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Albert Pujols{vbar} 1B, Cardinals
.332 AVG, 32 HR, 87 RBI (8th all-star game)
Pujols is the game's most feared hitter, and his numbers illustrate that again in what is shaping up to be an MVP-type season. He leads baseball in home runs (32), RBI (87), runs (73), on-base percentage (.456) and slugging percentage (.723). Pujols fell 17 points short in batting average (.332) of becoming the first player since Hank Aaron, in 1957, to hold the NL's Triple Crown at the break.
It is scary to think how productive Pujols would be if teams always pitched to him. The only safe strategy against Pujols is to intentionally walk him, which pitchers have done regularly. He has already walked 71 times, 32 intentionally. It is an approach most recently employed against Barry Bonds, and it has seen a renaissance with Pujols, who, simply put, rarely makes outs.
Hitless Against Halladay: Pujols has faced Halladay four times in his career and is hitless against him. But in a more casual atmosphere -- and in his home ballpark, Busch Stadium -- perhaps Pujols could change that. A matchup against Halladay should make entertaining theater for baseball fans.
Roy Halladay {vbar} P, Blue Jays
10-3, 2.85 ERA, 106 SO, 17 BB (6th all-star game)
Halladay is perhaps the game's most feared pitcher. The former Cy Young winner has befuddled major league batters with a mix of a half-dozen unpredictable pitches, all of which he can locate with precision. He throws a sinker that plummets toward batters' knees, a cutter with sharp, late movement and a devastating curveball.
In 2008, Halladay went 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA, finishing second to Cleveland's Cliff Lee in Cy Young voting. This year, Halladay has helped keep the Blue Jays afloat with a record above .500, though not in contention in the ultracompetitive AL East. The rest of Toronto's rotation has been decimated by injuries, but Halladay has been a consistent presence except for two weeks he missed in June with a strained groin. He has thrown three complete games in 123 innings of work.
Trade Bait? Halladay might be traded, as Toronto General Manager J.P. Ricciardi recently announced, and what better way to market himself than at the All-Star Game? In truth, Halladay's performance in recent years speaks for itself. His deep arsenal would provide a challenge, even for a batter such as Pujols.
