Albert Pujols: Is He Worth It?

Some of you may or may not know this, but I am a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, and have enjoyed watching Albert Pujols play for the Cardinals over the course of the past 10 seasons. How much do I like the Cardinals and Pujols? When my wife and I adopted our dog a little over two years ago, we decided to name him Albert (we call him Albe for short). From a kinesiological and mechanical perspective, Pujols has one of the most efficient and consistent swings in baseball. From a fan's perspective, he has helped the Cardinals win a lot of baseball games over the past 10 seasons. However, his contract expires at the end of this season, and the Cardinals and Pujols failed to reach an agreement on an extension before his self-imposed deadline at the start of spring training. That means he will likely become a free agent after the 2011 season and every team can bid on him. Rumors have surfaced that Pujols is seeking a 10 year contract worth 300 million dollars, which would make him the highest paid player in baseball history. I don't know if he really asked for this type of contract, but there is no doubt it is going to take a lot of money over many years to sign Pujols. The real question that has to be answered is he worth that much money and that many years. On the surface, the answer to the question appears to be yes. When you look at the first 10 years of Pujols's career in terms of most major offensive categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, etc.), he ranks in the top 3 all time. There is no doubt that he makes the Cardinals a better team and generates millions of dollars in revenue through ticket sales and merchandise sales for the Cardinals. But if you dig a little deeper, you will see that his numbers have declined slightly over the past few seasons. Also, Pujols is currently 31 years old, and most baseball players show a sharp decline in their statistics around 35-36. So, while Pujols may currently be worth $30 million a year, will he still be worth that the last 5 years of his contract? The other factor that has to be considered is his elbow. Pujols has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, that could possibly rupture at any time, which would require Tommy John Surgery to repair and cause him to miss anywhere from 7-12 months of action. The bottom line is this: Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball, and has been for the past several years. He deserves to make a lot of money. Is he worth $300 million for 10 years? I'm not so sure about that, and I'm glad I don't have to make that decision. While I do feel the Cardinals could increase their payroll over $100 million, they are not the Yankees or Red Sox with unlimited financial flexibility. While I am a big Pujols fan, I am an even bigger Cardinals fan. I would love to see Albert finish his career in a Cardinals uniform, but not at the expense of sacrificing the Cardinals competitive chances with an extremely large contract. Hopefully both sides will be able to reach a compromise and he doesn't end up playing for the Cubs next year.

American College of Sports Medicine Southeast Chapter Regional Meeting

Last week, myself and two other faculty members (Drs. Hale and Kavasis) traveled with a group of seven students to the American College of Sports Medicine Southeast Chapter Regional Meeting in Greenville, SC. The students included Nigel Collins, Katelyn Graben (graduate student), Kelly Harkins, Jenny Morton, Eddie Neal, Laura Beth Roby, and Lindsey Triplett. The students each presented research in poster format that they have worked on with us over the course of the past year. They were also able to attend other presentations based on the latest research in kinesiology and sports medicine. The students did a wonderful job with their presentations and representing Mississippi State University. The picture above is of Eddie, Lindsey, and Kelly, who represented us and performed very well at the student quiz bowl. The experience was very positive for both the students and faculty and we hope to take even more students to the conference next year.

Will Maurkice Pouncey Play?

I'm sure that everyone is aware that the Super Bowl is this Sunday. One of the biggest questions entering the game is whether or not Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey will be able to play in the game. Pouncey suffered a high ankle sprain during the AFC Championship game 9 days ago against the Jets. I have previously blogged about high ankle sprains, so I won't go into a very detailed description of the injury. In Pouncey's case, he was blocking down field when a defender landed on the posterior (back) side of his lower leg, forcing it forward. This mechanism forces the ankle into hyper-dorsiflexion (imagine planting your foot on the ground, and then moving your lower leg towards the top of your foot past comfortable limits). When this occurs, the talus, which is the bone between the tibia (on the medial, or inside of the lower leg) and fibula (on the lateral, or outside of the lower leg) is pushed up between the tibia and fibula, and this causes tearing of the ligaments that hold these two bones together. Rehabilitation for a high ankle sprain typically takes 4-6 weeks, although this will vary based on the severity of the injury. I've been involved in cases in which the player was able to play a week later, and others in which it took 6-8 weeks for the athlete to return. The best treatment of a high ankle sprain is rest, but for football players during a season, this is not likely an option. I imagine Pouncey has not put any weight on his ankle since the injury occurred, and has been receiving almost around the clock treatment to help control the swelling and pain and regain range of motion. As it gets closer to game day, he will probably attempt some football type drills to see if he can tolerate the injury. In my opinion, it will be very difficult, but not impossible, for him to play Sunday. If he does play, he will be in a lot of pain and will have limited mobility. But since it is the Super Bowl, I would not rule it out.