Results tagged “Albert Pujols” from The Southpaw

While playing basketball at the Hanover YMCA Friday, the Southpaw played against a kid who was wearing a Nolan Reimold jersey.
Now, that's a fan.
Inside, we look at the National League's rookie class, remember Dwight Gooden and find out another team needs a third baseman.

This series has the National League's two most dominant franchises.
It's got Albert Pujols.
It's got Manny Ramirez.
It's got Captain Clutch.
It's managers have brought their teams to 11 World Series.
What more could you want?
Well, we know who's going to win.

It was a night of stars.
Pedro in Wrigley. Albert in St. Louis. The Kid in Seattle. Josh Beckett heating up Beantown.

A
Tampa Bay Rays players are about to pounce on Evan Longoria, who's about to bounce on home plate. Did the rays just win a game that could kickstart a late season push for the wild card?
Apologies all around about Tuesday's first pitch. It was a very busy day in the newsroom and by 12 p.m. I realize, "Hey, I never got to The First Pitch."
So here's a doubly good effort today.
Hank Aaron wants names. And Pete Rose to be reinstated.

Here are some early impressions:

1. It's nice that the National League let a prepubescent fan pitch the first inning.
   That kid, Tim Lincecum, had a rough first inning.
   Of course, he got hurt by hometown hero Albert Pujols kicked around a ground ball.


2. The Pepsi refreshed generation commercial was really cool.


3. Michael Young's play on Albert the Great's rip wasn't as fantastic as Joe Buck would have you believe. First of all, he stepped to the side and waved at it. He was lucky he got it. A good play would have been had he stepped in front of it and fielded it fundamentally.
   It just wouldn't have looked as cool


4. How about Roy Halladay's at-bat. Maybe he was showing the Phillies he could hit. He fouled off a bunch of pitches from Tim Lincecum. Of course, he didn't have his own batting helmet, which was fun to watch.


5. How about Tim Timmons umpiring down the left field line? What makes that interesting is it's the same name as a character from The Sandlot.


6. The last three presidents have been in the broadcast booth and it's nice that they're not as awkward as some other politicians. Presidents Obama, Bush the elder, Bush the Younger and Clinton are all sports fans and can have an easy rapport with broadcasters. It's a stark contrast from John Kerry. Here's something Peter Gammons wrote in 2004.
   So who puts the bug in candidates' ears about seeming what they are not? John Kerry last week professed to be a big fan of "Manny Ortez," then re-emphasized the phoofery by correcting it to "David Ortez." No, that was Dave (Baby) Cortez and "The Happy Organ." A few years back Kerry went on a Boston station with Eddie Andelman and said "my favorite Red Sox player of all time is The Walking Man, Eddie Yost," who never played for the Red Sox. Kerry is going to sweep New England. He's going to get 70 percent of the vote in Massachusetts. He doesn't have to be a Red Sox fan, all he has to do is not be John Ashcroft.
   

Albert the great started things off. He hit some bullets, but the distance just wasn't there until the end. Tony La Russa has to be happy for that because that means he didn't change his stroke.
Pujols finished with six bombs but didn't qualify.
Ryan Howard qualified, finishing with 15.
Then Cruz hit some memorable shots deep into the St. Louis night.
Then Prince Fielder hit some moon shots, getting a standing ovation for his 503-foot tater.
However, the highlight of the round came from Mr. Gingivitis himself, Chris Berman. Boomer said the Commissioner's Office should have named Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson should have been named to the team like Mickey Mantle and other idols were in the 60s.
I couldn't agree more with this sentiment.
After all it is an all-star game. Sure, they might not be the premiereremi players in the game anymore, but they're still stars.

You've got to give Carlos Pena credit. He's trying to win it. But he doesn't need to be so selective.
Call it karma that we had to wait out his at-bat and he only got one.
Then, we Joe Mauer batted and was shout out.
So we needed Alber Pujols to hit two in the second round just so we wouldn't have to worry about Pena taking 15 pitches per swing.
And Albert delivered, launching one to Topeka.

