Albert Pujols is no longer in the worst season-opening slump of his career. After a rough start to the season that was attributed to a number of possible and entirely speculative reasons, including but not limited to his contract situation with the St. Louis Cardinals, his OPS hit a season low on April 11, when a 1-5 night left him hitting .150/.222/.225, for an OPS of .447. Since then he's 10-23 with a double and three home runs, for a line of .435/.458/.870. That's suitably Pujolsian, I think.
↵Pujols's slump was alarming and frustrating, both for the results and the particulars—he seemed constitutionally unable to do anything except ground the ball to the third baseman with a runner on first base, and pitchers were so disdainful toward this new Albert Pujols that they still haven't intentionally walked him.
↵But Pujols is 31. It's not unreasonable to think he's begun his decline phase, but he's not Mo Vaughn; it's more likely than not to be a gradual one.
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