OC Register: Angels’ Albert Pujols focused on a healthy winter and a bounceback in ’18

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — The day after the Angels were eliminated, most of their regulars had the day off, but Albert Pujols was not among them.

Pujols started on Thursday, as he did again on Friday and for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners.

By contrast, as the Angels were playing out the string on a losing season last year, Pujols didn’t play at all over the final five games. He was resting a sore right foot that eventually required surgery, making consecutive offseasons with surgery.

As the 37-year-old Pujols enters this winter, he says he’s feeling good, the proof being his presence in the lineup when he could easily be sitting out. On Friday night, he stole a base — which he does occasionally when not held close — and scored from second on a single to left.

The prospect of Pujols having a surgery-free winter is the primary reason he and the Angels are optimistic that he can improve his performance in 2018.

“Just having a full offseason with my training will be awesome,” Pujols said on Saturday. “The last couple years I haven’t been able to come into camp in better shape, the way I always do.”

Pujols said he pushed himself to play following the December procedure on his right plantar fascia. He said during the season he was bothered in May by a sore hamstring and in early September by a knee he jammed on a slide into second, but he’s OK now.

Considering that, he said he’s satisfied with the numbers he produced, most specifically a 14th season of 100 RBIs, equaling Alex Rodriguez’s major league record.

“I wasn’t even supposed to be ready until May to do baseball activity,” Pujols said. “To be able to go to spring training and be able to start right away doing things slowly, I prepared myself as much as I can for the season.”

General Manager Billy Eppler said Pujols has told him he has some work he wants to do, regarding nutrition and conditioning, over the winter. Obviously, if Pujols is in better shape, he has a chance to produce better.

“There is no doubt he is going to improve his back-of-the-baseball-card type numbers,” Eppler said. “He’s endured so much. There is just too much this guy has in him to expect anything less. He’s always been a player that has been so driven and so focused on his profession. That has not wavered one bit. I don’t think there’s any reason to expect anything other than a strong performance.”

The Angels need it, because Pujols has four years and $114 million remaining on his contract, which means he is an immovable object on the roster. Eppler said he’s going into the winter planning on Pujols being a middle of the order hitter in 2018.

“I expect him to do what he does,” Eppler said. “That’s be productive.”

The production in 2017 has been limited. Pujols has driven in 101 runs, including one on Saturday night. It’s the result of coming to bat with a league-high 448 runners on base. Pujols still drove in 17.41 percent of them, the highest percentage of any Angels player who batted with at least 100 runners on.

Pujols’ .244 batting average would be a career-worst, as would his .289 on-base percentage and .680 OPS. With runners in scoring position, though, Pujols hit .269 with a .328 on-base percentage and a .784 OPS.

“I know he’s come through in a lot of big spots, night in and night out, month in and month out,” Eppler said. “He’s still somebody that has a lot of presence in the order, who teams are cautious with.”

While other teams may view him as still better than his 2017 stats indicate, there has still been a significant discussion in the media this season of his decline. His WAR (-1.6 on Baseball-Reference and -1.8 on Fangraphs) rank him among the worst players in baseball. Those numbers may be misleading because of the weight placed on fielding and baserunning, which are obviously weaknesses now for Pujols.

Pujols is clear on the negative reports about him.

“I (couldn’t) care less about you guys,” Pujols said, referring to the media. “I don’t play for you guys. I (couldn’t) care less about what you guys write. You can criticize whatever you want. One hundred RBIs … I’ll take that every time.”

His disappointment, he said, is not over his performance, but that the team came up short.

“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about the ballclub. We had a shot to be in the postseason and obviously over the last 10 games we took a few steps back. That’s my disappointment. … It (stinks) that tomorrow you’re going to hang the jersey in the locker and then go home and watch the rest of the playoffs when you know you have a team that could have been there.”

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[EDinTUSTIN]

Well, I'll sleep better at night now knowing this.

So he'll be in the best shape of his career at the opening of ST. At least we never heard that line before.

