....Sir Alberts Park. ST. LOUIS -- The Major League career of Albert Pujols has been pure storybook stuff, and the reigning National League Most Valuable Player added one of his more amazing chapters to date on Easter Sunday 2006. Pujols simply wouldn't allow the Cardinals to lose on a day when new Busch Stadium was treated to the kind of heroic performance that St. Louis legends of the past occasionally offered on special days at Busch I and Busch II. Three home runs by Pujols, including a two-run walk-off blast in the ninth inning, gave the Cards an 8-7 victory over Cincinnati and left the St. Louis players grasping for superlatives to describe their dynamic first baseman. "Twenty or 30 years from now, you're probably going to say you've watched one of the top five players to ever play this game," Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein said. Eckstein has had the great fortune to play with 2004 American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero and Pujols the last two years. The common denominator? "A superstar has that rare ability to put an entire ballclub on his back and say, 'Come ride with me.' That's what the Angels had with Vladimir in '04 and it's what we have with Albert," Eckstein said. "He just put us on his back today and took us to victory." Pujols did a happy dance while rounding the bases after the coup de grace homer, but quickly regained a business-like attitude as he addressed the media after a storied day. "When you get a walk-off homer, you get to do whatever you want," Pujols said. "You need to be excited about it. You don't get too many of those, so you need to enjoy them when they come."
Hey it looks like we may have a real race in the NLC this year. At least at the moment that's what it looks like. Haven't had one of those in awhile, you guys are usually 20 games up by the 4th of July.