Light Up That Halo! Albert Pujols Puts Angels On Top

It almost feels like Christmas in Southern California, and perhaps the Los Angeles Angels, Southern California’s baseball team that had a massive shopping spree and stunned the world, bought early holiday gifts. These days, being the greatest hitter in baseball is the easiest way to earn a huge payday and migrate to the realm of glamour in Orange County, a large city in Southern California where many celebrities find a place to call home.

The Angels, however, were in need of an overhaul and recently changed the landscape and spent $331.5 million. This is the greatest free agent signing for the best player of the century. This is Planet of the Apes, not the Rally Monkeys. I often think of Albert Pujols as the cleanest, if not the purest player in baseball, a slugger who is now worth millions after his longtime stay in St. Louis, where he emerged into baseball’s most dangerous hitter. Never before has baseball felt so good in California, as St. Louis fans are saddened by Pujols' departure.

The shock and dashing hopes in St. Louis, and understandably so, are felt tremendously after the second-best player in Cardinals’ history exercised his option by signing as a free agent for $254 million over 10 years with the Angels Thursday. Now, it’s the Angels turn to own the rights of the most high-profile slugger. The Rally Monkey faithful cheered like hell for Prince Albert and the Angels, pulling off one of the biggest blockbuster deals in franchise history and doing just enough to lure a sellout crowd into baseball heaven.

It’s a huge signing, one that turns the Angels into an immediate AL West contender, as Pujols will likely retire in an Angels uniform. Chances are Pujols and C.J. Wilson, one of baseball’s sharpest left-handers who signed as a free agent for $77.5 million over five years, makes the Angels considerably far more superior -- raising expectations after bringing in stronger depth and, more importantly, a power hitter.

What’s likely is that the Angels are going to have to elevate into prime contention, and will have to be lucky if the ballclub demands to rule the league and have influence over the AL West. And so, Angels owner Arte Moreno is smarter than before, making the biggest splash since he brought the franchise and suddenly is building a relationship with one of baseball’s luminaries.

“It’s a very exciting day for the Angels community, for Southern California as a whole,” new general manager Jerry Dipoto said.

This is what the excited fans want to hear, that a slugger accepts roughly $44 million to go west instead of staying in the Midwest, where life after Pujols is strangely untold. By surprise, Mike Scioscia heard about the gratifying news. He received word on an airplane, flying home from baseball meetings. His cellphone rang, he answered it and it was Moreno, his boss, calling him to tell him about the free agency signings that were never envisioned. The reality is, the happiest place on Earth is located on Katella Avenue and State College Boulevard, and in all honesty, Pujols is bigger than Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.

Instead of Tinker Bell brightening up the night sky, the Angels can light up that Halo!

It’s the happiest day for the Angels, as the ballclub built natural power, but the team must attain greatness and solidify its national preeminence. Before all of this happened, as irrelevance was the definition, the Angels were the second-best team in town and were loafing in the shadows of the Dodgers. The local fans were thinking BLUE, not red, but now the feeling is not the same with Pujols arriving to town when he was free to move around the country and landed in Orange County.

And perhaps he was the best thing that happened for Moreno and the Angels, along with stealing Wilson from division foes the Texas Rangers. Before all of this, he as the owner took much criticism for being inept and not the businessman with millions who offer a top slugger big dollars. But this time, he wooed Pujols away from the world champion Cardinals. This is not a friendly business but a risky business, if you will, and the Angels were quietly determined to give crazy money to two players that the ballclub obviously thinks are components to ripen into championship form.

Maybe Moreno was nuts to spend this kind of money for a baseball player, but damned if you do and damned if you don’t. It was the first time since he bought the Angels in spring of 2003, a few months after the club won its first World Series, that Moreno refused to fail and restored the team’s identity. As the Dodgers are on the verge of new ownership next summer, Moreno lifted his ballclub into primary considerations locally here in Los Angeles, finally maneuvering his team like an actual owner in command of saving his club’s brand.


