With the emergence of Mark Trumbo as a potential All-Star, at times I wonder if the Angels needed Albert Pujols - by his sheer accomplisments alone, Pujols makes the Angels brand better; he never takes a play off, run the bases well, plays defense adepty and still has the ability to change any particular game.
On the other hand, he's put up pedestrian numbers in the first half of 2012 and has been a disappointment of sorts- I'm always checking to see his numbers on ESPN.com, wondering if his numbers are going to be in line with what he's put up with his old team.
I'm still kind of wondering where is that prolonged streak when he carries the team for two or three weeks at a time - I'm hoping he finishes up with some strong numbers but at times I feel like I've got more confidence in other guys putting up numbers.
For Pujols to 'salvage' his first season in Anaheim in the second half - he is probably going to have to put up an MVP run in the second half and do a combination of the following.
- He needs to have a couple of 10 home run months and at least five multi-home run games - at times it seems like his ability to crush the ball on a regular basis has been sapped and it would be cool to see him tee off on some pitchers.
- He needs a long hitting streak [maybe 20 or more games] - I haven't really seen where Pujols has been consistently great, so he needs to be on a roll where he's pushing his batting average up to about .300 and make it seem like he's getting hits in 15-20 consecutive games.
- He needs to push his on base percentage closer to .380 and his slugging percentage closer to .550 - those might not be vintage Pujols numbers in those areas, but if he gets to putting up an .930 OPS, it's a reminder that he is still in the mix as of the top commodities in Major League Baseball.
I disagree with all of these points. :) Of course, I'm a Rangers fan.
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