ST. LOUIS — Those of us in the media had been gathered in an anticipatory half-circle for about 10 minutes. Boom mikes had been lofted, cameras had been shouldered and pens had been tested for their utility on blank notebook pages. Everyone awaited the arrival of Albert Pujols(notes).
[Video: Albert Pujols' error proves costly]
Instead, we got Rafael Furcal(notes), making his way through the crowd to the locker located next to the biggest star in theSt. Louis Cardinals galaxy.
"Albert is gone," said the shortstop.
The mob stared back, careful not to look too concerned in case Furcal was just joking.
Really?
"Seriously."
Everyone peered into Pujols' locker at Busch Stadium and really looked for the first time. A pair of empty No. 5 cleats. A hung-up uniform. Then, the tell-tale sign: Not a single shred of street clothing. In the 10-minute cooling off period before the doors opened to the media, Pujols — along with Lance Berkman(notes),Yadier Molina(notes) and Matt Holliday(notes) — had disappeared faster than the Cardinals' lead in the ninth inning of Thursday's Game 2 of the World Series.
Talk about the team's disappointing 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers? That was a mess for the Cardinals' lesser lights to clean up. It was certainly not a job for Albert and the others on top of the team masthead.
Whether or not the public cares if athletes talk to media after the games is a hard issue to judge. There's the heat of battle aspect and what does it really matter if a player just wants to forgo the mob of microphones after a disappointing loss? It's not as if anything they say will change the outcome of the game or affect how they do in the next contest.
But here's why I think it matters: If Jason Motte(notes) can stand tall in front of his locker and talk about being charged with the loss after a rally started with a bloop single by Ian Kinsler(notes), then Pujols can answer questions about going 0-for-4.
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