31-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols is in his free agent walk year. Many “experts” predicted that Pujols was going to have a year for the Ages so he could really get paid. It seems like the pressure might be getting to him though. He has played in 25 games so far this May and he is 28 for 98 (.286 avg, .718 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Overall this year, Pujols has played in 52 games in which he is 54 for 204 (.265 avg, .739 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers, 28 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Those aren’t awful numbers, but they aren’t typical numbers that are by Albert Pujols’ name on the stat sheet. After all, Pujols has career lows of a .312 batting average, a .955 OPS, 99 runs scored, 32 homers and 103 RBIs! Pujols isn’t going to get the mega 10-year contract he wants unless he rips the ball the last four months of this year.

The Cardinals have lost 24-year old righty reliever Blake King on waivers to the Astros. King came into this year as the Cardinals’ #22 prospect according to Baseball America. King pitched in 17 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he was 2-0 with a 11.30 ERA and a 2.79 WHIP. He pitched in 193 games (48 starts) in six years in the minors with the Cardinals and he was 25-24 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

Righty closer Bruce Sutter was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2006. He did most of his great work with the Cardinals as he was the master of the split fingered fastball. It would just fall off the table when it got close to the plate. Sutter pitched in 249 games (0 starts) in his four years with the Cardinals and he was 26-30 with 127 saves, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Sutter’s best year with the Cardinals in 1984. He pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals in 1984 and he was 5-7 with 45 saves, a 1.54 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Sutter led the majors in saved in 1984. Sutter made it to 2 N.L. All-Star teams with the Cardinals and he is #4 in Cardinals’ history in saves with 127 of them.

Lefty Jim Kaat was a solid starting pitcher most of his major league career, but by the time he got to the Cardinals he was hanging on as a relief pitcher. Kaat pitched in 176 games (17 starts) for the Cardinals in his four years with the team and he was 19-16 with 10 saves, a 3.82 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Jim Kaat won 283 games in his major league career and he won an amazing 15 Gold Gloves, but he hasn’t gotten into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Righty starting pitcher Pete (Grover Cleveland) Alexander pitched the last four years of his Hall of Fame career with the St. Louis Cardinals. Johnson pitched in 116 games (96 starts) in his four years with the Cardinals and he was 55-34 with 7 saves, a 3.08 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His best year with the Cardinals came back in 1927. Alexander pitched in 37 games (30 starts) for the Cardinals in 1927 and he was 21-10 with 3 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Alexander is tied with Christy Mathewson for the #3 spot in major league history in wins with 373, and the last 55 of them came as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.