In a season that's already seen so many ups and downs for the man touted as the best player of this generation, Cardinals first baseman and superstar Albert Pujols sustained a fractured left wrist from Royals infielder Wilson Betemit yesterday in interleague play. While the injury seemed minor at first, tests were done and it appears that Pujols will miss 4-6 weeks.
If he were a fringe player, we wouldn't be concerned. If he were a fan favorite but not much else, we still wouldn't be concerned. If he was a big star, we'd notice, but still might not be concerned. But this is Albert Pujols. This is, as I said, the best player of this generation. Not only that, this is the best player of this generation...who's in the last year of his contract and will be a free agent at the end of this season, possibly the most sought-after free agent in years. This is one of those rare players that can completely change a franchise forever. He's become the face of the Cardinals, gaining the kind of popularity and respect in that organization reserved for players like Ozzie Smith, Bob Gibson, Stan Musial and Rogers Hornsby. Mind you, those are all Hall of Fame Players who are spoken of in almost revered tones. Only halfway through his already celebrated career, Pujols is one of the most important and popular players in the game. So an injury to him is not just bad. It's catastrophic.
Look at it this way: in 10 full seasons, he's never hit under .312 (career .329 average), never sent less than 32 baseballs into the cheap seats, and never batted in less than 116 runs in any year. This year, he was on pace to do .279/38/100. For any other player, those are MVP-caliber stats. For Albert Pujols, that's underperforming. Not even slightly underperforming, that's a noticeable dip. Is there still any doubt how much he impacts his team, his league, his sport? There really shouldn't be. However, missing two months would crush a regular man's season, and it certainly won't do much good in Albert's quest to salvage his and the Cardinals' playoff hopes. This is a team that already lost their best pitcher, Adam Wainwright, before the season even began. Take their best position player out of the mix as well, and you're looking at a unbeatable force that just had its weakness discovered. This is a blowup more monumental than the Padres' 10-game losing streak late last season that cost them the division and the playoffs. Sure, Lance Berkman (who will most likely take over the cold corner in Pujols' absence while fourth outfielder John Jay gets the nod in right field) and a healthy Matt Holliday are still around to power the offense, and with Colby Rasmus expected to get hot, as well as the somewhat anticipated return of David Freese from the DL fast approaching, this is a Cardinals team that may be able to survive through the Period Without Pujols. However, the chances of them somehow powering past the red-hot Brewers and the heating-up Reds without The Machine seem to be slim.
Of course, all of this is besides the point. This is a walk year for El Hombre. Not that he would walk away from the city that so gladly and willingly embraced him, nor would he want to. But if the money isn't right (pressure from the players' union for him to sign a contract that tops Alex Rodriguez's 10-year, $275 million monstrosity is mounting at a feverish pace), it most likely will be good elsewhere. Many speculate that, if he does not stay a Redbird, he'll find a new roost in Chicago (who only have hit-or-miss Carlos Pena contracted through this season), and there are plenty of other cities that would love to house this golden goose. But an injury that could sideline him through most of the remainder of this year, and one that would make his stats take a nosedive after already being in freefall for most of the first half, might surprisingly tarnish his otherwise spotless reputation. Chances are extremely high that this won't make a difference to most teams interested in him, but it does show that even gods can bleed. And no one wants to think of Superman breaking his arm, especially to a minor villain like Wilson Betemit (who?).
So, Alberto, you're in our hearts and thoughts...just not in our starting fantasy lineups for a while.
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