This winter, he cleaned out his front office, getting rid of former general manager Tony Reagins, who dismantled the Angels with his lack of aggressiveness and inexperience at the GM position. This winter, he has brought on board two stars from other cities, and now the Angels are considered the favorites to win the American League title. This doesn’t sit too well with other ballclubs, when the Angels haven't had legit power since Vladimir Guerrero and when the team consist of the best pitching staff that has the most depth and talent with the likes of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and the newest member, Wilson.

That guy is Pujols, a future Hall of Famer who is 31 and has played for 10 seasons hitting at least .300 with at least 100 runs batted in. The criticism is from Pujols accepting a 10-year contract that some believes is too long, given his age and eventual decline in productivity. If he begins to slow down late in his career, he can suitably fit in well as a designated hitter, a slugger known for drilling home runs with 445 in his career, on pace to surpass Barry Bonds’ career record of 762 homers.

It comes as a surprise that he established a consistent winner in one day around a sterling managerial staff and a family-friendly ballpark in Anaheim. It comes as a surprise, even though the Angels failed to advance to the postseason for the second straight season all while fans were embittered with the front office for spending millions on inferior outfielder Vernon Wells after acquiring him in a trade that sent catcher Mike Napoli to Toronto. Napoli was eventually traded to the Rangers and bloomed into a top-tier player. It comes as a surprise when Moreno was slammed by irascible fans for promising everyone that he would invest in a slugger to revamp his team, but spared no money in rebuilding the team and was unsuccessful landing a premier free agent.

It comes as a surprise, for sure, but an overhaul was badly needed.

Cardinals Postseason Craze Is More Than Miracle

This is definitely not a phantasm, not even an illusion but a reality for baseball as the Redbird gang is the sphere of the game's utopia. In every conceivable way, the Cardinals are the biggest surprise this postseason, in the town where Midwestern values are distinguished from the wildest cult of fans surrounded by the banks of the riverfront and the nation's tallest monument.

Beyond all the pity and messes from the Steroid Era, a dreadful age in sports when many players were juicing their bodies with performance-enhancers, the Cardinals are the coolest fable. The hallucination has turned into reality, and St. Louis is largely in position to win the World Series.

They look like the team of miracles and imagination, but nevertheless it doesn't seem as if the Cardinals are the flukiest ballclub this postseason and may have justified by producing at the right possible time to become the hottest club that they are a menace, not to society but opponents in October.

Will the world ever realize that baseball is a game of momentum and awakened bats, a game of hot streaks, not the one game of probability and certainty?? Will the world ever realize that David Letterman is more hilarious than most people think? Will the world ever accept Lady Gaga for who she is?

It's hard to understand the variations of the mind, but it's not difficult to sense that the Cardinals are more than just a surprise. The local franchise is authentic and St. Louis residents actually believe in the Redbirds by now, and only did so after the Cardinals capped an astounding finish to clinch the NL wild-card berth that completed one of baseball's remarkable comebacks.

So before the Cardinals were fueled to string together a historic comeback, the ballclub trailed Atlanta by 10 1/2games, and then won 23 of the last 31 games to complete the unthinkable. The stunner came in the division series when the Cardinals beat the Phillies and eliminated baseball's best team from the postseason, which is probably why the miracle is more refreshing.

The sellout crowd was dressed in seas of Cardinal red and the foot-stomping, loud cheers from fans in the stands exploded at Busch Stadium, feeling the improbable run and imaginary dreams. The ballpark is an insane mental house, and the Cardinals have written a familiar tale with a rare playoff push that can encourage a person to embrace the wave of crazed postseason surprises. The mood is so similar, so common, so timing for the Cardinals, who have made life interesting and entertained fans by the eye-popping, heart-stopping fruition.

There are believers galore in St. Louis, but the Cardinals still have unfinished business in the NLCS. Face it, people. Baseball life in the Midwest is exciting, intense and more fun. From now on, it's about the Cardinals transforming into a believable World Series ballclub and producing in the most gratifying game that incredibly transpose all the momentum in the Cards' favor.

So what a curious, nice irony that the Cardinals, who would reach the highest point of the postseason before even clinching a trip to the World Series, are turning a surreal story into a true baseball anecdote. We trust Chris Carpenter in every start he appears, not as nervous when he face hitters, knowing that the Cardinals are usually untouchable if he's throwing the fastball and has a fiery mindset.

