St. Louis Post-Dispatch Tipsheet column.(Column)

Byline: Jeff Gordon

June 21--The loss of Albert Pujols for the next six weeks (or longer) raised all sorts of questions for the Cardinals, general manager John Mozeliak and Dan Lozano -- the agent aiming to set records with Albert's next contract.

Can the gritty Cardinals survive this latest cruel blow?

Will the injury have a residual impact on Albert's hitting?

Could this long-term injury inspire Mozeliak and Lozano to re-open contract negotiations?

How might this injury, combined with Albert's earlier slump and advanced age, impact Pujols' market value?

Here is how some of the national scribes answered those questions:

Joe Lemire, SI.com: "Since June 2 Pujols was 20-for-59 with five doubles, eight home runs and nine walks, good for a .339 average, .435 on-base percentage and .831 slugging percentage. Those rates are nearly identical to his pre-2011 career average (.331) and OBP (.426) and a huge increase over even his own …