Pujols is pure trouble for pitchers.(THE CLOSER)

From my brief experience playing against Albert Pujols, I can say this: He gets it. And Albert is evolving this season. He has become the face of the Cardinals franchise and is involved with his foundation and numerous civic events away from the ballpark. At the ballpark, he signs autographs, hugs kids, talks to opponents and does pretty much whatever the team needs.

He seems to understand that others in similar shoes can be moody, but Pujols never looks like he's having a bad day. He must have some, but they never seem to affect him.

And once he steps into the box, he's pure. You have to go pretty high up the Hall of Fame ladder to find suitable comparisons for what Albert has done at the plate so early in his career.

For a pitcher, facing Pujols is a tall task. He's one of those guys about whom you feel really good if you keep him in the park. In pitchers meetings, he falls under the he's not going to beat us category. Translation: He's not going to get anything to hit. No offense to any of the Cardinals, but about the only guys who can offer protection to Pujols are Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez. Pujols can hit pitches that are inside, outside, up, down, in, out, hard, soft. He's able to ...