bellyitcher

Soooo. Albert Pujols. DiMaggio reincarnated? Maybe. But how hot is he?

ONFIELD

1. Defense
   i. Hustle (10) Yes. Sometimes to his detriment. 9.5 points.
   ii. Agility (14) Digging out all those throws, sliding to the bag...lovely. 13 points.
   iii. Catcher (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
   iv. Awareness (8) He and Yadi worked well on those pick offs. Everyone has brain farts, but you know that he knows that you know that he knows exactly what is going on. 7 points.
   v. Defensive Stance (8) He's always on his toes (maybe because his heels hurt, but anyway). But, yeah. Nice. 8 points.
   vi. Pitching Face/Post-strike out (5/0) N/A. 0 points.
2. Offense
   i. Hustle (10) Yes, again sometimes overly aggressive. However, those are the ones we remember, not the times he takes an extra base setting up a run or drawing a throw. And he is obsessed with scoring runs. 9.5 points.
   ii. Batting Stance/Face (12) What pitcher looks forward to seeing that face? Mercy. 12 points.
   iii. Power & Average (12) Ahem. 12 points.
   iv. Pitcher's bunting ability (5) N/A. 0 points.
   v. Selflessness (14) It seemed he was trying too hard to that big hit this year. I don't think it was selfish; he was the only guy who could do that for long stretches. 13 points.
   
3. Dugout/Clubhouse
   i. Press Conferences/Interviews (8) Albert can be surly. Albert can be distant. Even downright rude. Dealing with the press is part of the package of being a superstar, and sometimes he doesn't handle it well. For the most part, he realizes what is expected and obliges with honesty. 6 points.
   ii. Quotes (8) A lot can be summarized, "I just trust my hands, and tank the Lord, we won da gang, mang." But there was, "I can't believe I did it (giggle)." 7 points.
   iii. Chatty (8) He's not exactly silly, but it's not like he sits on the end of the bench and broods all the time. Though, he was deadly serious when he took Rodriguez's bat away before Eckstein's grand slam. 6 points.
   iv. Fights (6) During the NLDS, Ramon Hernandez took exception to something and told Albert. Albert said, "I don't care." 6 points.

OFF FIELD

1. Personal Hygiene (16) Again with the meticulous shaving this year. 15 points.
   
2. Commercials (local) (8) Not that I saw. 0 points.
   
3. Commercials (national) (10) Nike. It was weird. But Nike. 9 points.
   
4. Commercials (MLB) (10) No. 0 points.
   
5. Dress (10) Little better. 9 points.
   
6. Rumors (6) The whispers about his age persist. 3 points.
   
7. Awards (6) Maybe I should wait until they're actually given out this year. But I bet Jones will win MVP, even though I don't think he is. Whatever. Pujols has a few, he'll get more. 5 points.

150 points for The Best Player I'll Ever See. That's pretty hot.