Typically, Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals' last number-five ever, is up to some pretty big things by Cinco de Mayo—and unlike my big things on Cinco de Mayo, they don't involve eating chips and salsa alone at the Taqueria El Rodeo and crying softly. Last year Pujols was hitting .327/.412/.615 on May 5; on Cinco de Mayo 2009 he homered to bring his slugging percentage up to .705. On May 5, 2006, he went 2-3 with a home run to raise his season stats to .326/.484/.874. This year? Still no crying, but considerably less festive—Pujols comes into the official cultural celebration of Mexican-Americans and college students who wear thong sandals with a season line of .233/.309/.417.
↵Suffice it to say that he's never done that before.
↵Neither I nor Albert Pujols is a Mexican-American or a college student who wears thong sandals, so I'm not sure Cinco de Mayo will be enough to kick the Cardinals' first baseman and extremely tentative contract year breakout candidate into gear. But if you're worried about his slow start on 5/5, just be glad his number isn't nine.
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