Free passes for Mr. Pujols

~ TEams have been finding the best way to deal with the two-time NL MVP is to pitch to his teammates instead.

ST. LOUIS -- If more than a day or two passes without a crucial hit by Albert Pujols, everyone wonders what's wrong with the reigning NL MVP.

The easy answer: The opposition has been able to pitch around the St. Louis Cardinals' star lately, with injuries to Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel leaving Pujols with little protection. The Cardinals' weekend interleague series against the Kansas City Royals was a case in point, with Pujols drawing four intentional walks -- one of them with two on and none out -- and seven walks overall.

During the three games, Pujols never had an at-bat with runners on base.

Pujols leads the major leagues with 12 intentional walks because the opposition prefers to make one of his less celebrated teammates beat them. On Monday he walked twice in a 1-0, 10-inning loss at Milwaukee, once intentionally with a man on second and two outs in the sixth.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa can't blame them when dealing with a player who's just as tough a customer on the bases despite the lack of speed, going 7-for-8 in steals and always forcing the action. He calls Pujols, who has a .451 on-base percentage, the "perfect player."

Opponents agree.

"He can change the game with one swing," Royals pitcher Brian Bannister said after a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday. "To me, he is the best hitter in baseball.

"He's always taking a good swing, he's almost impossible to strike out. He's just a presence, and managing him is just a part of pitching to this team."

A perfect player on a far from perfect team, Pujols endured a season-long five-game RBI drought last week largely because he wasn't getting anything to hit. He was 9-for-28 on a 5-4 homestand, the lone RBI on a line-drive homer that knocked out the "I" on the Big Mac Land sign over the left-field wall.

The Cardinals have been getting sterling starting pitching, with the rotation allowing one run in 36 2/3 innings during a recent five-game winning streak, but over the last 13 games had totaled only 34 runs -- not even three per game.

Their team batting average is among the lowest in the National League.

Ankiel returned Sunday, but missed Monday's loss due to day-after soreness related to his headfirst crash into an outfield wall in early May. Ludwick is expected back from the 15-day disabled list Friday from a right hamstring injury.

Maybe then, Pujols might get a few more pitches in the strike zone.

"Nobody is going to throw the ball down the middle to Albert," La Russa said. "Nobody gives in to Albert."

He's the only player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs each of his first eight seasons.

The two-time MVP chided reporters during the last homestand for expecting daily production, saying he had "spoiled" the team's fans. He wants to be challenged, too.

"If I'm perfect all the time and hitting over .360 or .380, why am I playing this game?" Pujols said. "It wouldn't be fun. I think you need to struggle as a pitcher and position player to get better and work on it."

From time to time, Pujols admits he probably expands his strike zone. He said he learned a lot from the 2007 season when the Cardinals fizzled after winning the World Series the previous fall and Pujols put too much on his shoulders, especially early in the season.

Now, he knows he can only do what he can do.

"You know what, let the game come to you and take your walks knowing you don't have to carry this whole ballclub every day," Pujols said. "Knowing they know what they need to do, and I'm not going to baby-sit them."

He won't apologize for the days, more frequent these days due to circumstances beyond his control, when he can't contribute.

"I don't try to force anything," Pujols said. "I try to do the best I can and I'm human. Sometimes I'm going to struggle, sometimes I'm going to get pitches to hit, and sometimes I won't come through."