Pujols is "finished"?

[csh19792001]

.200/.243/.279 through 27 games. Not a home run in 110 PA? Seriously??

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/albert-pujols--homerless-start-warrants-many-observations--240-to-be-exact.html

He's swung at 40% of pitches out of the zone. Career average is half that, and 15% in his best years.

WTF is going on with him? Nothing looks the same. His mechanics, approach, and his whole affect is totally different. Could it be something physical/underlying he hasn't come out with?

[Bothrops Atrox]

Of course not. He is struggling. He is pressing. And he (despite his OOTZ swing%) has a high LD rate. He has hit a ton of hard hit balls right at fielders and has been unlucky. He is no longer an MVP candidate, but he is not "finished."

Just wait...

[csh19792001]

Of course not. He is struggling. He is pressing. And he (despite his OOTZ swing%) has a high LD rate. He has hit a ton of hard hit balls right at fielders and has been unlucky. He is no longer an MVP candidate, but he is not "finished."

Just wait...

So you think in October he'll have his usual .300/.400/.500 (100/100) season locked up, and we'll all laugh?

[KevinWI]

Makes you wonder if the whispers about his birth certificate were onto something.

[redban]

I think he is at the end. Sometimes players decline rapidly. He had his worst season last year, which raised everyone's eyebrows, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise.

And at 32 years old, he's not young (in baseball years).

With 1700-1800 games played, dating back to 2001, he has a decade of playing baseball non-stop under his belt. Eventually it catches up.

Look at baseball history, and you'll see lots of players (HOF players) who were finished in their early 30s.

[Bothrops Atrox]

So you think in October he'll have his usual .300/.400/.500 (100/100) season locked up, and we'll all laugh?

I think he will put up good offensive numbers - and I will laugh at all of those people who think he is "done." I am not laughing at those who recognize his numbers will be down this year. 300/400/500 is VERY tough order at this point.

[Bothrops Atrox]

Makes you wonder if the whispers about his birth certificate were onto something.

So if he is 35...that means at age 34 he had a OPS+ over 180 from June through October of last season. That still wouldn't explain a drop like this.

[Bothrops Atrox]

I think he is at the end. Sometimes players decline rapidly. He had his worst season last year, which raised everyone's eyebrows, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise.

And at 32 years old, he's not young (in baseball years).

With 1700-1800 games played, dating back to 2001, he has a decade of playing baseball non-stop under his belt. Eventually it catches up.

Look at baseball history, and you'll see lots of players (HOF players) who were finished in their early 30s.

I bet if we looked at the worst single month from every HOF batter during their primes (or even close to it) we would be shocked at how bad that single month was.

[fenrir]

I'm hoping this guy proves his doubters wrong in a HUGE way.

[White Knight]

I'm hoping this guy proves his doubters wrong in a HUGE way.

And if he hits .200 with 5 HR's this year and next then what? How do you release a 250+ million dollar man?

[StanTheMan]

And if he hits .200 with 5 HR's this year and next then what? How do you release a 250+ million dollar man?

A tweet will do.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I think he is at the end. Sometimes players decline rapidly. He had his worst season last year, which raised everyone's eyebrows, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise.

And at 32 years old, he's not young (in baseball years).

With 1700-1800 games played, dating back to 2001, he has a decade of playing baseball non-stop under his belt. Eventually it catches up.

Look at baseball history, and you'll see lots of players (HOF players) who were finished in their early 30s.

Outside of injury (Frank Thomas, George Sisler) or heavy drinking (Jimmie Foxx) I can't think of any HoF hitter of Pujols' caliber who just lost it for no apparent reason at age 32.

[John Shoemaker]

I think last month was just a glitch on his way to 700+ homeruns.

[Buczilla]

I bet if we looked at the worst single month from every HOF batter during their primes (or even close to it) we would be shocked at how bad that single month was.

You don't need a HoFer. One has to only look at Troy Tulowitzki. Forget a bad month, he goes in damn near half season funks every single season.

[Joltin' Joe]

They finally benched him....