We trust he knows what is expected of him. If not for Carpenter, the Cards probably would not be in this position. But then again, maybe they are just that damn good. Every time Carpenter throws, though, he doesn't hold back his emotions and plays with intensity that normally results in a Cardinals victory, owning remarkable postseason numbers unlike any other pitcher.

As it stands, he is now 6-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 11 postseason starts and he has carried the Cards, and if you admire the beauty of the game, you're probably in love with Carpenter and the beautiful script the Cardinals have produced. The notion of this series brought a sense of aspiration and mastering a world championship is the Cardinals' top priority on their to-do list this fall, wildly standing as the invincible ballclub, a team to beat this postseason, a team no one ever imagined.

At the end of the night, after St. Louis secured a 4-3 win in Game 3 of the NLCS to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with the next two games at home, the Cardinals are frazzled and drained but more importantly have seized home field advantage with the most productive hitters in the postseason.

"We are really not going to stop and think about it because there's so much to do yet," said manager Tony La Russa. "But if you stop and think, you may get distracted and you start walking around and digging yourself, and we don't want to do that."

His excellence began in the last series, long before the Cardinals climbed into contention, long before earning any credit, and long before the recent marvel in this alluring postseason. Carpenter, unhittable and gritty, is coming off two brilliant performances this fall. His finest outing was a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 win in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against Philadelphia on Friday, for one of the masterly pitching performances in the postseason since Bob Gibson.

For the hottest ballclub, the Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead, but couldn't maintain the huge advantage as the Brewers pulled back cutting the deficit to one run. They went from mediocre to winners, the Redbirds from the Midwest who came together on a mission in attempt to bring home the pennant.

What an amazing way, after they were cursed and blamed for their nonsuccess, for the Cardinals to reestablish themselves in the second decade of the 21st century, with the accomplished La Russa and the greatest revival. The melancholy has disappeared, the sputtering Cardinals' bullpen has suddenly awakened and St. Louis is not on life-support, suddenly recovering from all the weaknesses that burned the franchise.

For now, though, after the Cardinals were dead in September and suddenly came alive in time for the pennant chase, St. Louis refuse to surrender. The miraculous run is a formula no antagonist can defeat, unable to stop baseball's hottest team that has a monstrous, terrifying pitching staff when the Cardinals bullpen finished the regular season with a 3.73 ERA and ranked 17th in the majors.

That's assuming the Cards, who can win baseball's gorgeous prize, shimmer in the spotlight and try to spend millions on slugger Albert Pujols by the time he test the market this winter, are considered the greatest team given the adjustments from a much-improved bullpen. The game was hyped as a duel of aces, and Game 3 was critical for the Brewers, mainly because Yovani Gallardo started, but Milwaukee struggled badly and the Cardinals were stronger.

The bullpen, 11th in the NL in ERA during the regular season, was the difference as Fernando Salas, Lance Lynn, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte combined to throw four perfect innings after Carpenter left the game. It's been a fun postseason, simply because the Cardinals have brought much drama, now that no team can defeat them, not even Gallardo who is now 1-8 in his career against St. Louis.

Worse, the Brewers rotation is declining when Randy Wolf, Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke are 1-3 with an 11.52 ERA in five postseason starts. The duel lasted only five innings for both pitchers, but Carpenter obviously had the better outing by expertly giving up three runs on six hits with three walks, while Gallardo surrendered four runs on eight hits and five walks.

It's one of the best products on the field in October, an element no one can replicate on pace to accomplish something special. As long as Carpenter is dominating, the Cardinals are giving themselves a chance to clinch their 18th World Series appearance with their power at the plate. He's obviously throwing well for the Cardinals, but not only is Carpenter the component.

There is Rafael Furcal, who has been a big leaguer for 12 seasons and has done well getting on base to move into scoring position. As such a point in the postseason that he is hitting .500, with two triples, two singles and a stolen base and three runs scored, Furcal is producing efficiently.

