Makin' PP

The two big names in the draft are both P's: Pujols and Pierre.

Both are going to be chased, because both are unique. The third big name is also a P, Pedro, but I'm not interested in him today.

Big Al Pujols has a chance to be in the mix of "greatest players of all time". His first 5 years in the bigs compare with anyone's. 201 HR's, 621 RBI's, 332 BA, 982 Hits, 621 SLG. This guy is ridiculous. Who do you compare him to? I'm thinking Ted Williams. Better than Musial. Maybe the young Mickey, the one who won a triple crown. Jimmy Foxx was like this before the booze curtailed his career. And Babe is not comparable, because he pitched for 3 seasons.

This freaking guy just turned 26 in January. He's got possibly 14 more seasons to go, 10 in his prime which he is just entering. If he stays healthy, he might break everything, if they can continue to protect him in the lineup.

Fantasywise, he just keeps growing. He stole 16 bases last year. He averages over 330, and his AB numbers for the 5 years are crazy steady: 590, 590, 591, 592, 591. This has got to be the most consistent player in baseball history.

So what's he worth? I asked Boof today. He said he'd go for $47. I don't think so. Busch won't let him go for that. Neither will we. I've already decided on a Pujols strategy. When his name comes up, I'm going to say "50." And we won't get him. I put the over/under at 54. If he goes under, he'll be a Peckler, assuming we have $262 to spend. If you're going to spend a lot of money, you want to spend it on sure things, and this is the surest thing of this millenium so far.

The other P is the famous french fighter pilot, Pierre. For him, only one stat line is relevant: 46, 47, 65, 45, 57. That steals, baby, the rarest commodity around. He's the one guy available who all by himself can keep you in the hunt for stolen base points.

There is a question as to whether Dusty will let him run. Of course, why else did they sign him? For his glove? 50 steals, minimum. So the Pecklers are steal-less so far. Getting 100 steals at 10 per is just too hard. Of course, we're not the only team that wants this guy. Our preempt? 35. Maybe 36.

It's ok to over pay a couple of bucks on these guys. If you don't get them, you end up settling. And if we're out of the race, which is more likely than not, they are mighty, might tradable.