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From Class A to Grade A Pujols helping Cards survive Mac's absence
Albert Pujols is not Mark McGwire. He does not hit 500-foot moon shots into the upper deck. Nor is he the one who knocked Roger Maris out of the record books and into the nostalgic recesses of Billy Crystal's mind. But Pujols, at 21, is making his mark all the same. What's more, he's helping the Cardinals survive another prolonged absence from their legendary slugger. Rookies don't often hit .370 with eight homers and 27 RBIs in their first month in the big leagues. Rookies generally don't make the jump to the majors after a single season in the minors, most of it at Class A. Rookies rarely show such impeccable instincts, taking the extra base when it's there, hitting the ball where it's pitched, flooring a manager like Tony La Russa with their poise and baseball IQ. Most impressively, rookies usually don't blend so seamlessly into a clubhouse overrun with flinty-eyed veterans. But in the span of two months, including spring training, Pujols has made believers of everyone associated with a team that came within three wins of the World Series last year. "His composure, that's what has impressed me the most," catcher Mike Matheny told me. "He's very professional. He respects the game, respects being here right now. That's what the guys in here have noticed." "He's never satisfied," said right fielder J.D. Drew. "He's always looking to get another hit, always looking to do more. He's always pressing on. We depend on him now." Pujols, a natural third baseman, has attacked his new challenge of playing first, left field and right field as well. "He's one of those guys who's always coming after you: 'Let's go to work, let's do something,'" third base coach Jose Oquendo said. "I'm always hitting groundballs to him. I have to be careful not to overwork him. He's playing every day but still he wants to work so much at every position." Pujols, who grew up in the Dominican Republic before moving to the Kansas City area at 15, calls Oquendo "one of the best coaches I've ever had in my life." The respect is mutual. "It's rare to see guys like that," said Oquendo, a 13-year big league veteran. "When you get one of those guys, you know he's a player." Barely one month into Pujols' big league career, the Cardinals know what they have. Dangers of the split-fingerThe risks of throwing a split-fingered fastball have long centered mainly on the elbow. Now comes the unusual problem that sidelined St. Louis closer Dave Veres for most of the opening month. Veres' elbow was fine. It was numbness in his right index finger that threw a scare into him. Veres had seen blood clots threaten the careers of former teammates like Jerry DiPoto in Colorado and John Hudek in Houston. A battery of tests ruled out anything that serious in Veres' case. Instead, process of elimination traced the artery blockage to a drill Veres had done for years: He would jam a softball between his index and middle fingers to strengthen them and give his splitter more life. "I'm sure a lot of guys who throw the splittie do that," Veres told me. "I've been throwing mine since '92 or '93, and I've had that drill all along. Shane Reynolds, for instance, started throwing his splittie about the same time. He probably does that or something similar." According to Veres and Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg, years of unnatural spreading in the fingers may have finally caused the artery to give out. That's the first such injury for split-finger pitchers anyone could recall, although Cubs right-hander Kevin Tapani did have a tendon problem a few years back that caused him to abandon the splitter for a slider. "This is just something I'll have to learn to deal with and learn to pitch with," said Veres. "The weird thing is once my heart rate gets going and the blood flow gets going, the finger gets colder. No blood is going to the area. That's when I feel it the most. So if I can stay calm when I'm pitching, I'll be fine." Tools of incompetence?If you're looking for answers why the White Sox have gone from the majors' best record last year to its worst this year, consider their catching situation. Chicago made little effort to retain Charles Johnson after picking him up for the stretch drive last season. When Johnson returned to his hometown Marlins as a free agent, the White Sox signed respected veteran Sandy Alomar as a cut-rate replacement. While Johnson, coming off a 31-homer season, banged out nine homers in the opening month, Alomar produced just one homer and nine RBI in his first 20 games. White Sox catchers did have an AL-best batting average of .304 but their total of 10 RBIs outranked just five other AL clubs. Defensively, Alomar had thrown out just three of 12 attempted base stealers while Johnson was cruising along at 53 percent. White Sox pitchers had an ERA of 6.08 with Alomar behind the plate, nearly two full runs higher than with backup Josh Paul catching. "Age has caught up to Sandy to some degree, but he'll provide a veteran, calming influence there," one major league scout told me. "He can still get a key base hit and he's done an adequate job defensively. But their catching is probably not in the upper half of the American League." Alomar, who turns 35 next month, hasn't reached double figures in homers since his dream season of 1997. Nagging injuries have allowed him to play in at least 120 games just three times in 11 seasons. Some wonder how much he has left in the tank. Mike Berardino covers baseball for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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