Embarrassing: Pujols 6 man outfield shift

[TroutBaseball]

At one point in the game the Astros had 6 men in the outfield against Pujols. They moved 2B, SS, and 3B onto the grass.  No SS has ever played as far back as Correa against Pujols.  Fletcher pointed out that the shift forces Albert to run harder because the plays are closer.  If other teams are going to force him to run there's no way he plays out this contract.

Does anyone know if the Angels have insurance on his contract?  If he's permanently on the DL can they recoup some cost?

[Angelsfan1984]

Then hes going to have to learn to do what he always did in the past and go the other way.

[VariousCrap]

I have no idea regarding your last question, but there is no way Pujols can't be embarrassed by that play.  Heck, I was embarrassed for him.  I can't imagine any team not shifting like that against him from now on.  It is the perfect way to play him at this point in his career.

[VariousCrap]

3 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Then hes going to have to learn to do what he always did in the past and go the other way.

He may be able to do it every once in a while, but he doesn't have the ability to do it enough to make teams not do that type of shift against him anymore.

[bloodbrother]

I loved it. Astros straight up mocking Albert for being a slug.

[yk9001]

Here is the statcast look

 

http://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/astros-shift-against-albert-pujols/395145

[red321]

anyone have video of him being thrown out from left field?

 

[yk9001]

no video.  I'd like to see that.

[Chuck]

As I pointed out last night, this is further bad for Pujols because the routine GBs on which he could jog are now balls he has to run out.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) September 15, 2017

[Angels#1Fan]

If more teams start doing this I can see Albert getting embarrassed and possibly considering retirement..if not, Albert will likely collect most of what he is owed.

[Angel Oracle]

When a hitter has the exaggerated crouch at the plate that he has had  for 17 MLB seasons, and carries the weight that he carries, it's no surprise his knees and feet are totally done.

It's too bad that Arte and Dipussy didn't think about this 6 years ago.

[red321]

I was listening to the radio broadcast and it was like a little kid's birthday balloon popped. Pujols sharp grounder by the third baseman!...and Correa throws him out from short left field.....

you could picture Langston biting his lip as he was holding back the..."oh man, that's kind of embarrassing comment"

[red321]

Just now, Angel Oracle said:

When a hitter has the exaggerated crouch at the plate that he has had  for 17 MLB seasons, and carries the weight that he carries, it's no surprise his knees and feet are totally done.

It's too bad that Arte and Dipussy didn't think about this 6 years ago.

There are a lot of reasons to rip on the signing...his crouch at the plate is not one of them

[Slegnaac]

The shift by Houston was no surprise. Seattle played him the same way in the previous series several times.

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, red321 said:

There are a lot of reasons to rip on the signing...his crouch at the plate is not one of them

It's not the stance itself, it's the wear and tear taking place thanks to it.  What else has caused such a regression these past few seasons, from where he was early in the decade?

[red321]

Just now, Angel Oracle said:

It's not the stance itself, it's the wear and tear taking place thanks to it.  What else has caused such a regression these past few seasons, from where he was early in the decade?

He's 90 years old

[arch stanton]

He beat the shift in his last at bat. He should try that strategy more often 

[Angel Oracle]

Bunt Albert, Bunt!

[Taylor]

13 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

Bunt Albert, Bunt!

He could bunt right down the 3B line, and the pitcher would likely get to it and throw him out.

[red321]

4 minutes ago, Taylor said:

He could bunt right down the 3B line, and the pitcher would likely get to it and throw him out.

now...let's not be hasty...the pitcher could pull a hammy, trip and dislocate their shoulder when falling to the ground

Edited September 15, 2017 by red321

[TroutBaseball]

Here is a gif

[m0nkey]

17 minutes ago, Taylor said:

He could bunt right down the 3B line, and the pitcher would likely get to it and throw him out.

The pitcher could get it and go tag him and he'd still be out

[VariousCrap]

55 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

If Fletcher is right and this makes Pujols have to run out grounders more, this could mean more DL stints for Pujols which will only help the team overall.  lol

[red321]

He's not going to run any harder, it's not like that play was even close...and it wasn't one hopper to SS. You can jog out a grounder to short left field just as easily as a normal 10 hopper to SS.

The Astros are more extreme than most teams...I wouldn't expect this to be an every at bat thing. If Pujols is up with nobody on (and in this case it looks like there was 2 outs) when he's more inclined to try and drive the ball...sure...maybe. But runners on base, scoring position where Pujols has shown he's willing to take the ball the other way. Probably not.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by red321

[Ohtaniland]

27 minutes ago, TroutBaseball said:

Here is a gif

If teams do this it could take 3 more years to get to 3000