ARLINGTON, Texas — Albert Pujols should kiss the ground today that Mark Teixeira is with the Yankees, Adrian Gonzalez plays for the Red Sox, Ryan Howard wears a Phillies uniform and Fred Wilpon was once pals with Bernie Madoff.
It is not a curse to his free agency that the big northeast markets will not be in the bidding for his services. It is a blessing.
There are certain players who should not go where booing is part of the fans’ cultural DNA and where the media is voluminous and voracious. And Pujols would be a pretty good Exhibit A.
Pujols should be careful about chasing the last dime this offseason because it can lead him to a city with more than one newspaper and a group of fans with which he has no collateral. He should figure out how to stay in St. Louis, where he forever will have a city that loves him and an organization that will cover for him, and where his small-time behavior and big biceps are an acceptable combination.
His disappearing act after Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night and his prickly response to being called out on it yesterday merely confirmed what long has been said about Pujols: He has grown over time to believe he is beyond criticism. New York, Boston and Philadelphia would not kowtow to this behavioral model quite like the loyal, pleasant folks who make up the large and supportive Cardinals Nation.
Alex Rodriguez, for example, thought he had the ability to come to New York and with a combination of talent and charm manage the fans and the media. Over time, he realized he was not as charming as he thought and only results and accountability matter in certain of our more feisty baseball metropolises. How did low-key Carl Crawford like Boston, by the way?
Pujols was involved in arguably the most crucial play of Game 2. With Ian Kinsler on second base and no out in the ninth, Elvis Andrus lashed a single to center field. Jon Jay fired a throw in from center and the ball glanced off Pujols’ glove. Usually the headiest of defenders, Pujols seemed rushed or indecisive. When the ball rolled away from Pujols (who was charged with an error 90 minutes after the game), Andrus went to second, which allowed consecutive sacrifice flies to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory that knotted the best-of-seven at one game apiece.
What was Pujols’ thought process on such a seminal play? That question went unanswered Thursday night as he never made himself available.
It spoke poorly of Pujols and his organization that he would be absent, and the response was a wave of criticism that in this talk-radio, Internet world comes fast, harsh and from thousands of angles. In response, a clearly peeved Pujols stood on the Ballpark at Arlington field yesterday after batting practice and for about 30 minutes criticized the criticism, adamantly defending his unprofessional behavior.
His stance was that he was in an off-limits room for 40 minutes and never received a request through the Cardinals media relations department to speak and that he only has “responsibility to God and his family.”
Now, I don’t believe the cover story because it was obvious reporters wanted to talk to Pujols. But even if I did believe it, does the Cardinals media relations department really need a request to know Pujols was needed to discuss the biggest play so far in this World Series? And does Pujols, 11 years in the majors and in his third World Series, really want to play this dumb?
I don’t want to get between Mr. Pujols and his god or his family. But he does have some responsibility to the game, too. This is the World Series, not Tuesday night in June against the Pirates. There are concerns about diminishing TV ratings, so you can’t, as the institution of baseball, complain about that and have one of your biggest stars not make himself available to sell the game.
Look, there are people who just hate my business and I am not going to dissuade them here by pointing out they cannot allow millions of fans in the clubhouse so — for better or worse — we are your advocates. For the most part, I think we try to inquire on subjects that are on your mind, and present the responses in intriguing, poignant ways. So when a player like Pujols decides not to make himself available, he is shunning you.
Just for the record, besides exposing he has thick biceps but the kind of thin skin that would not play well in the Northeast, Pujols did tell us he hurried on that relay thinking he could maybe nab Kinsler too far off third. He said the throw was fine and he messed up.
At least he took responsibility for something — albeit 18 hours too late.