Luvofthegame
10-10-2006, 08:45 PM
One hot topic of Tuesday's sessions in the interview room were the questions of whether, when and how to pitch to Albert Pujols. Lefty Tom Glavine, the Game 1 starter for the Mets, has never had much luck getting Pujols out (9-for-20). Oddly, though, for a man usually unwilling to give in, he's only walked Pujols once.
"There's a competitive side that we have as pitchers, that want to try to get him out," Glavine said. "I think you have to factor in the situations in the game. You have to factor in what you have out there on the mound on a given night, and you have to factor in maybe the previous at-bats during the course of the game that you've had with him and how he's looked or how he may or may not be swinging the bat. All of those things come into play.
"But I can assure you we're not going to stand on the mound and just stupidly say, 'The better side of me wants to get him out and I have something to prove,' or something like that. That's not going to happen. Sooner or later, we're going to have to pitch to him before the series is over. He's not going to walk every time he comes up there, I can assure you of that."
Pujols went 5-for-20 with one walk against the Mets in the regular season this year. Two of those hits -- and seven of his nine RBIs -- came in an Aug. 22 loss at Shea.
"There's a competitive side that we have as pitchers, that want to try to get him out," Glavine said. "I think you have to factor in the situations in the game. You have to factor in what you have out there on the mound on a given night, and you have to factor in maybe the previous at-bats during the course of the game that you've had with him and how he's looked or how he may or may not be swinging the bat. All of those things come into play.
"But I can assure you we're not going to stand on the mound and just stupidly say, 'The better side of me wants to get him out and I have something to prove,' or something like that. That's not going to happen. Sooner or later, we're going to have to pitch to him before the series is over. He's not going to walk every time he comes up there, I can assure you of that."
Pujols went 5-for-20 with one walk against the Mets in the regular season this year. Two of those hits -- and seven of his nine RBIs -- came in an Aug. 22 loss at Shea.