The same can be said for Pujols, who has been on base in eight of his nine appearances to the plate in the past two games, driving a shot into left-center to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. It would be fatuous, not to mention irresponsible, to dismiss the red-hot David Freese after hitting a double to give his team a 4-0 lead and he is unbelievably 6-for-12 in this series, batting .367 with four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs.

"We have a bunch of premier hitters stacked one on top of another, and sooner or later, somebody is going to do something," Lance Berkman said. "It puts teams in a bad spot when everything's clicking, because there's really nowhere to go. It's like an American League lineup in the National League. It's the best offensive team I've ever been a part of in the National League."

Don't forget about the bullpen, too. This is not a mirage, but a genuine natural power.

"I don't consider this team a surprise," Berkman said. "I really don't. Take a step back and tell me which team in the National League has a better lineup than we do. We've got a bona fide ace [Carpenter]. And we've got a closer [Jason Motte] who throws 100 miles an hour, with a nasty slider.

I couldn't agree with Berkman more. This isn't a surprise team, but a championship-caliber team.

"So I mean, at this point, it really shouldn't be, 'I can't believe the St. Louis Cardinals are in the NLCS, making some noise.' That having been said, we're still a long ways from where we want to be. But the fact that we're here, to me, is not surprising."

For those who can't believe the Cardinals are in the NLCS on the verge of another World Series appearance, believe it.

Cardinals Would Be Fools to Allow Albert Pujols To Test the Market

The time is ultimately dwindling for the St. Louis Cardinals, a ball club overwhelmed by a ruckus as the calendar almost approaches spring, battered by contract negotiations with the most dangerous slugger in baseball.

This would clearly be a devastating and crestfallen loss, the worst faux pas in franchise history if the Cardinals fail to eventually finalize a deal with Albert Pujols, arguably the cleanest hitter in baseball if not the best hitter in baseball. Never to this day has he tested positive for the usage of banned substances, never to this day has he disappointed a cult of Redbird fans that deems that he's the main attraction for baseball.

For all we know, he could be the valuable star in St. Louis, a city where the Gateway Arch overlooks the community and Busch Stadium, where the Mississippi River flows through and where Prince Albert has defined a storied career. Even if he holds the leverage with his swings at nearly every at-bat this season, the Cardinals could be smart and liberal to negotiate a contract extension with Pujols.

If the Cardinals are interested in retaining their slugger, it's momentous that the ball club satisfies and offers Pujols a contract extension, one of the richest deals in baseball. It does, in retrospect, seem preposterous to hear one player request for $300 million—an unprecedented attribute in baseball and it has become, for what it seems at least, a player's birthright to seek an outrageous price.

This, however, doesn't illuminate that he's a mercenary, but a useful fixture if he opts to test the market next winter and be the next biggest free agent after this season. No matter how much money he desires as one of the elite hitters in baseball, a potential Triple Crown winner in the future, his employers willingly acknowledge that Pujols is the best player in the game. It's utterly fascinating that the Cardinals somehow aren't financially stabled to pay him, an excuse the organization adopts, ashamed to admit how cheap they are in paying a franchise player.

During his tenure, he has served the Cardinals well, stood as an idol in postseason conquests and has promoted the sport, given his presence to captivate fans with his unbelievable swings at the bat. Even when the Cardinals refuse to reach a mutual agreement with Pujols, he is expected to arrive at St. Louis' spring headquarters in Jupiter, Florida on Wednesday. With an unusual event for the Cardinals, now on the possible brink of a drastic implosion, it has increasingly built a disturbance and has presented very little details.

The story here is very vague, a chaotic rhetoric that taunts the Cardinals in spring training, and sadly blinds the more important news. Much of St Louis' vernacular focuses on, not the Cards progress en route to a 162-game regular season, not their odds in winning a divisional title, but turns its attention towards Pujols. The latest offer he turned down paints a hapless picture for the Cardinals—really after reports surfaced that he'll not entertain another contract offer before his self-imposed deadline, which means St. Louis won't retain Pujols unless they are aggressive and proactive to settle a palatable deal.

