Albert Pujols, meet rock bottom. Rock bottom, I’d like to introduce you to Albert Pujols.
As if Pujols’ now infamous homerless streak wasn’t already bad enough, you can add a new ignominious achievement to his 2012 resume: he’s dropped below the Mendoza line. After going 0-for-4 against Henderson Alvarez and Toronto tonight, Albert’s batting average on the season now stands at a lowly .194. To add insult to injury, Pujols was booed loudly by the home fans at Angel Stadium in his final two at-bats.
The man that a few months ago was treated like arriving royalty at his introductory press conference is now being booed. Loudly.
It is hard to blame Angels fans for getting frustrated and targeting Pujols with their frustration as his poor performance was central to the Halos getting shutout for the second consecutive game and for the sixth time this season, the most in baseball. Oh, and it was also the fifth consecutive start for Ervin Santana in which the Angels have been shutout, which just so happens to be a MLB record in its own right. Yes, the natives are more than justified in getting restless.
While Albert Pujols certainly isn’t solely responsible for this epic offensive ineptitude, he is its face and until Pujols turns into the franchise savior that he was believed to be and gets the Angels back to winning, he is going to keep getting booed.
It could be looooooong season in Anaheim.
