Major League Baseball has announced the National League Gold Glove winners for the 2006 baseball season. The number at the end is the # of Gold Gloves that player has won in his career.

1B Albert Pujols- St. Louis Cardinals 1
2B Orlando Hudson- Arizona Diamondbacks 2
3B Scott Rolen- St. Louis Cardinals 7
SS Omar Vizquel- San Francisco Giants 11
OF Carlos Beltran- New York Mets 1
OF Andruw Jones- Atlanta Braves 9
OF Mike Cameron- San Diego Padres 3
C Brad Ausmus- Houston Astros 3
P Greg Maddux- Los Angeles Dodgers 16

It is nice to see Sir Albert Pujols get credit for his leather at first base. Sixteen gold gloves for Maddux is pretty amazing. Do they just vote for him now without even thinking about any other pitchers? I am surprised to see Beltran on the list. I would have given the catcher’s gold glove to Yadier Molina.

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According to MLB’s annual player rankings Albert Pujols is perfect. The Cardinals first baseman scored a perfect 100. He is only the 6th person since the test was created in 1981 to score perfectly on the test.

The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman finished first at his position in plate appearances, batting average, on-base percentage, home runs and RBIs over the 2005 and 2006 seasons, according to rankings released Tuesday by the Elias Sports Bureau.

Since the rankings were created in the settlement of the 1981 strike, the only previous players to get perfect scores were New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly (1987), Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. (1991), Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas (1995), Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell (1995) and Boston designated hitter Manny Ramirez (2002).

Pujols was the top NL first baseman for the third straight year after finishing among the top three outfielders in 2003. Catcher Michael Barrett and reliever Billy Wagner also repeated.

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Score: Cardinals 4 - Tigers 2
Series Count: Cardinals win Series 4 games to 1
Winning Pitcher: Jeff Weaver
Losing Pitcher: Justin Verlander
Hero: Jeff Weaver
World Series MVP: David Eckstein

The long wait is over. The St. Louis Cardinals are MLB’s 2006 World Series Champions.  St. Louis last won the World Series back in 1982 against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Every so-called expert had predicted the Detroit Tigers to sweep the Cardinals or win in five games. One sportswriter even predicted the Tigers in three.

I have been a Card’s fan my whole life and listened to thousands of games on the radio and watched even more on TV.  The last time they won I was four, so it is a very exciting win here at the Bumpshack.

Detroit played sloppy once again in losing to the Cardinals 4-2. Angels cast off Jeff Weaver pitched eight strong innings while giving up just one earned run.

David Eckstein was named MVP of the World Series.  He batted .364 in winning the award.

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Score: Cardinals 5 - Tigers 4
Series Count: Cardinals 3 - Tigers 1
Winning Pitcher: Adam Wainwright
Losing Pitcher: Joel Zumaya
Hero: David Eckstein

The St. Louis Cardinals won an exciting game 4 against the Detroit Tigers 5-4.  Energetic munchkin David Eckstein had 4 hits including three doubles to lead the Cards to victory.

Eck had the game winning hit off of Joel Zumaya in the bottom of the eigth inning. Tigers leftfielder Craig Monroe made a diving effort and the ball bounced off the end of his glove.

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Score: Cardinals 5 - Tigers 0
Series Count: Cardinals 2 - Tigers 1
Winning Pitcher: Chris Carpenter
Losing Pitcher: Nate Robertson
Hero: Chris Carpenter

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 behind a dominant pitching performance behind Chris Carpenter.

Carpenter gave up just 3 hits and walked none while pitching eight innings of scoreless baseball to get the win.  The Tigers Nate Robertson received the loss.  The big hit came on a two-run double by Jim Edmonds in the fourth inning.

The Tigers looked rusty both at the plate and in the field. The big mistake was a throwing error to third by relief pitcher Joel Zumaya on a grounder hit back up the middle by Albert Pujols. Zumaya threw wild of third and two runs scored on the play.

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The Detroit Tigers won Game 2 of the 2006 World Series 3-1 behind a dominating cheating performance behind pitcher Kenny Rogers.

Rogers was caught on camera by Fox with a foreign substance on his pitching hand (see photos). It appeared to Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and everyone else in America to be pine tar.  According to MLB rules a pitcher is to be ejected and suspended automatically for 10 games.  MLB instead asked Rogers to wash his hands. 

Kenny Rogers and manager Jim Leyland have been caught contradicting each other with their stories.  Leyland said the umps asked him to wash his hands, while Rogers said they never asked him to and that he washed them when he noticed he had ‘a clump of dirt’ on his hand.

The Cardinals had a tough time against the ‘crafty’ left hander.  They had a mini rally in the ninth against Tigers reliever Todd Jones but still came up short.

What people on message boards are saying about Kenny Rogers the Pinetar Star:

“Rogers is a cheater, cheater, cameraman beater.”- Chris2fer

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Score: Cardinals 7 - Tigers 2
Winning Pitcher: Anthony Reyes
Losing Pitcher: Justin Verlander
Hero: Anthony Reyes 

Everyone picked the Detroit Tigers to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals and even one sportswriter picked the Tigers in 3?!?!  It was a poke at how bad he expected the Cards to get beat since it is a seven game series and all.

