Assjols.
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by Killuminati
If you are a baseball fan, then you are probably not aware of this because ESPN likes to ride certain players dicks, but Albert Pujols is a major league asshole.
I'm not debating statistics here. That would be dumb. His talent speaks for itself. With the game on the line there isn't a single player in the league that I would rather have at-bat. But, as Barry Bonds has shown, you can be a very talented asshole.
I first began to notice that Pujols was kind of a dick when I watched him hit home runs. Granted, this isn't totally his fault, but it definitely made me question what I was hearing about the man in the media. In the media, especially when watching/listening to Cardinals baseball, you constantly hear about Pujols being a "class act." But does a "class act" do that little bat toss and admire his home runs? No, I don't think so.
Yes, lots and lots of players do this, but you rarely (and by rarely, I mean never) hear about Pujols doing it. Ken Griffey Jr., Alfonso Soriano, and Barry Bonds have all been dogged for admiring home runs, but never Albert Pujols. Baseball is not that complicated. There is no need for a set of double standards.
The next incident in which Pujols showed that he was an asshole was when Tom Glavine p'wned the St. Louis Cardinals in the playoffs last year. Tom Glavine, who just this season won his 300th game, held the Cardinals to just four hits in seven innings of work. Oh yeah, he also didn't give up a run. Most people would say that is one hell of an outing. But, Pujols isn't like most people. According to Pujols, who went 0-3 with a strikeout, Tom Glavine "wasn't that good." Right, Fat Albert, he just wasn't that good. Grow up.
While this incident actually did get some media coverage, Pujols previous comments about another ace pitcher received much less coverage. In the previous series against the San Diego Padres, the Cardinals were tamed by Chris Young. He through 6 plus innings of shut out baseball and struck out nine --two of which were courtesy of Fat Albert. Was Chris Young difficult to hit? His stats would say so, but Pujols must not respect facts. Pujols claims that "he wasn't difficult at all." I guess Pujols was just in a good mood that game and was giving Chris Young and early Christmas present. Excuse me while I roll my fucking eyes.
You would think that disrespecting two good players in a span of a couple of months would be more than enough for Albert the Great, but you would be wrong. Last year when the MVP results came out it was revealed that Ryan Howard was given the award over Albert Pujols. When Ryan Howard won he was more than gracious about receiving the prestigious award, "To be able to be in that kind of company and just being able to compete with a guy like Albert is, I guess, a feat in itself and it's an honor because of what he's done." What did King Albert have to say? Well, he fell short of using the word honor. "I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP." Stay classy, Al. Stay classy.
I should note that Pujols did apologize for those comments, kinda. He said he didn't want to spoil it for Howard, but instead of taking full credit he said the comments were misconstrued by the media. When all else fails just blame the media. It is much easier than being a man an admitting that you are fuck.
All of these instances point to the fact that Pujols is a little, shall we say, whiny. This was further proven during this years All-Star game. Albert Pujols was left sitting on the bench for the entire game, even when the game was on the line in the Bottom of the 9th. Now, even I was upset about this and thought La Russa was an idiot for doing what he did. But, I wouldn't have reacted like Fat Albert did. Without consulting LaRussa he went to the media and bitched about not being used. Albert is nothing but a whiner. If things don't go his way, he is going to throw a little temper tantrum.
And finally to last nights game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds should have made a routine double play with the bases loaded to get out of a major jam, but Albert Pujols, who was running to second base to break up the play, decided that playing by the rules isn't quite for him. He ran out of the baseline and ran straight at Brandon Phillips, the Cincinnati Reds' second basemen. There is nothing wrong with sliding hard into second base, that is good, clean baseball, but what Pujols did was illegal and the umpire blew the call. In fact, that same exact play cost the Mets a game against the Phillies last week because the umpire actually got the call correct in that game.
Yes, I'm a Reds fan so I am a little biased when I see a play like that, but the Cardinals announcers even said that Pujols got away with the call. And if there is anybody on the planet that is more biased than St. Louis Cardinals announcers (i.e. Al Hrabosky, Mike Shannon, and Rick Horton) then I have to meet them, because that would be a world record.
OK, so there was a controversial play. No big deal, that happens all the time. The problems came after the game when each player --Phillips and Pujols-- decided to talk to the media. The exchange is summed up nicely by Daniel Berk of MLB.com:
After the game, Phillips was still clearly upset with Pujols' choice not to slide.
"He could've hurt me," Phillips said. "I don't want to hurt anybody. But when he doesn't slide, that just further lets you know he's trying to hurt you. I respect the guy. I respect everybody in baseball -- they're here for a reason. But he just showed me that he has no respect for me."
After the play, Phillips said he tried to talk to Pujols about it, but the Cardinals slugger wanted nothing to do with it.
"He didn't want to listen to what I was saying," Phillips said. "That just let me further know that he doesn't respect me turning a double play. From now on, I have to throw the ball through the guy, regardless of who it is."
When Pujols was asked about the play after the game in the Cardinals' clubhouse, he said he didn't see anything wrong with it, that he was just playing the game hard.
"He's the one that needed to make an adjustment," Pujols said. "He didn't get out of the way. That's how you play the game."
...
"I'm a nice guy. I play this game hard. But, I don't try and hurt anybody," Phillips said. "I respect Pujols as a man and as a player. He's a good player. ... But, he just showed me that he has no respect for me. I wish he would have been in another double play. I would've shown him he better get down."
When Pujols was alerted to what Phillips had to say, he had a quick response back.
"Next time, I'm going to put him in left field," Pujols said.
Brandon Phillips nailed this one: Albert Pujols has NO RESPECT for anybody but himself. He doesn't respect Hall of Fame pitchers, his own Hall of Fame manager, and certainly not a talented, young second basemen for the Cincinnati Reds.
Also, it sounds like Pujols is taking a very Nixonian stand on himself. At one point, Nixon said that if the president does it, it is not illegal. I think Pujols thinks that as long as he does it, it is not illegal.
It is a shame that Pujols isn't in todays line-up, because I was hoping to see him take a fastball in the lower back and then whine about it to the media.
