Tuesday Night Update: Albert Pujols Sits Down For 25 Minutes On The ITD Morning After
In July of 2000, I went up to Barry Bonds and asked him for an interview in the Giants' locker room. I didn't expect him to agree to do a one-on-one interview. I was more or less just looking for a story to tell my friends about how Bonds would tell me to piss off.
However, instead of immediately telling me to piss off, he said, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
I said, "Uh, you're like good...and stuff."
It was a truly moronic response. Of course, the question wasn't exactly brilliant either.
However, the key in the exchange was that it provided an opening. In other words, he was saying there's a chance.
And, sure enough, about 90 minutes later, Bonds sat down with me for a 20 minute interview in which he was candid, gracious, and surprisingly friendly.
It was one of my favorite experiences in sportscasting...not just because I got to sit down with the best player in the game at the time, but because he was so damn shockingly engaging...and once he did sit down, he was one of the best interview subjects I had had to that date...and have had since.
Fast forward to Sunday February 15th, 2009.
Producer Joe went up to Albert Pujols at Roger Dean Stadium. Pujols had never appeared on our show, and he isn't one to usually do indepth one-on-one interviews. He most definitely has done them...just not all that often. And, while he does not have the reputation that Bonds had in dealing with the media, he isn't known as all that media friendly either. Unlike Bonds, however, a lot of Pujols' desire to not interact with the media is because he views the ballpark as his workplace, and he views the media as a pain that gets in the way of his pregame workouts, video sessions, and overall preparation.
Nonetheless, we most definitely didn't anticipate Pujols agreeing to come on the show. But, much like what Bonds did to me nearly nine years ago, Pujols did to Producer Joe. He left an opening. And, so to our surprise, both Joe and The Cat felt like Pujols would be joining us this week.
Sure enough, that happened Tuesday morning. And, once again, much like the Bonds' interview, once Pujols sat down to talk, he was gracious, candid, and incredibly friendly.
Pujols sat with The Cat, Doug Vaughn, and myself for more than 20 minutes, and, finally---one more time---it was one of the more enjoyable interviews I've experienced.
Pujols opened up about his relationship with the media (all while giving The Cat some crap), his upcoming contract situation, his desire to see the Cardinals spend some money, his most memorable two moments in Major League Baseball, and why he rejects the idea of being known as "The Man."
For those of you who didn't get a chance to hear it, click (Part 1) (Part 2) to listen to Albert Pujols on The ITD Morning After.
Tuesday Morning News And Notes
-In camp today: Troy Glaus and ESPN's Tim Kurkjian
-Throwing today: Chris Carpenter
-Not in camp: Mike Lee
-The details of this new (and perhaps final) chapter in Jason Isringhausen's relationship with the Cardinals are coming to light: Izzy wants his final 7 saves to get to 300, and he wants to help Chris Perez and Jason Motte get adapted to the role. The Cardinals are reluctant to bring Isringhausen back because things ended a little rough last year between Tony La Russa and Isringhausen.
-Joe Mather grew the lid out over the offseason...much like many of the Cardinals' younger players...except Mather looks like he should be surfing instead of trying his hand at 3rd base. Joey Bombs also informed us this morning that he's hanging out with his buddies Brian Barden, Jarrett Hoffpauir, Brendan Ryan, and Colby Rasmus have been playing a lot of NBA 2K9...and they're in a league together at their place, each one with their own role on the team. Colby, apparently, is hurting the team by not playing defense and costing the team victories.
-Rasmus denies those allegations.
-Colby also said that if somehow he doesn't make the big club this year, he won't "let what happened last year happen again." Even though he wanted to downplay the impact of not making the Cardinals and having to go down to Memphis last year, it clearly was something that caught him off guard and led to a rough start to his 2008 AAA campaign. This year, Rasmus has put on some big time upper body strength, and he committed this offseason to making sure that what happened last Spring doesn't happen again.
-Ryan Ludwick may have just signed a 3.8 million dollar deal, but he's going to "keep it real." Ludwick says he plans to continue to drive his 2003 Lincoln Navigator with 137,000 miles on it. On the other hand, Kyle Lohse is keeping it real in a different way.
-Kyle Lohse said one of the biggest challenges for the Cardinals is who emerges the winners at second and third base. "We've all given Skip trouble about seeing his little feet pitter-patter out there at second base this Spring," Lohse said this morning on The ITD Morning After. Doug Vaughn did not like that comment.
-We are fresh off a 25 minute interview with Albert Pujols. Lots to talk about from that segment. I'll have more on that in a bit.
Tuesday's Show Audio:
Click Here to Listen to Segment 1 - Joe Mather
Click Here to Listen to Segment 2 - Colby Rasmus
Click Here to Listen to Segment 3 - Ryan Ludwick
Click Here to Listen to Segment 4 - Kyle Lohse
Click Here to Listen to Segment 5 - Albert Pujols (Pt.1)
Click Here to Listen to Segment 5 - Albert Pujols (Pt.2)
Click Here to Listen to Segment 6 - Tim Kurkjian
Click Here to Listen to Segment 7 - Blues & Mizzou Talk
Click Here to Listen to Segment 8 - Email of the Day
Tuesday's Videos:
Click Here for Tim Kurkjian Video
Click Here for Albert Pujols Video - Part 1
Click Here for Albert Pujols Video - Part 2
Click Here for Kyle Lohse Video
Click Here for Joe Mather Video
Tuesday's Pictures:
Click Here
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