Poznanski SI cover story this week: Albert Pujols is the best player in Baseball.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

2.) Tons of sour grapes from Royals fans? There was exactly one Royals fan, Great Expectations, a poster I've never seen before this thread. There were other posters, some Royals fans some not, that expressed doubts over Pujols' true age. But that's not sour grapes, that's legit concern. Posnanski's article is partly about that very issue.

6) Joakim Soria, with his .68 WHIP, disagrees.

Soria didn't pitch in a playoff game or close out a game that really mattered all season. Oh, and Soria didn't go 41/41 on save opps.

Lidge, on the other hand, saved 7 in the playoffs alone and gave up 1 ER the whole time while striking out 13 and allowing only 8 baserunners. Did I mention he went an entire season without blowing a save? Nor did he ever take a loss. In a season when they made the playoffs by 3 games, that's huge.

When you did it matters as much as how you did it when you're talking about a closer. Soria had a great season, but he blew a few games and didn't ever face 'nut cutting' time. Had Soria been closing for Philly and blown the handful of games he did, they don't make the playoffs.

Lidge was better.