Pujols has broken bone; out 4-6 weeks

BY DERRICK GOOLD | Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 11:58 am | (16) Comments


(Chris Lee / clee@post-dispatch.com)
Albert Pujols grabs his left wrist after colliding with Kansas City's Wilson Betemit on Sunday. Pujols will be sidelined at least four to six weeks with a broken bone near the wrist.

ST. LOUIS • Cardinals first baseman and three-time MVP Albert Pujols will miss four to six weeks with a small fracture that was found near his left wrist, the team announced Monday.

Pujols had an MRI and followup X-Rays this morning with the Cardinals' team physicians. A non-displaced fracture was discovered in his left radius, a bone that makes up the forearm. Pujols' arm will be placed in a splint, and the Cardinals expect him to be out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

Pujols will go on the 15-day disabled list, and the official statement from the Cardinals said they will announce a roster move before Tuesday's game against Philadelphia. By placing Pujols on the DL, the Cardinals are able to recall any of the players recently optioned to Class AAA Memphis.

Lance Berkman is expected to take over at first base for the Cardinals.

The release said that Pujols' shoulder is sore but, according the club, no structural damage was found "at this time."

Pujols' final at-bat before the injury was his 17th home run of the season, a homer that put the Cardinals briefly ahead in their 5-4 victory against Kansas City. Pujols appeared in all 73 games the Cardinals have played this season, and he hits the DL with a .279 average, a .355 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage.

Four to six weeks will be the longest Pujols has ever been on the disabled list in his career. He had two previous stays on the DL.

The fracture is similar to an injury a person might have after slipping on ice and landing with the full force of their weight on a wrist. There is no mention of surgery being required to repair the damage, per the release.

Pujols injured his wrist and shoulder in the sixth inning of Sunday's game when Kansas City baserunner Wilson Betemit collided with him along the first-base line. Pujols was upbeat after the game, saying that an initial scan of the wrist done at Busch Stadium did not reveal any fractures in the bone.

The scans he underwent Monday morning provided a more detailed look at the structure of the left wrist.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/...0f31a.html

Bernie: Pujols' injury gives Cards a nasty scare

BY BERNIE MIKLASZ, Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist | Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 11:00 am | (76) Comments

Noon Monday update:

Pujols has broken bone in arm; out 4-6 weeks

***

This is Bernie Miklasz's column that was published Sunday night:

Have you ever seen 41,660 frightened people hold their breath at the same time? Well, it happened Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium. There was a collision at first base. Albert Pujols tumbled like a bowling pin. He stayed on the ground clutching his left wrist, writhing in agony.

Down goes Pujols.

Down goes the franchise player.

And there goes the 2011 season.

"I was nauseous," Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said.

Just about everyone in the place imagined the worst-case scenario: broken wrist, broken dreams.

Father's Day?

No, more like Halloween.

"It scared the hell out of us," manager Tony La Russa said.

Yes, the Cardinals may lose Pujols to free agency after the season. But they didn't want to lose him like this. They didn't want the last Pujols at-bat in a Cardinals uniform to occur June 19, not when there is a division race on the line. Hey, if this was the final at-bat, at least it was a Pujols home run, in the fifth inning.

But now it was the top of the sixth, and no one was thinking about the homer, about his contract, or what to throw on the backyard grill when they got home from the ballpark. No one could think, period.

And as Pujols went through his tortured contortions in foul ground near the first-base line, the red sea at Busch Stadium turned eerily still.

"The whole stadium was silent," Cardinals shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "This is one of the greatest players of all time."

The roar would return later when Skip Schumaker drilled a ninth-inning homer to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory and a series win. But in this instance Schumaker's walk-off was overshadowed by an even more dramatic limp-off by Pujols.

Pujols couldn't dodge Kansas City baserunner Wilson Betemit while trying to reach an errant throw by rookie second baseman Pete Kozma.

But as it turns out, the Cardinals and Pujols probably dodged a metaphorical bullet that would have blown a hole through their season.

Pujols is pretty banged up; the wrist and shoulder are sore. But early reports are encouraging. There does not seem to be a break, a fracture. Yes, we've heard this before. The Cardinals specialize in offering premature, optimistic injury reports.

This situation is a little different, however. There doesn't seem to be much if any gray area. Either the wrist is broken or it is not. If it's broken, Pujols would be done for the year. If the wrist isn't broken, then the injury is a matter of severity.

If there's significant ligament damage in the wrist, the condition could sideline Pujols for a while. At least he would be back after a reasonable time. And there's a chance the Cardinals and Pujols could get really lucky and he'll avoid the disabled list.

We'll see. But late Sunday afternoon there wasn't a single person in this organization, in or around the Cardinals clubhouse, who thought Pujols has a broken wrist. The postgame mood was upbeat, and not just because of the win.

Another tip-off was this: Pujols was pleasant and patient in postgame interviews. If this was a catastrophic injury, chances are the organization immediately would have closed ranks and gone into the secretive, protective mode. Pujols wouldn't have appeared before his locker. But he did. That says a lot.

Mozeliak, no longer feeling sick, seemed calm and relieved an hour after the game. Isn't it about time for some reasonably good news on the medical front?

The Cardinals have been debilitated by injuries since spring training, when they lost ace starter Adam Wainwright to season-ending elbow surgery.

Ailing Cardinals who have spent time on the disabled list include cleanup hitter Matt Holliday, starting third baseman David Freese, starting pitcher Kyle McClellan, starting second baseman Schumaker, valuable bat Allen Craig (twice), effective utility man Nick Punto and solid backup catcher Gerald Laird.

