He has a 1056 OPS in the postseason across 311 plate appearances.

Pujols has 5 hits in this series. All in one game. Game 5 probably shouldn't count, with 4 walks, but he did have one bad strikeout when it mattered.

Does this mean Albert is a bad player? Nope. It just means he has no hits in 4 other World Series games.

In one game -- or two, actually -- Tony La Russa has gone from a genius to a dunce. And Albert Pujols has gone from Albert Pujols to Nick Punto.

And a dunce.

Players whose World Series records he tied: Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Paul Molitor, Hideki Matsui, Bobby Richardson. Pretty cool assortment.

The surprise here, for me, is that in all the World Series games that have ever been played, only one other player (Molly) has had five hits.

Not one of them was a cheapy. And even if it shouldn't, this is going to make him that much more expensive next year.

The other side of this is that the CBA gives Major League Baseball players a LOT of rights...asking them to stick around and talk to the media for 1/2 hour after a game is pretty reasonable.

Interesting, have read today that the CBA has rules requiring some level of media access. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am a little dismayed. I honestly believe that it is not part of a player's job to somehow be "accountable" to the media, especially when he screwed up somehow. (Or, worse, when someone in the media thinks he screwed up.) As I said below, I think the writers should write what they see. Maybe it will cause more instances of off-base opining by writers; though there's nothing wrong with a player talking if he wants to. I just think there should be nothing wrong with a player saying, "Not now, okay?"

And, I would apply that standard across different teams, and across different talent levels (that is, I don't want separate standards for stars and for scrubs).

I don't think A-Rod should get a pass. Upon reflection, I feel like the level of criticism of Pujols today is fair. For A-Rod, it often isn't.

Are you saying Pujols should get crucified, or that A-Rod would deserve a pass? (I'm in the latter camp.)

I have to admit, those post-game pressers always seemed to me to be weird, especially when questions are about errors/mistakes. "Why didn't you cut off that throw from the outfield?" What happened to writing the story based on what the writer saw, instead of what the player thought (or says he thought)? Sure, it's stand-up to get up there and say "I messed up," but how necessary is that, really?

Didn't feel like talking to the press last night after the game. A-Rod would have been crucified for that in a similar situation. Pujols - as he often does - gets a pass.