That’s a frightening thought. Pujols’ batting average is in the dumps and his home runs and RBI are not where they should be, but when it comes to explaining his troubles, he continues to offer the same diagnosis: He comes out every day and gets himself ready to play. If he takes an oh-fer, well, that’s baseball.
The Angels still are waiting on their $240 million investment to break out, because they believe the rest of the feeble offense will follow. So far it hasn’t, but there’s a lot of long, hot summer in front of them.
Was Tuesday night a sign of better things to come? Pujols hit a towering home run to left field in the third inning of a 5-0 win over the Oakland A’s. It was his fourth home of the season and the 449th of his career, tying Vladimir Guerrero and Jeff Bagwell for 35th on the career list. He also had a sacrifice fly.
“He’s a monster,” said pitcher C.J. Wilson, who allowed just one hit in eight innings for his fifth win, lowering his ERA to 2.90. “He crushed that ball.”
Pujols offers little explanation for his sluggish start, either because he’s as confused as everyone else or he doesn’t want to share. All he says is that he prepares the same way every day and hopes for the best.
“You put good swings on it, and whenever it clicks it clicks,” he said before the game. “Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it doesn’t. As long as you don’t get down on yourself and press, and go out there and get ready every day, that’s the best thing.”
There’s no sense in trying to figure out where this will take Pujols. On one hand, he has three homers in the past seven days and has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games. On the other, he continues to pull the ball on the ground and offers only sporadic glimpses of his greatness. And he’s still hitting just .213.
Tuesday night, he appeared to square up well on the ball, hitting an impressive fly ball to the warning track in center; in the daytime, that’s a home run.
“It’s coming in dribs and drabs,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s not like he woke up and all of a sudden he has it. He’s been working toward this; it’s been a process. There’s no doubt he’s seeing the ball very well and getting in some good hitting counts and taking some pitches.”
Even Pujols realizes that one game doesn’t mark his emergence as an Angel. He’s 4 for 20 on the road trip, and while he clearly feasts on A’s pitching (13 for 33 in seven games, a .394 average), he’s hitting a mere .141 against all other opponents.
Is he more comfortable at the plate? Does he feel like he’s starting to hit the ball squarely? Those aren’t things he thinks about, he said.
“I’m just glad to contribute today,” he said after the game. “I felt I swung the bat pretty well, even though I only got one hit. Even on the strikeout, (A’s reliever Travis Blackley) made a good pitch, but I was battling and putting a good swing on the ball.”
That marks progress. But no one should be fooled by one home run. Pujols, like the Angels, needs to do it again and again. It’s consistency everyone is looking for, and until that happens, neither he nor the team is going anywhere.
In the meantime, all he can do is keep swinging. And keep hoping for good things.
But don’t look for much analysis. Pujols won’t do that.
“That’s the last thing you want to do, try to overthink and over-swing,” he said. “Hitting is hard, but you have to keep it simple. As much as you know that it’s hard, you really have to keep it simple and go out there and put a good swing.
“Sometimes you’re going to feel good, and most of the time you don’t. The times you don’t feel good is when you have to survive until you get that streak going.”
Until then, he’s less than advertised.
