Pujols, Mr. September

[jayshum]

It's one thing to think that pitchers are grooving fastballs to give Pujols a better shot at a home run, but getting 9 RBIs in 4 games also requires him to come up with enough men on base to have the opportunity to get that many RBIs (assuming he didn't hit 9 solo home runs which he didn't). I'm not sure how possible it would be for something like that to be set up. Instead, I agree with what others have said which is that in a small sample size in baseball, almost anything can happen.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

It's one thing to think that pitchers are grooving fastballs to give Pujols a better shot at a home run, but getting 9 RBIs in 4 games also requires him to come up with enough men on base to have the opportunity to get that many RBIs (assuming he didn't hit 9 solo home runs which he didn't). I'm not sure how possible it would be for something like that to be set up. Instead, I agree with what others have said which is that in a small sample size in baseball, almost anything can happen.

That hitters at the top of the lineup get on base against the mighty Pirates is essentially a given. To me the question is, with Pujols at bat with an RBI opportunity, did pitchers ease up?

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

That hitters at the top of the lineup get on base against the mighty Pirates is essentially a given. To me the question is, with Pujols at bat with an RBI opportunity, did pitchers ease up?

So if you don't think the Pirates pitchers were good enough to get outs against other batters in the Cardinals lineup, why should they be good enough to get Pujols out?

[jayshum]

I didn't realize the Cardinals played the Pirates their last 6 games. Maybe that is a better explanation for his strong finish. He just happened to be playing against a 100 loss team with the 4th worst ERA in the NL. Seems like the Pirates pitchers were either easing up against a lot of hitter with runners on base all season or they just weren't very good.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

So if you don't think the Pirates pitchers were good enough to get outs against other batters in the Cardinals lineup, why should they be good enough to get Pujols out?

I think Pujols with all those successful RBI attempts seems to have done better than he would have in the ordinary course even against mediocre pitching. Not saying he would have gone oh-fer or anything. Maybe it was just extraordinary luck or an extraordinary clutch effort, not saying I am sure.

It's also the case I believe that in the 4 game series all his hits were in RBI situations. Oh, I know, small sample size.

[Smarti5051]

Yeah, with millions of dollars on the line and offices running every analytic under the sun to determine what pitchers are getting that money, I am sure a reliever (or starter) is willing to gift 2 runs to the other team so that Pujols can catch a milestone. It shouldn't matter that all of the pitchers conspiring to gift the legend 9 RBIs have probably never met or said a word to the guy. I could maybe see a 9th inning walk to extend a consecutive games reaching base record or a gimme pitch at the ASG, but nobody is sacrificing .25 on their ERA for the season to let Pujols pad his stats.

I am sure all of us would gladly risk our careers by giving up a valuable appointment with a company prospect so that Miley Cyrus can have our last spot on the plane to make it to her record setting 300th consecutive performance.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Smarti5051

Yeah, with millions of dollars on the line and offices running every analytic under the sun to determine what pitchers are getting that money, I am sure a reliever (or starter) is willing to gift 2 runs to the other team so that Pujols can catch a milestone. It shouldn't matter that all of the pitchers conspiring to gift the legend 9 RBIs have probably never met or said a word to the guy. I could maybe see a 9th inning walk to extend a consecutive games reaching base record or a gimme pitch at the ASG, but nobody is sacrificing .25 on their ERA for the season to let Pujols pad his stats.

I am sure all of us would gladly risk our careers by giving up a valuable appointment with a company prospect so that Miley Cyrus can have our last spot on the plane to make it to her record setting 300th consecutive performance.

Besides the above how many pitches would they have to groove in a live game? In the HR Derby the best hitters actually have a guy that regularly pitches to them doing their absolute best to groove them one and still can't get good contact most of the time.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Besides the above how many pitches would they have to groove in a live game? In the HR Derby the best hitters actually have a guy that regularly pitches to them doing their absolute best to groove them one and still can't get good contact most of the time.

Difference between trying to hit it out with every swing and to make solid contact, no?