A tale that begins with a debate when Pujols is seeking a 10-year deal, it's very absurd for a middle-aged slugger close to the after years of his remarkable career to be granted a promising wish. While he asks for a berserk contract when he is almost passed his prime and closer to his exit, the Cardinals aren't fools after all, unwilling to desperately hold on to Pujols.

Why?? What is there to lose?

No player at the age of 31 in baseball has attained as much as Pujols. So clearly, he's already received accolades from his worshippers, treasured for crushing homers into the stands, a cure for a sport in tatters by the heinous Steroid Era that has fizzled out slowly, partly with his ability to look at every fastball and belt a home run naturally. In reality, he deserves all the credit in the world as the epicenter to rid the drug crisis.

Generally speaking, for all we know, he's probably one of the purest sluggers in baseball with the art of naturally hitting the ball the distance, gifted by natural powers. It's always nice, although we'll never know if he used any banned substances to help his performance level, when supporters can embrace Pujols and wish for a positive outcome in his successful career, a superlative decade spent with the Cardinals.

I like to believe that he's clean. I like to believe that he's never injected or swallowed any performance enhancers. I like to believe he's a spotless luminary with exceptional kindness, principles and grace. In fairness of his phenomenal achievements, by the time this is over, Pujols may demand $30 million or more a year, a longer term, an opt-out clause in his final season and, above all, plenty of cash to definitely shrink half of the Cardinals payroll.

For now, however, the devoted fans cannot breathe, fearful and uneasy because he might leave if the Cardinals refuse to pledge in providing so much money to Pujols. Because he's approaching the final point of his career and some day will reminisce about the era he once ruled in baseball when he won three Most Valuable Player and two Gold Glove awards, all in one decade with one team, the Cardinals fear to appease Pujols worried about future plans.

Beneath the madness, the Cardinals aren't stupid enough to allow the slugger to test the market, right? Most of all, hopefully, the Cardinals aren't so indifferent or oblivious, right? We'll like to think so, at least I would like to think otherwise of an organization that has depended on Pujols' power bat. His swings alone have bailed out St. Louis in previous seasons, whenever the lineup slumped to produce RBI or score a number of runs for a commanding lead.

So the Cardinals must be willing to salvage the first baseman and cannot allow him to take off for another franchise that offers him the riches he is seeking of late, a wealthy contract that will automatically make him the richest player in the game today. If he does test the market next winter, given that both sides in the Pujols negotiations have chosen to react foolishly and persist in the public drama, you can only imagine the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs or even the Mets bidding in the Pujols sweepstakes, meeting with him at the negotiation table to convince him of building a foundation elsewhere.

The clock is ticking and still no deal has been finalized. Meanwhile, with only a day left before he reports to spring training, the uncertainty is so horrifying that he'll likely be thrust on the open market, available to solidify someone's lineup in the majors. If there's one person tired of hearing about Pujols and the contract dispute, it's Cardinals manager Tony La Russa irritated with the anonymity of the contract insanity.

As of Sunday, he admitted that the situation possibly is a "spectacular distraction." But only a fool loses Pujols, a powerful slugger in this generation—an age when many players have disappointed and betrayed us. If the Cardinals handle it poorly, they can wave goodbye to Pujols. This is outlandish in many ways and unfair since the club pampered one of his teammates.

It was only two years ago when the Cardinals gave Matt Holliday $120 million for seven years, or even a year ago when they allowed Mark McGwire to return as the club's hitting coach after his staggering confession and admission for using steroids. In one twisted incident, La Russa was arrested near the Cardinals' spring facility in Florida in 2007 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, but after all, his job was salvaged by the front office.

And now, the Cards refuse to give Pujols what he wants. A long time ago, owner Bill DeWitt Jr. lost me when he couldn't find a solution to donate more than $200 million of his payroll to Pujols. If he leaves, the Cardinals may drop drastically and become below average.

That would be unbelievably agonizing for the fans, the community and the organization, operated by general manager John Mozeliak. The maddening tumult must come to an end, but the only way it will cease is when Mozeliak overcomes his weariness and proactively settles a deal.

The Cardinals lost me.

Give him what he wants. It's time this deal gets done as the clock ticks hastily.

