Posted by Matthew Whipps on Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Yeah I know that wasn’t the classiest title to a blog post, but hopefully you got a bit of a chuckle. But in all seriousness, this is a major issue for the Cardinals and could cost them more than just a few at-bats.

Heading into Friday’s games, baseball’s best hitter Albert Pujols had walked 51 times on the season which was good for third in all of baseball. Very understandable as not only do teams like to pitch around him whenever possible, he also has an incredible eye at the plate.

Now where the problem comes in for the Cardinals is in his intentional walks category. Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones has been walked intentionally nine times here in 2009 which is good for second in the majors. Albert Pujols on the other hand has been walked 21 times.

That’s a huge difference.

In fact, here is a look at some data I found regarding how Pujols is treated when he comes to the plate:

As you can see, pitchers are consistently taking the bat out of his hands with runners in scoring position. Sure this makes sense as he is the most dangerous hitter in baseball, but at some point the Cardinals have to give him some protection in the lineup.

So far this season the Cardinals have backed up Pujols with the likes of Ryan Ludwick. Now if this was the Ryan Ludwick of 2008, I’d be all for it. But here in 2009 Ludwick has had a miserable time at the plate posting measly .729 OPS (nearly 240 points lower than last season) with only 13 XBH (7.1%). That’s hardly enough to protect Pujols from losing more and more at-bats as the season rolls along.

Remember how I mentioned that the lack of protection could cost the Cards even more than a few at-bats? Well Pujols has been very vocal in trying to get management to bring in some offensive help. From ripping management in the papers regarding their efforts to bring players on board and saying maybe he should play somewhere that wants to win to pleading his case for the Cardinals to sign Manny Ramirez, it just seems time after time Pujols is ignored and his concerns swept under the rug.

Well in 2011 the Cardinals have an option on Pujols and after that he’s fair game. If they don’t want to lose him to the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees or Angels they better figure out something to make him happy fast. Not that Pujols is money hungry, but those teams are willing to spend money and can give him the protection he needs. The Cardinals need to make a move to add a bat to protect Pujols both to help him and to help win the division.

I just don’t want to see a smaller market, midwest team lose a player the caliber of Pujols.

It’s not exactly easy to replace the best player in baseball on your roster.

If you would like to contact Baseball Daily Digest writer Matthew Whipps, creator of The Diamond Cutter, you can reach him via email at whipps15@gmail.com.