ST. LOUIS - Albert Pujols is a failure; a hang-your-head, can't-figure-it-out failure.
Nevermind that through the first 11 games of the playoffs he batted .442 with six home runs and 14 RBIs, and his 19 hits were seven more than his closest teammate.
On this day, none of that mattered to the Cardinals first baseman who bemoaned that during the regular season he was 16 walks short of 100.
"I try to accomplish something new every year," Pujols said. "I know I can get 100. I work hard at it. My job is to do what I can do to help my team win."
Let's just say that when the main focus of your game is improving your batting eye from superb to extraordinary, you pretty much have it covered.
The problem during the National League Championship Series was getting anyone to notice. In a series that elevated Astros centerfielder Carlos Beltran to rock star status, Pujols was more the roadie, blending into the process but just as integral.
That is until the Cardinals won the final two games to barge into the World Series, and Pujols became the headliner, wielding his bat like a sledgehammer with five hits, including a home run, four runs and three RBIs.
For the series he hit .500 (14-for-28) with four homers and nine RBIs. You bet your Beltran he was MVP.
"Am I locked in? No, it's just a blessing," Pujols said. "It's great to be named the MVP. But I think everybody in that locker room deserves to be MVP. That trophy is going to stay in that locker room for the rest of my career."
It's not difficult to understand why Pujols was second banana for most of the NLCS.
Beltran was the most visible player in Houston's feel-good run to the playoffs. He batted .417 in the series with four home runs, tied Barry Bonds' playoff record of eight and set a postseason record with home runs in five consecutive games.
Beltran also engaged the media. Pujols generally stayed to himself and was surly.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who called Pujols "the best player I ever had" said that didn't change the bottom line on the field.
"I bet they were as concerned about his at-bats as we are about Carlos'," La Russa said. "I look forward to his at-bats."
The Astros did not.
"He's hitting, what, .800?" pitcher Pete Munro said. "If you can limit Albert to a single, I'll take that."
"He can beat you with the bat so bad," Beltran said. "He's one of the best hitters in baseball. It seems like every chance he gets he puts the ball to the wall."
Roger Clemens gave him a chance in the sixth inning of Game 7 with an up-and-in fastball.
Pujols, with quick wrists and enormous strength in his thick, 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame, turned and drilled the ball into the leftfield corner for a run-scoring, two-out double that tied the score at 2.
"I'll tell you what," Pujols said, "that at-bat against Clemens is one of the best. I think I'm going to keep dreaming about it for the next couple of weeks. At the time I didn't want to do too much, just see a good pitch to hit. The pitch was up. Thank the Lord my hands came through."
Pujols, 24, in the first year of a seven-year, $100-million deal, has made history.
He is the only major leaguer to hit at least 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons, and joined Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Al Simmons as the only players to begin careers with four consecutive 100-RBIs seasons.
"I've heard a lot about that but I don't compare myself to anybody," Pujols said. "It's great. I respect that guys compare me with Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio but that's not my job. My job is to serve the Lord and don't compare myself with anybody. Just try to help my team win."
Pujols, who batted .331 this season with a career-high 46 home runs and 123 RBIs, said he reviews on video all his at-bats, even during games, to make adjustments.
He has not had to make many in the playoffs.
"I feel good," he said. "Do I have to do it every time? I'm human. I can't do it every time. You do what you can do out there. You do the best you can."
