respect this year. Watching him hobble around and still hit 40 hr was pretty cool. 

 

I will never question his heart. 

 

Despite being massively overpaid, Pujols should be a solid DH for us for the next several years. 

 

 

 

[OregonLAA]

Yep. Don't love the deal. Love the guy. And love his presence.

[Mark68]

I think getting a legitimate power-hitting LFer and plugging him in at 4th and Pujols having 5th will be a significant upgrade.

 

Let's say we get Cespedes to play LF. Having Trout/Cespedes/Pujols 3-5 will do wonders next season for power production.

[DowningRules]

But did he show you his birth certificate?

[notherhalo]

he joined the 40-40 club this year

 

40 home runs

40 years old

[ABC]

Pujols seemed to chase 40 for the past few of months. Pulling anything he can because he knows oppo-taco HRs don't come easy any longer. The were many times where he seemed selfish when all that was needed was to hit the ball the other way. 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

I can't see him lasting the entirety of his contract, I think his lower half will completely give out. I did enjoy him gutting it out though, he could have easily sat out and collected his pay checks but he wanted to be in there. Hopefully Cron can progress enough to be the every day 1B or we can get a 1B and have Pujols primarily DH.

[mulwin444]

Pujols needs to be full time DH...it's the only way he'll be productive

[Stradling]

Pujols seemed to chase 40 for the past few of months. Pulling anything he can because he knows oppo-taco HRs don't come easy any longer. The were many times where he seemed selfish when all that was needed was to hit the ball the other way.

No

[ABC]

No

 

Great point. Get your own personality and stop trying to mimic others.

 

In any case, I'm not the only who was frustrated with him insisting to pull the ball even when the smart thing to do was to just go the other way. Unfortunately, going the other way meant almost no chance at a HR.

[Oz27]

Pujols needs to be full time DH...it's the only way he'll be productive

As much as it's a massive defensive downgrade putting Cron at 1B over Pujols, I'd want to limit Pujols il 60-70 stars at 1B next year and even that might be pushing it.

[ABC]

[ABC]

[ukyah]

i just don't know. i'm very torn about him. i'm looking at pujols and sometimes i'm thinking grit and other times i'm thinking selfish. it's hard for me to decide when i read some of his quotes, they just rub me the wrong way.

[ABC]

i just don't know. i'm very torn about him. i'm looking at pujols and sometimes i'm thinking grit and other times i'm thinking selfish. it's hard for me to decide when i read some of his quotes, they just rub me the wrong way.

 

He's definitely a gamer and playing through some painful injuries but I think he has his own agenda at the plate and on the base paths. Ichiro was described similarly by chasing base hits.

[Docwaukee]

I thought the Pujols signing was a good move for the franchise at the time knowing that the last 4-5 years of his deal would be a disaster.  Turns out, he has been a disaster from day 1.  

 

Personally, I feel like his ego has once again kept him from hitting like the declining inner circle hall of famer he could be.  

 

Do you know how much more valuable he'd be if he hit 25hrs and 50 double with a .280 avg and 70bb instead of 50? 

 

His stubbornness has left us with a guy that somehow hits 40hrs and puts up a 1.9 WAR season.  David Freese had a 2.4 WAR season.  

 

Personally, I don't think he's chasing some random number of hrs.  I think it's more visceral than that with him.  In his mind, he's a hr hitter and the only way he can still be a hr hitter is to pull the ball and swing as often as possible.  

 

His BABIP this year was .218.  Some would call that bad luck if they didn't see him play, but what I saw was a guy trying to pull outside pitch after outside pitch for weak grounders to 3b.  Pitches he would normally smoke to right center gap or just lay off.  

 

What he showed me this year was more misdirection and slight of hand.  He hit .244 with a .307 obp.  I thought we trade Mark Trumbo.    

[Angelsjunky]

This must be one of the worst 40 HR seasons in major league history: 2.0 fWAR, 116 wRC+.

 

Pujols is a decent player, but his 2 fWAR ranks him 16th among 20 qualifying first basemen, his wRC+ 14th. In other words, he was average at best for a major league first baseman.

[seenoevil]

Dave Kingman part 2

[DMVol]

As much as it's a massive defensive downgrade putting Cron at 1B over Pujols, I'd want to limit Pujols il 60-70 stars at 1B next year and even that might be pushing it.

I agree but a couple of things.  Pujols is a very stubborn and proud guy and Scioscia isn't very likely to butt heads with him if it can be avoided....He wants to play 1b, doesn't like to DH unless he has to physically.....And that's not a good thing....Cron showed some improvement at 1b but only when he played everyday when Pujols was hurt late in the year....Cron really needs those 100 games at 1b to improve his defense....If Pujols will just buy into the plan, it is a pretty good situation....Keeps both of them in the lineup every day....

Edited October 5, 2015 by DMVol

[Second Base]

I wish Pujols would adjust his approach to fit his current skill level the way Torii did. The power and speed left so he replaced them with batting average and OBP.

[wopphil]

As crazy as it sounds, this team almost ought to consider upgrading at first base. Pujols can't last a full season there, and Cron's defense is horrendous. If there was a market for Cron, I'd consider moving him and bringing in a first baseman.

[Glen]

The HR are great but that's all he brings to the table. Terrible BA and OBP, great glove but he can't play 1b every day. Dude is gonna keep becoming more of an anchor every year.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Glen

[Jay]

He was great in the last 10 games

[zenmaster]

Maybe he'll find his inner Barry Bonds as he ages! 

[Mark68]

Maybe he'll find his inner Barry Bonds as he ages! 

So his head will grow exponentially?