Sorry...

I'll be gone until Thursday, so no new posts until then, sorry!

The Machine That Is Pujols

We have all heard of Albert Pujols by now. He is the monster in St. Louis who has more multiple home-run games than a lot of guys have home runs. He is an animal, always hungry to take you out of the stadium. He is one of the most unbelievable hitter I have personally ever seen. As the Baseball Tonight crew puts it, "He is an average hitter who hits for power, also." By average, they mean he hits for a high average, not that he is equal to an average hitter. This guy surprised everyone at how good he became. He was drafted in the 13th round in the 1999 draft. A draft that produced players the caliber of Josh Hamilton, Josh Beckett, Ben Sheets, Barry Zito, Brett Myers, Alex Rios, and many others. He however, did not belong in those names at the time. Many teams passed on him. He became, in my opinion, one of the all-time most valuable late round draft picks, next to Mike Piazza. It is almost hard to comprehend how everyone can pass on someone who is now the best hitter in the majors and has a shot at the Triple Crown. Good scouting can go a long way in the world of pro baseball, if you can find those diamonds in the rough, you can build a gold mine of a farm system. I'm sure the scout that found Pujols god himself a bonus or something, the guy deserves it for bringing St. Louis the best player in the game right now!

Albert, who is only 29, will most likely pass 450 home runs if he stays on pace for the rest of his career. He may even top 500, which wouldn't be a big surprise. He will definitely make it to the Hall of Fame, unless something big and unexpected comes up, and he will go down in history as one of the greatest players to ever play MLB.

He is, a machine.

It's a Holliday in St. Louis!

Well, it's official, Matt Holliday is going to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortenson, Shane Peterson, and the A's threw in $1.5 million to the Cardinals. This move should be huge for the Cards in the long run as the division they are in, NL Central, is very, very, tight midway through the year and the Cardinals have been looking into aquiring someone to help make pitchers throw to "The Machine". (If you are not familiar who the "Machine" is, just think about who is the face of the Cardinals and you should figure it out.)

Ryan Ludwick has started to become a strong offensive threat but not enough to make pitchers throw to Pujols. Hopefully with this new arrival overnighted from Oakland, the Cardinals can go on their way to another NL Central division title and if all goes as planned, the Red Birds may have their name on the 2009 World Series trophy.

It's Going... Going... Gone!

As I said yesterday, this year has been full of surprises. Whether it's Wakefield or Cruz. Branyan or Sanchez... This season has been a great one so far! One of the biggest surprises this month in particular is the Pirates new utility player, Garrett Jones. I never even heard of Jones coming into this year, unfortunately. He has been a massive explosion in the Pirates new/old organization. If you'd like to think of the chances he'll be with the organization after the Trade Deadline... I'd say slim to none. The pirates don't really like to hold on to their stronger players. Espicially if they are an outfielder.

Anyway, back to our story. Mr. Jones first attracted scouts attention when he was playing for Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, IL. He was a 14th round pick by the Braves in 1999 and was released after three minor league seasons. In 2005 he signed with the Twins and played for the Rochester Red Wings until 2008 when he was released. He did however get his first MLB hit off of Paul Byrd. That one hit however, was the highlight of his short lived life in major league baseball. He finally signed with the Bucs this year and he put up wonderful numbers in Spring Training but did not make the MLB roster, however. He finally got called up to show what he can do only after the Pirates decided their outfield was too good and they needed to get rid of them. He has played first-base and outfield so far this season and has been like Superman at the plate.

He leads the big leagues with 9 home runs in the month of July and at the pace he is going, will hold on to that title to finish off the month. He is said to maybe play first base full-time in the absence of Adam LaRoche and hopefully that is true as he will go down as one of the biggest surprises of the year if he stays the way he is. Just the other day he hit a monster home run into the Allegheny River, becoming one of the elite few to accomplish that.

I am not completely sure if Garrett Jones is eligible for Rookie of the Year, although I believe he is. If he is indeed eligible, he is one to watch for. He will most likely challege Colby Rasmus and a couple others for the title, but I think Rasmus and Jones will be the finalists.

