On Sunday night, my wife and I were lying in bed bemoaning the end of another weekend and I wondered aloud how it would play out if you just fully bought into the idea of Monday being Sunday when you skipped work. Like you’re sitting at home and your boss calls you and you pick up and your boss is like, “Where are you?” and you’re like, “I’m at home, it’s Sunday, I’ll see you tomorrow,” and hang up. And then when you show up for work on Tuesday, you just hold the line that you believe today to be Monday.
My wife suggested that that would mean that’d have to work Saturday the next weekend, which I was like, no, you have four days to “be convinced” of what the day actually is and then you take your weekend as normal. I’m not saying that’s why my Monday post is going up on a Tuesday night, but I’m not saying it’s not either. But moving on.
One of the things that I talked about when the Cardinals brought Albert Pujols back to the Cardinals, is that it could be a great deal for the Cardinals if they deployed him properly. As a 42-year-old, Pujols has a particular set of skills that can still provide value to a Major League ball club, and I indicated how Pujols could bring the organization value. But we’re three weeks into the season and they’re already not using him properly.
When you look at the numbers, Pujols is off to a great start. He’s slashing .269/.345/.539 with 2 home runs and a 162 wRC+ in the 8 games he’s played this season. But when you look at his platoon stats, he’s 6-for-12 with 2 home runs against left-handed pitchers and 1-for-14 against right-handed pitchers.
The Cardinals have played 15 games. Pujols has started seven of them and appeared as a pinch hitter in the other. So, it’s not directly a case of overuse so much as it’s a case of misuse. The problem for Pujols is that he’s not been an above average hitter against right-handed pitchers since 2016. Six whole seasons ago.
I get it, it’s going to be hard to tell the Cardinals’ legend Albert Pujols that he can’t play, and you’re also trying to balance giving fans an opportunity to see him play his final season. But he’s not the same Albert Pujols. I hate the idea that the 2022 Cardinals are a nostalgia ploy. Pujols, Wainwright, Molina, Goldschmidt, Mikolas, even Arenado are all on the wrong side of their decline curves at this point in their careers. Basically: All of these players are as good this year as you’re going to get the rest of their contracts.
Now they may perform better or worse in any given year because the decline curve is a trend and not set percentage decline each year, but their abilities are as good today as they’re going to be.
In addition to Pujols, the Cardinals signed Corey Dickerson based largely on his ability to hit right-handed pitchers at an above average level, which he has done in all nine of his seasons in the big leagues. He conversely struggles against left-handed pitchers, which is why I suggested that Dickerson and Pujols would make a great platoon set at DH for the Cardinals. And because he struggles against left-handed pitchers, he hasn’t faced one yet this season.
That should basically be the goal for Pujols.
Look, Dickerson at 4-for-27 hasn’t been that much better against right-handed pitchers than Pujols. And the team is 9-6 and technically in first place in the NL Central. So, I’m not going to complain too loudly about it, but so far, they’ve gotten away with it. I don’t think they’ll be able to all season long, and hopefully they’ll be able to tell Pujols it’s time to sit when that time comes.
Is it weird to say that I have more confidence that Oliver Marmol can pull that discussion off than any other Cardinals’ manager I’ve watched manage? After all, it seems like he’s gotten Molina to accept a smaller role.
Who’s Hot (Last 10 Days, minimum 15 PA)
Hitter’s Edition (minimum 15 plate appearances, out of 306 hitters):
Albert Pujols, 142 wRC+ (70th in MLB)
Writer’s Note: Oh, the irony!Nolan Arenado, 125 wRC+ (88th in MLB)
Paul Goldschmidt, 119 wRC+ (97th in MLB)
Tommy Edman, 106 wRC+ (115th in MLB)
Andrew Knizner, 103 wRC+ (124th in MLB)
Pitcher’s Edition (minimum 15 batters faced, out of 281 pitchers):
Miles Mikolas, .207 wOBA (61st in MLB)
Genesis Cabrera, .225 wOBA (75th in MLB)
Jordan Hicks, .239 wOBA (87th in MLB)
Steven Matz, .257 wOBA (108th in MLB)
Dakota Hudson, .287 wOBA (135th in MLB)
Cardinals 2022 WAR Leaders (of 1,477 MLB players)
3B Nolan Arenado, 1.5 WAR (1st in MLB)
2B Tommy Edman, 0.9 (T-16th in MLB)
RHP Miles Mikolas, 0.7 (T-39th in MLB)
CF Harrison Bader, 0.4 (T-99th in MLB)
LHP Steven Matz, 0.4 (T-99th in MLB)
C Andrew Knizner, 0.3 (T-149th in MLB)
RHP Adam Wainwright, 0.3 (T-149th in MLB)
RHP Ryan Helsley, 0.3 (T-149th in MLB)
SS Paul DeJong, 0.2 (T-216th in MLB)
RHP Giovanny Gallegos, 0.2 (T-216th in MLB)