Believe In Pujols' Slugfests, Homers

In a town where the arch resides, one of the world’s greatest monuments that overlooks the city, and where the Mississippi River flows along St. Louis, there’s also baseball’s unquestionable hitter who hails before the enthusiastic Redbird fans -- where average fans contain Pujols Craziness.


As baseball entered the All-Star break, conversations converged in the moment when presumptions are that Albert Pujols is the purist hitter in baseball. From what it seems, Pujols' gifted and artistic swings illustrate his patience, alertness, will and focus at the plate to deposit home runs into the stands.

Much of Pujols' slugfests and smash ball hitting has drawn our attention and awed us, putting steroid debacles behind us as he showcase ways to legitimately hit without any substances. As people, we want to believe Pujols is pure, and isn’t a suspect of fraud.

As people, we would be very disappointed, hurt, cheated and betrayed if his name ever surface that he used performance-enhancers. I wouldn’t be surprised since we are witnessing a contaminated Steroid Era, and stubborn commissioner, Bud Selig, who hasn't done much to remove toxic waste from poisoning the game's image.

But I believe in Pujols, and have the surest notion he’s the purist hitter in the game today.

He could even heal bitterness and anguish, for those who have disassociated themselves from the deceitful game.


Pujols is the player everyone envisions as a positive role model, a purist and slugger who seems honest in reviving the sport and removing memories of steroid busts and juicers from staining America’s pastime.

In an era where steroids have cast disgraceful cognizance, we vow that Pujols is innocenct of any substances and we hope profoundly he is baseball’s only alternative to disencumber the ruination affecting the tattered sport.

Even though it’s naïve and unknown to assume that anyone in this age is clean, Pujols has done well by avoiding steroid conversations and has never been beckoned as a person of interest. He has never broadcasted himself as a person of guilt or fault, and his name has never been mentioned as a suspect of shameless crimes.

So, are there enough facts to assume he has never injected and pumped himself with juice? Yes, I trust Pujols more than any other player amid our tainted era.

This year has been a year of steroid busts, the year an anonymous list unveiled, which comprise of 104 players. Only two players from the list have been uncovered, while everyone else’s name still remains occulted. By summarizing the past, some of the biggest scandals developed shamefully.

Alex Rodriguez was a target of fraud, when he was linked to the list of 104 players for using performance-enhancing drugs. A year ago, Roger Clemens surfaced as a criminal, when the George Mitchell Report comprised of his name as one of the players who used substances to improve his level of legitimacy. And as the entire world knows, Barry Bonds lied about his delusive juicing addiction and Mark McGuire, who refused to talk about the past, vanished from the game and was humiliated by the catastrophe.

But Pujols hasn't experienced no dismay and embarrassment. He’s devoted to the game, and focuses on hitting the ball powerfully to produce slugfests. He isn’t a cocky slugger, and embraces others whose natural talent or even fraudulent talent had an imprint on the game. Greater than Pujols' demeanor is his ability to still preserve power since drug testing began several years ago. Those are hints of a purist, as many players' slugging percentages and batting averages have toppled.

For now, there’s nothing suspicious about Pujols, having an astonishing year and producing enough runs to keep the Cardinals floating atop the division. With the Chicago Cubs' faulty curses and long-suffering struggles, logic has it the Cards are favorites as long as Pujols continues with his fascinating homers and RBI productivity.

The dramatic power and constant home run dominance regularly has heated up Triple Crown discussions. And if there’s anyone close to breaking an impossible milestone, it would be Pujols. At the all-star break, he has a staggering 32 homers and 87 runs driven in with a .332 batting average -- results that qualifies as potentially the next Triple Crown winner and the first since Carl Yastrzemski won the Crown in 1967.

Pujols is the right candidate, and the most talented hitter naturally. It is rare to find a hitter as perfect as Pujols, and a singular slugger who can accumulate at least 30 homers by the start of the second-half of the regular-season. Currently, he’s on pace to hit at least 60 home runs this season.

It's enough to inspire us, and finally say "WOW!" As it seems, we are finally witnessing the best player of our time.

He is King Arthur, a Machine no one can replicate. And he gives baseball a feeling of elation.

In Pujols, we trust.