Some people call this being a “competitor” and having “that fire and drive to win”. I call it “being a huge dick”. This is the same guy when spent most of a nationally televised game yelling at Brenden Ryan for first being late out onto the field and then for not fielding a ground ball aprox. 700 feet to his left and is once alleged to have given Ryan Ludwick a black eye (which the Cardinals explained as “falling onto his suitcase” in true battered-wife fashion).

As a huge Cardinals fan, I’m a little saddened by this team. We got huge Jesus-freaks in Pujols, Molina, Berkman and Wainwright, drunky-McThirdbaseman David Freese, an all-heart/no-talent infield and a prima donna in center who hasn’t done nearly enough yet to be a prima donna. This team became waaaaaay less cool when Ludwick was traded.

“”He said I wasn’t going to make the big leagues. That’s why he got fired.”

“How can you draft a guy and say you don’t know if he’s going to make the big leagues? All of a sudden, the next year (I’m) in the big leagues, and he wants to take all the credit.”

I don’t have any more bias against Pujols/Cards than any other non-Braves. I’d be perfectly happy if he was a great guy. I hate the Yankees, but everyone knows Mariano Rivera is a good dude. I hate the Phillies but I think Halliday and Utley are amazing players and seem like good guys.

Also, I said Pujols is the best, he does some good things in the community and didn’t call him a bad guy. I just said he can be bitter and stirs shit up if he feels slighted.

1. You has a bias. The first step is admitting it.
2. Pujols is currently the best.
3. See step 1.
4. Profit.

It boggles the mind to that Pujols generally has such a good reputation. He seems like he can be a real dick anytime he feels slighted.

(I remember him yelling into the Braves dugout from the field a few years ago. I don’t remember what the Braves did to piss him off, but just remember thinking, what is this guy’s problem. (I realize this story adds little to the conversation given it’s lack of memory, at this point I almost wish I hadn’t brought it up. (Nah, I’m going to keep it.)))

The biggest example is a few years ago when he was talking trash about the Cards scout who drafted him when the scout (who of course is extremely middle class and has spent his whole life traveling around watching crappy high school baseball games) was fired.

Pujols was asked about the guy and said something to the effect that the guy deserved to be fired because on a scouting report he wrote or something like that, he said that the question on Pujols was whether his bat would develop. Never mind that this guy believed in Pujols more than anyone on the other 29 teams that passed on him 12 times too.

I know he also does good things, and I’m saying he’s a bad guy (though it’s fair to say I don’t think much of him).

He just seems to have a bit of the Michael Jordan disorder (I mean the part about being cocky, insecure and bitter, not the part about being addicted to gambling).

You’d think the guy picked 402 overall who goes on to be easily the best player in baseball would be a little more reflective about how terrific his story is. Instead it seems like anyone who EVER thought he was less than the best can go to hell.