I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 2011
I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 2011
I know it's early, but that big contract seems to be weighing on him like it did on Dunn last year.
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ChiScottieBaseball
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Re: I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 20
Adam Dunn was coming off an Appendectomy last season, which is what people tend to forget. Not saying that this may have been the only reason for his down season but the after effects certainly seemed to contribute somewhat...
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Steel Lugnuts
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Re: I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 20
I hated Pujols this year, but still ended up with him in two of my leagues!!! The way the drafts unfolded, I couldn't pass him up...I just need him to have one more Pujols year, than I'm done with him.
At least he knows he can hit...anytime he wants to start would be fine by me!
At least he knows he can hit...anytime he wants to start would be fine by me!
Re: I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 20
At least Albert isn't worried (like we who have him on our fantasy teams) according to the L.A. Times:
Angels' Albert Pujols not bothered by slow start
The slugger is batting .217 one week into the season but says he thinks only about how many wins the team has.
Angels first baseman Albert Pujols isn't too worried about his season… (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
MINNEAPOLIS — There have been far more ground balls to the left side than line drives to the gaps, but Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, who is batting .217 after Thursday's 10-9 loss to the Minnesota Twins, is not overly concerned about his slow start.
"Not to be cocky, but I know I can hit. I showed that in spring, I've shown that for 11 years, and it's not going to go away like that," Pujols said, snapping his fingers. "I'm trying to stay inside the ball and not think too much. But I think that's what's been going on the last few days; I'm thinking too much."
Pujols is one of baseball's most feared sluggers, but one week into his 10-year, $240-million deal with the Angels, he's no different from many teammates trying to find their swings. In 26 plate appearances, Pujols has hit eight grounders to the left side and four infield popups.
"You look at our lineup, nobody is hitting good, we haven't clicked," Pujols said. "You have a tendency to try to do too much the first week of the season, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
Pujols recalled a slow start in 2003, when he hit .241 in his first eight games and went on to hit a National League-leading .359 with 43 home runs, 51 doubles and 124 runs batted in.
Pujols, 32, hit .267 with nine homers and 31 RBIs last April and May but snapped out of his funk, batting .318 with 28 homers and 68 RBIs from June 1 on. He hit .353 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 18 postseason games to help the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series.
Pujols led the American League with seven homers and an .850 slugging percentage this spring.
"I went through a rough start last year and learned from it," Pujols said. "I had a good spring and took it into the season, but obviously my numbers don't show that. … I can't think about my numbers, just how many wins we have."
On to New York
Pujols will play his first games this weekend in the new Yankee Stadium, where he will hold a news conference Friday to accommodate the large number of New York-area media requests.
Pujols played only three regular-season games in old Yankee Stadium, going three for 10 with a homer in 2003, and he was two for three in the 2008 All-Star game there.
"No disrespect, but I look at it as just another city, another stadium," Pujols said. "I try to separate off-the-field stuff with preparation. Yeah, it's a big city, it's Yankee Stadium, we're facing the Yankees, but to me that doesn't matter."
Pujols moved to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic when he was 16 but lived there for only six weeks in the winter before moving to the Kansas City area, so he never attended a game in Yankee Stadium as a kid.
His first major league game was an Angels-Royals game in 1996, when Angels center fielder Jim Edmonds made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in Kauffman Stadium.
Angels' Albert Pujols not bothered by slow start
The slugger is batting .217 one week into the season but says he thinks only about how many wins the team has.
Angels first baseman Albert Pujols isn't too worried about his season… (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
MINNEAPOLIS — There have been far more ground balls to the left side than line drives to the gaps, but Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, who is batting .217 after Thursday's 10-9 loss to the Minnesota Twins, is not overly concerned about his slow start.
"Not to be cocky, but I know I can hit. I showed that in spring, I've shown that for 11 years, and it's not going to go away like that," Pujols said, snapping his fingers. "I'm trying to stay inside the ball and not think too much. But I think that's what's been going on the last few days; I'm thinking too much."
Pujols is one of baseball's most feared sluggers, but one week into his 10-year, $240-million deal with the Angels, he's no different from many teammates trying to find their swings. In 26 plate appearances, Pujols has hit eight grounders to the left side and four infield popups.
"You look at our lineup, nobody is hitting good, we haven't clicked," Pujols said. "You have a tendency to try to do too much the first week of the season, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
Pujols recalled a slow start in 2003, when he hit .241 in his first eight games and went on to hit a National League-leading .359 with 43 home runs, 51 doubles and 124 runs batted in.
Pujols, 32, hit .267 with nine homers and 31 RBIs last April and May but snapped out of his funk, batting .318 with 28 homers and 68 RBIs from June 1 on. He hit .353 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 18 postseason games to help the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series.
Pujols led the American League with seven homers and an .850 slugging percentage this spring.
"I went through a rough start last year and learned from it," Pujols said. "I had a good spring and took it into the season, but obviously my numbers don't show that. … I can't think about my numbers, just how many wins we have."
On to New York
Pujols will play his first games this weekend in the new Yankee Stadium, where he will hold a news conference Friday to accommodate the large number of New York-area media requests.
Pujols played only three regular-season games in old Yankee Stadium, going three for 10 with a homer in 2003, and he was two for three in the 2008 All-Star game there.
"No disrespect, but I look at it as just another city, another stadium," Pujols said. "I try to separate off-the-field stuff with preparation. Yeah, it's a big city, it's Yankee Stadium, we're facing the Yankees, but to me that doesn't matter."
Pujols moved to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic when he was 16 but lived there for only six weeks in the winter before moving to the Kansas City area, so he never attended a game in Yankee Stadium as a kid.
His first major league game was an Angels-Royals game in 1996, when Angels center fielder Jim Edmonds made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in Kauffman Stadium.
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The Mighty Men
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Re: I hope Pujols 2012 doesn't turn into the Adam Dunn of 20
He started slow last year, too. He'll be fine.
Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.” Isaiah 63:1