Tim McKernan posted on June 12, 2012 08:12
April, Albert, And The Angels
For Cardinal fans, April was orgasmic.
The Redbirds were killing it. On April 30th, the Cardinals enjoyed a three game lead in the National League Central and a record of six games above .500. Only the Dodgers and Rangers were off to a better start. And baseball nerds like myself knew that while that 14-8 record was nice, they left a lot of wins out there on the field…and it could’ve/should’ve been much better.
Meanwhile, for Team Schadenfreude, it was double the pleasure, because there was Albert Pujols and the Angels flopping around at 8-15 and in last place in the American League West. Even “better,” Albert was hitting .217 with four RBI’s…and no home runs.
And now here we sit on June 12th…and everything’s changed.
Albert Pujols drove in a two-out 9th inning run to beat the Dodgers last night, and that win over the team with the best record in baseball gave the Angels a record of 33-29. Pujols is now hitting .260 with nine home runs and 37 RBI’s. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are doing the flopping. Injuries and horrific pitching have contributed to a 31-30 record…and series wins over the last month over only the dreadful Astros and Padres.
Which one is more accurate? Are the Angels playing over their heads? Or, are the Cardinals playing well below theirs?
Honestly, if I had to pick a team to go to the playoffs right now, I’d go with the Angels…and the reason is injuries…on both sides. The Cardinals are beat up…even with some of the guys who aren’t on the DL, and that’s not many. The Angels are on this tear…and they’re doing it without Jered Weaver.
You couldn’t see the Cardinals’ struggles coming on April 30th, but the surge of Pujols and the Angels looked even less likely 43 days ago.
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