Who knows as this is a long season, but lets just remember the name Garrett Jones now, as I have a feeling we'll be hearing about him for a few more years.

Have something you'd like to see discussed on here? E-mail it to me at chuck@chucksttmautos.com!

A Season of Surprises... Mid-Season Review:

What a year it's been so far! We've had a no-hitter and a perfect game thrown so far by two pitchers who weren't expected to accomplish this feat. Tim Wakefield with 11 wins? Who guessed that one? Yet the rest of the guys on the field, the position players, haven't disappointed us either! Who would've thought leading up to Opening Day that Raul Ibanez would have 20+ HRs and would be a huge, and I'm not exaggerating here, HUGE, offensive weapon? Who would've thought Nelson Cruz would have 20+ HRs and be one of the Ranger's best hitters?

This is going to be a season to remember even if it is because a perfect game was thrown in 2009. It never ceases to amaze me how fickle of a game baseball is! For example, look at Raul Ibanez again, he hasn't had a season this good in years! All it took was a new club, a new team, and a fresh start. Baseball is so unpredictable. That is why this game is so widely loved with even the youngest of fans! I can remember when Josh Beckett, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis were the superstars of the year. Now, just a couple years later, all three are on different teams, 2 of the 3 are succeeding at a far greater level than their stint with the Marlins, and Beckett and Cabrera are considered as some of the best young players in the game!

Now back to this year. We have had guys like Trevor Hoffman continuing to have an unbelievable year as a closer for the 100th season. Yet, at the same time, Mr. Invincible, Jonathan Papelbon, has struggeled greatly all this year along with his "Turn Around Player of the Year" teammate David "Big Papi" Ortiz. While all this is going on, unknown Nick Green takes over the starting shortstop role for the Bo Sox and excels at a level never before imagined for him.

This year will also be known as a year when some of the new crop of youngsters emerged into the limelight. Zack Grienke, everyone always knew he was special, and I'm assuming he did too, but he never lived up to his full potential. Now, his personal life is straight and he is one of the Top 5 pitchers in the tough American League. Tommy Hanson, he appears to be an ace in his future as long as he doesn't pull a Francisco Liriano. Nyjer Morgan, what a speedster! The newest member of the Washington Nationals is just starting his career at a later age than most, but he is taking full advantage of his time in MLB.

It seems to be the cycle of life in baseball. You have your good years when you are a mega-star and you have bad years when you are chased off the field and booed even when you're not playing.

Baseball will always be one of my favorite sports and I believe that if the first half of the season shows us anything of what's to come.... I'd have my eyes glued to ESPN! The year of 2009 is a memorable one, and even if it is just because of the perfect game, will never be forgotten.

Here's to a great second half!

Have something you'd like to see discussed? E-mail it to me at chuck@chucksttmautos.com!

Mark Buehrle's Place in Baseball History

In my opinion, Buehrle is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. He is kinda an under the radar type of guy. He isnt flashy and making the news for his antics. He is just a good solid pitcher who always gets the job done. I think I would take him over Roy Halladay in a trade... thats just me. Now that Buehrle has a perfect game added to his already great resume that includes his no-hitter back a few years ago. He has done what many great pitchers have not done. As far as I can tell, Roy Halladay has never thrown a no-hitter. He came close, but never sealed the deal. Buehrle may not be a superstar like Halladay or Peavy or any of the best pitchers of this time, most likely because he is playing in Chicago in the shadow of Rich Harden and the Cubbies, but he has accomplished as much and more than these guys. His career numbers arent bad either, 132-90, 3.78 ERA, 23 complete games... In my opinion, he should at least be considered for a Hall of Fame spot. He has one of the best resumes in this era, and he isnt close to being done yet. Who knows what he could do next. This guy, is someone I would love to have on my team...

Have something that you'd like to see discussed on here? E-mail it to me at chuck@chucksttmautos.com!