How much pressure can one man shoulder?
Not only does Albert Pujols have to deal with the pressure of being in the Home Run Derby, but he's got an entire city hoping he's going to win the derby.
Then he falls behind seven outs to one home run.
He looked like raw bacon, all floppy and out of place.
Then he turned on a switch.
He hit what would have been a single that was so hard he almost impaled 18 children in left center.
The fans started rocking.
Then he sent a dribbler toward short and, again it looked like he was doen.
"If you're going to hit one, you might as well hit two," Joe Morgan said.
Well, Pujols hit one, so we habe bonus derby.

Apparently, Albert Pujols is looking for a walk.

The Southpaw is sick and tired of King Felix. He's barely a duke. Barely.
The Phillies opened up a can Monday.
And yes, we actually defend Derek Jeter.

There should be a separate league for Albert Pujols. The rest of the Big Leagues just aren't good enough for him to compete with.
Now that Pujols has reached the 30 home run plateau, we need to reflect on how great his young career has been.
Caution, what you're about to see might shock you.
If toughness is measured in today's pop culture- infused world by Chuck Norris, well, Albert Pujols is much tougher to get out than the bearded fellow.

Brian Roberts scores the go-ahead run in an insane, ridiculous and historic rally against the Boston Red Sox.
All we can say is wow.
Wow for the Orioles.
Wow for the Rays.
Wow for Albert the Great.

I"M NOT ON STEROIDS.
Then, why are you yelling?
Anyway, we've got tons of good stuff for you. Lots of nutrition. And tastes good too.

Earlier this week, we gave you our selections for the American League.
Now, without further delay, is our NL squad.

1B Albert Pujols. We admit our bias. We really want to pick Ryan Howard, but just can't justify it over Pujols. We don't have to tell you Pujols is the best hitter in the game. If you didn't know that, you don't know that you probably think a warning track is "Stop in the name of love." Another tough person not to vote for was Adrian Gonzalez
2BChase Utley. How could we pick anyone else? Only Freddie Sanchez and Orlando Hudson have higher batting averages. No one has more home runs or runs driven in.
3BDavid Wright. This is surprisingly a deep position. Mark Reynolds has 21 home runs. That's insane. But Wright is batting .359 with 19 stolen bases. It was also hard not to vote for Ryan Zimmerman
SSHanley Ramirez. This was another tough call. We wanted to go with Christian Guzman, but Ramirez' numbers are just too impressive. He has a .339 average and 12 home runs.
C Benji Molina. It's hard to call him a star, but he belongs on this team. He's got 10 home runs and he's so good behind the plate.
OFRaul Ibanez - He carried the Phillies. Until his injury he was a big-time MVP candidate.
OFRyan Braun - He's quickly becoming one of the premier players in the game. He's got 16 big flys and a .321 average.
OF Justin Upton - He's the only outfielder with at least a .300 average, 10 home runs and 10 runs driven in.

The Orioles completed a sweep of the Phillies.
John Gonzalez takes on The Herd.
And CC says Seeya in the second.

The title "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived" does not belong to Ty Cobb. Nor is it Barry Bonds to hold. It's hard to believe, but it's not even Babe Ruth's.
"The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived" is, however, a two-time Triple Crown winner, the last hitter to bat .400 in a single season, and the holder of the highest batting average of any member of the 500 home run club.
His swing was damn-near perfect.
He spoke in CAPITAL LETTERS.
He served his country during two wars, giving up, in all probability, at least 150 career home runs during that time. He was John Glenn's wingman and was honored by Douglas MacArthur.
He is Thumper, The Kid, The Splendid Splinter and Teddy Ballgame.
He is Theodore Samuel Williams.

Our prayers are with Scott Schoeneweis and his family.
Is the future of the Nats injured?
What's going on in Manny's mind?
Is Nick Johnson returning to New York?

No, this packed house isn't because of the Orioles' play thus far this season. It's because of a torrential downpour.

Right now, Johan Santana could do anything he wants with a baseball. We're serious. He could split an atom, knock a fly off a dime, throw it through Fort Knox without it being seen.
The Orioles played a Little League game.

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz slugs a first inning double off New York Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes. Ortiz collected two doubles in Boston's victory.

Mystique and Aura have yet to move into the new Yankee Stadium.
Zack Greinke is clearly the best pitcher on the planet right now.

April's over boys and girls.
So crank up the grill, grab a Dr Pepper and check out our month-end look at the most powerful teams and players in baseball.