[thebloob]

Answered one of the questions I always had regarding at bats with runners on and in scoring position.  With trout and his 450 obp there always seemed to be guys on.  Pujols quotes certainly shoot down any thoughts about early retirement.  Even as one of the least valuable players in the league, he is convinced he is helping the team. 

[tdawg87]

This thread should be neat.

[Angelsjunky]

Someone tell Albert about a river in Egypt.

[arch stanton]

It's exactly what you expect him to say. Just like Weaver this year, Albert will have to be dragged off the field. The difference is that he's under contract so might as well give him a shot at a revival

[Amazing Larry]

If he sucks through April DFA him. 

[Erstad Grit]

This is what I figured. Pujols will cherry pick a stat to reassure himself he is still the mang.

Last year he hung his hat on the homeuns.

This year the rbi's.

 

[Docwaukee]

Kudos to Jeff for interviewing Albert about this subject.  Sounds like it got a bit contentious at one point.  

It's pretty interesting that he said he couldn't care less what the media thinks.  He's been around long enough to know that the media is supposed to be the link between the players and the fans.  The media doesn't necessarily think he sucks.  The fans do.  

He's happy driving in runs.  The team is happy with driving in runs.  At the end of the day it's irrelevant because we're stuck with him.  So whether anyone's happy with anything he does doesn't really matter.  The one think that bums me out a bit is that this tells me he's going to keep the same approach.  No regard for getting on base.  

 

[Amazing Larry]

4 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

Kudos to Jeff for interviewing Albert about this subject.  Sounds like it got a bit contentious at one point.  

It's pretty interesting that he said he couldn't care less what the media thinks.  He's been around long enough to know that the media is supposed to be the link between the players and the fans.  The media doesn't necessarily think he sucks.  The fans do.  

He's happy driving in runs.  The team is happy with driving in runs.  At the end of the day it's irrelevant because we're stuck with him.  So whether anyone's happy with anything he does doesn't really matter.  The one think that bums me out a bit is that this tells me he's going to keep the same approach.  No regard for getting on base.  

This organization may be stuck paying for him, but they aren't stuck playing him. I don't understand why teams play poor performing players (say that 5x fast) simply because they have astronomical contracts. If Pujols can't perform at MLB levels, he shouldn't be in the lineup. 

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, LHalo said:

This organization may be stuck paying for him, but they aren't stuck playing him. I don't understand why teams play poor performing players (say that 5x fast) simply because they have astronomical contracts. If Pujols can't perform at MLB levels, he shouldn't be in the lineup. 

I completely agree.  Most know that I am a metrics guy.   By WAR, he was horrible this year. 

However...

He's was a shade below avg this year in actual results ie the sum of the events of his at bats.  He really is a different hitter when runners are in scoring position.  So if you are going to put him anywhere in the lineup, put him in a position to drive in runs.   Also, he had a 110 wRC+ overall in 2016.  Not bad.  I honestly think he can be a league average hitter with the ability to do better with RISP.  It helps to believe that.  

It really is his last chance because if he has this mythical off season where he works out, loses weight and rests his weary bones yet comes back and has a similar season to 2017, they really can't let that happen again.  He and the team talk about his ability to drive in runs because that's the only thing left.  But another .680 ops season when there are no more excuses?  We'll see.  

[GrittyVeterans]

I don't see how he possibly is going to be able to work out and train for the season with how jacked up his feet are. You can see the pain in his face every time he is running. 

I'm not making an excuse for the guy...it's just reality. He's 38 years old allegedly and has permanent damage in his feet and probably knee problems too. It's getting worse each offseason, not better. I find the talk about him being "healthy" going into an offseason for the first time with the Angels hilarious. How can anyone watch him move around out there and say he is healthy? He might not be recovering from surgery this time around but he will still be in tremendous pain doing any kind of agility training or even running on a treadmill. 

He really embarrassed himself out there this year, at some point the front office has to sit down with the guy and talk about coming to some kind of a deal where he just goes away but still gets most of his money.

[fan_since79]

“I (couldn’t) care less about you guys,” Pujols said, referring to the media. “I don’t play for you guys. I (couldn’t) care less about what you guys write. You can criticize whatever you want. One hundred RBIs … I’ll take that every time.”