And yet the Cardinals (40-33) are tied with Milwaukee for first place in the NL Central. This much we know about the team's health: The players' hearts are stout, and in fine condition.

As Mozeliak said, "When Albert went down, it was like, 'What else could possibly go wrong?' The character of this club should never be questioned. There's really only so many shots a team can take and keep bouncing back. But this is a resilient group."

Pujols has reemerged as a force over the last three weeks, batting .343 with nine homers, six doubles, 17 RBIs, 21 runs and a combined on-base and slugging percentage of 1.253 since May 30.

Pujols has never played fewer than 148 games in a season since arriving in the majors and St. Louis in 2001. It's strange to think of him not being out there. But if the Cardinals are fortunate to lose Pujols for a few days, a week, or a 15-day stint on the DL, they should be able to handle it.

"We've been overcoming things like this all year," Schumaker said. "This has been a common theme to our season."

And there was instant reassurance when Lance Berkman replaced the injured Pujols in the sixth.

"The All-Star first baseman went out of the game, and another All-Star first baseman came in," Theriot said. "And a lot of people don't have that luxury. You've got to hope it's for the best, hope that it's a quick deal with Albert.

"But we have some capable players, even though no one can fill Albert's shoes. No one can do that. But we have some guys who can step up and play well. Hopefully it's all going to pay off in the end. If we're fortunate enough to make it to the playoffs, we'll be a stronger team. It will make us a stronger unit."

Pujols said he regretted not being able to playfully smack Schumaker around at home plate after the game-winning homer. After talking about his injury for a few minutes, Pujols politely suggested that we turn our attention to the game and the happy outcome.

"This was a big win," Pujols said.

Even better, it seems, because they seemingly avoided a substantial loss: Albert Pujols.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/b...0fa3a.html

Albert Pujols out 6 weeks with fractured wrist
Could impact NL Central Division race

CINCINNATI -- The Reds did not celebrate the news that Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols will miss four-to-six weeks, but the Cincinnati camp also acknowledged the obvious.

That is, the absence of Pujols cannot hurt other teams’ chances against St. Louis in the NL Central race.

Watch the collision here:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?conten...075783&v=3

“He’s probably the best player in the game,” said Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who beat out Pujols for NL MVP last year. “Losing Albert is going to be a big deal for them. You can’t stick somebody in there and expect Albert Pujols’ production, but I also think they’ll figure out how to cover that hole.”

Pujols, a three-time NL MVP, was placed on the disabled list Monday with a fractured left wrist. Pujols was hurt in a first-base collision over the weekend. While Pujols is hitting far below his standards at .279, he has heated up lately and ranks among NL leaders in home runs (17) and RBI (45).

The idle Cardinals moved a half-game ahead of the Brewers atop the division with the Reds in third place, 2 1/2 games back. The Brewers lost to Tampa Bay and the Reds were beaten by the Yankees on Monday night.

In major league clubhouses, players truly are sorry when another player is injured. No matter how great that player is.

“From the standpoint of being a good thing for us, sure, it’s got to help our chances,” Reds outfielder Drew Stubbs said. “Being out that length of time is probably going to take a toll on the Cardinals’ offensive production. But as a player, you never want to see a fellow competitor go down like that.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker has seen many teams pick up the slack when superstars go down.

“I think you can do without anybody for a short period of time,” Baker said. “The longer the time goes, the more you miss that person. It doesn’t change anything for us, but you never gloat over another man’s lament. If you do, it’ll jump on you.”

The Reds already have seen the Cardinals somewhat overcome the loss of ace pitcher Adam Wainwright, who suffered a season-ending elbow injury in spring training.

“That’s a really resilient team over there in St. Louis, really well-run,” Votto said. “They win a lot of games off of good decision making, good fundamentals.”

Quote:Pujols will miss Reds twice

Albert Pujols will miss the Reds' series in St. Louis July 4-6 and the Cardinals' series at GABP July 15-17.

If Pujols misses the All-Star Game July 12, as expected, there’s a good chance that Joey Votto will start at first base for the National League.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll...306200082/

I never like to see injuries. But because this isn't career threatening, it doesn't hurt my feelings to see Pujols out of their lineup for 4 to 6 weeks.

(06-21-2011 06:40 AM)Vottomatic Wrote:  I never like to see injuries. But because this isn't career threatening, it doesn't hurt my feelings to see Pujols out of their lineup for 4 to 6 weeks.

Yeah, I feel absolutely no guilt about my warm fuzzy feelings here.

(06-21-2011 06:40 AM)Vottomatic Wrote:  I never like to see injuries. But because this isn't career threatening, it doesn't hurt my feelings to see Pujols out of their lineup for 4 to 6 weeks.

It isn't career ending but it is definitely career threatening. Most of the talk that I have heard is that players do not return to their previous level after something like this. The Cardinals management keeps looking smarter and smarter.

(06-21-2011 09:10 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  

(06-21-2011 06:40 AM)Vottomatic Wrote:  I never like to see injuries. But because this isn't career threatening, it doesn't hurt my feelings to see Pujols out of their lineup for 4 to 6 weeks.

It isn't career ending but it is definitely career threatening. Most of the talk that I have heard is that players do not return to their previous level after something like this. The Cardinals management keeps looking smarter and smarter.

Whether Pujols is healthy and the Cardinals don't sign him or whether his injury affects his ability to be the same player and they don't sign him...............it will still be a big huge hole in the middle of that batting order next season.

And who can predict injuries.