Well, the Cardinals stunned Detroit and baseball fans by blasting the Tigers 7-2 in Game One of the best of seven series. Cardinals rookie Anthony Reyes pitched brilliantly, throwing eight innings and giving up just two runs.

The offense was provided mostly in part by a solo home run by Scott Rolen in the second inning and a two-run homer by Albert Pujols in the third.

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The St. Louis Cardinals overcame improbable odds to beat the New York Mets and go to the World Series to face the Detroit Tigers. Catcher Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer in the top of the 9th to put the Cards ahead. Inexperienced closer Adam Wainwright came on to get the last outs in the bottom of the ninth. St. Louis won the game 3-1.

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It appears that Alex Rodriguez is not too popular in the New York Yankees clubhouse. Fans and teammates alike agree that he can not get a big hit in a clutch situation.  Jason Giambi had this exchange with A-Rod after the Yankees last series with the Red Sox

“We’re all rooting for you and we’re behind you 100 percent, but you’ve got to get the big hit,” was his message to A-Rod, Giambi told SI.

“What do you mean?” was Rodriguez’s response, Giambi told SI. “I’ve had five hits in Boston.”

“You [expletive] call those hits?” Giambi said, according to SI. “You had two [expletive] dinkers to right field and a ball that bounced over the third baseman! Look at how many pitches you missed!

“When you hit three, four or five [in the order], you have to get the big hits, especially if they’re going to walk Bobby [Abreu] and me. I’ll help you out until you get going. I’ll look to drive in runs when they pitch around me, go after that 3-and-1 pitch that might be a ball. But if they’re going to walk Bobby and me, you’re going to have to be the guy.”

Take a look, without laughing, at what Alex said to Sports Illustrated. 

“[Mike] Mussina doesn’t get hammered at all,” he told SI. “He’s making a boatload of money. Giambi’s making [$20.4 million], which is fine and dandy, but it seems those guys get a pass. When people write [bad things] about me, I don’t know if it’s [because] I’m good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team …”

Alex you make $25 million dollars and have never led a team to a championship. You also strike out 150 times a year and hit under .285 with no clutch hits or homers.

It is easy to see why New York fans and teammates might be a bit upset with A-Rod. Granted comparing him to baseball god Albert Pujols might not be fair, but Pujols didn’t sell his soul for the almighty dollar and greed either.

Pujols is a freak to have more home runs than he does strike outs.  Albert has also played in almost 20 fewer games this year.  Compare the averages of A-Rod and A-Bert with runners on base (ROB) and with runners in scoring position (RISP).  If you were to base Albert’s salary on A-Rod’s and his production then you would have to pay Albert around $40 million a year.

AB is at bats, AVG is batting average, HR is Home Runs, RBI is Runs Batted In, SO is Strikeouts, W is Walks, SLG is Slugging Percentage, ROB is Average with Runners on Base, RISP is Average with Runners in Scoring Position, Salary is that player’s salary for the 2006 season

Albert Pujols hit three home runs yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in St. Louis.  Pujols is a baseball freak so this may come as no major surprise. The part that is Ruthian is that Albert is the father of a girl with Down Syndrome and  yesterday was “buddy walk” day at the stadium. A few of the kids had a simple request for Albert.

“Buddy walk” is a day the Cardinals have every year where kids with Down Syndrome can circle the field with the players and stand with them during pre-game introductions. Several of the kids during warmups asked Albert to hit a homer for them. Albert went out and hit home runs in his first three plate appearances.

Children with Down Syndrome circled the field in pregame ceremonies and then stood with players at their positions during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” More than a few asked him to hit a home run for them.

In his fourth trip to the plate Albert hit a long, deep fly ball that was caught on the warning track.

“It’s always good to do something special for those kids, but I don’t try to put pressure on myself,” Pujols said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re there or not. I’m just going to try the best I can to help my team to win.”

Since Pujols became spokesman for the “buddy walk” games in 2002, he’s 9-for-20 with five homers, nine RBI and seven runs scored while the Cardinals have gone 4-1.

Pujols Family Foundation website

Starters and reserves for baseball’s 77th mid-summer classic have been announced by Major League Baseball.

ESPN’s Full All-Star Coverage

Fox Sports Complete All-Star Rosters

Ken Rosenthal’s AL Picks - NL Picks

Albert Pujols received the most fan votes for the game.
American League Voting - National League Voting

American League Starters
1B. David Ortiz- Boston Red Sox
2B. Mark Loretta- Boston Red Sox
SS. Derek Jeter- New York Yankees
3B. Alex Rodriguez- New York Yankees
CA. Ivan Rodriguez- Detroit Tigers
OF. Vladimir Guerrero- Los Angeles Angeles
OF. Manny Ramirez- Boston Red Sox
OF. Ichiro Suzuki- Seattle Mariners

National League Starters
1B. Albert Pujols- St. Louis Cardinals
2B. Chase Utley- Philadelphia Phillies
SS. Jose Reyes- New York Mets
3B. David Wright- New York Mets
CA. Paul Lo Duca- New York Mets
OF. Jason Bay- Pittsburgh Pirates
OF. Carlos Beltran- New York Mets
OF. Alfonso Soriano- Washington Nationals