 

Scioscia: "Yeah, Albert, you tell 'em! I got your back, 4-spot next year. Get those RBI's!"

 

[California Cajun]

I admit having a desire for baseball but no desire for metrics, which likely makes me a less knowledgeable fan.

What I can't get past is that if you can't run reasonably well on the bases, you can't play.  That is, hit a double and not be able get to second base without taking a big risk.

What I'm also concerned about is 2018 being put on hold until Albert gets 3,000 hits.  

Are Albert's shortcomings offset by a surprising HR or RBI total in terms of the team as a whole reaching its potential?  I don't see it.  The last few years I've seen instances where the offense has piled up runs one night then lose a close game the next.  

[nate]

Anyone who thinks Albert would retire before his contract is up should read this garbage.

[yk9001]

Lol at the idiots who think he's going to retire.

What a fucking turd this guy is.  I just can't stand him.

And this organization coddles him. Manager, GM, all of them. What a terrible organization.  A decrepit old man runs the asylum. 

[mtangelsfan]

I think most believe he will once he gets 3000 hits.  But I don't believe for a second he will have any kind of great year.

[yk9001]

1 minute ago, mtangelsfan said:

I think most believe he will once he gets 3000 hits.  But I don't believe for a second he will have any kind of great year.

I don't think for a second he is retiring at 3000.

 

But if it were true, think about how selfish an act that actually is.

It's all about him.

F milestones.

[fan_since79]

If he hits 100 RBI next year, he'll have the all-time MLB record of 15 seasons with at least that number.

Scioscia will keep him in the cleanup spot right behind Trout (or Upton) in a attempt to get that record.

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by fan_since79

[Ohtaniland]

he said he’s satisfied with the numbers “HE” produced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Troll Daddy]

I only focus on Runs and Rbis and let the metrics take care of themselves.

Pujols has 101 rbis which is good but only 51 runs scored which isn’t good.

A highly productive player will total over 200 runs and rbis combined.

Trout had 123 runs scored and 100 RBIs in 2016 ... with good defense and base running which netted him the MVP award.

Hoping Pujols can produce over 200 next season. Looks like Eppler wants him as a MOTO bat in 2018. 

[Ohtaniland]

1 hour ago, California Cajun said:

What I'm also concerned about is 2018 being put on hold until Albert gets 3,000 hits. 

But the in lieu of playoffs 3000 hit Albert Pujols bobblehead night will be amazing. Make sure you arrive early because it’s surely going to be a sellout. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

2 hours ago, Calzone said:

But the in lieu of playoffs 3000 hit Albert Pujols bobblehead night will be amazing. Make sure you arrive early because it’s surely going to be a sellout. 

Ironically, the Pujols bobbleheads will be moving fast.

[yk9001]

2 hours ago, fan_since79 said:

If he hits 100 RBI next year, he'll have the all-time MLB record of 15 seasons with at least that number.

Scioscia will keep him in the cleanup spot right behind Trout (or Upton) in a attempt to get that record.

 

What the fuck kind of "record " is that?

[AngelsLakersFan]

10 hours ago, Dochalo said:

Kudos to Jeff for interviewing Albert about this subject.  Sounds like it got a bit contentious at one point.  

It's pretty interesting that he said he couldn't care less what the media thinks.  He's been around long enough to know that the media is supposed to be the link between the players and the fans.  The media doesn't necessarily think he sucks.  The fans do.  

He's happy driving in runs.  The team is happy with driving in runs.  At the end of the day it's irrelevant because we're stuck with him.  So whether anyone's happy with anything he does doesn't really matter.  The one think that bums me out a bit is that this tells me he's going to keep the same approach.  No regard for getting on base.  

 

Ya props to @Jeff Fletcher for a great article and giving us this little piece of insight that I think we've been arguing over all year on here. 

Albert may be hanging on to that last bit of denial he needs to sleep well at night, but ultimately it will be the amount of negative reaction from the fans and the reporters that wake him up. He might never see himself for what he really is as a player, but he may at some point see how the fans view him.