Albert Pujols

Yesterday, the Baseball Professor released an analysis on category scarcity over at FanGraphs.com. He broke down each of the five primary offensive categories in fantasy baseball (average, homers, runs batted in, stolen bases and runs scored) by position and on the basis of the players who achieved MLB-average (or better) in each category.

There are some athletes in today’s world of sports that will seemingly never play for a team other than their current club.

Certain players are synonymous with their teams, and wrapping one’s head around the notion that they may play for a different team is just not plausible.

The likes of Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Albert Pujols could each be placed in this category.  

However, there was once a time when seeing Brett Favre, Michael Jordan, or Joe Montana in a different uniform was thought to be ludicrous.

There are some guys in baseball I must accept I will never own. This is because their prices are projected so far ahead of their realistic value in fantasy baseball, that their owners will stubbornly demand my left arm for them, regardless of the statistics that place their value more in the appendix vicinity.

Some of them are overvalued because they are mediocre producers at very shallow positions, and others are superb producers at a position loaded with stars.

One way or the other, they just aren’t worth inquiring about anymore. 

Albert Pujols has won the National League Most Valuable Player Award three times, the Silver Slugger Award six times and the first base Gold Glove Award twice. He has a .331 career batting average along with 408 big league home runs.

You would think that the Cardinals would pay the man his dues, wouldn't you?

There has been speculation over the past few weeks that the Cardinals may not end up re-signing Pujols, thus potentially making Pujols a free agent next winter. What an event that would be.

In this day and age, everyone always mentions who has cheated the game of baseball rather than those who followed the rules.

Understandable as it might be, some of these tainted sluggers probably made others succumb to their lowliness by peer pressuring them into trying it.

Nowadays all we hear about are the users, and often times we do not recognize those who have never been mentioned in the steroid talks.

Since I put "cleanest" and "active" in the slideshow's title, you will obviously not see the likes of Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz or Miguel Tejeda.

Being able to perform in the 'clutch', when the game is on the line and there is no room for error, is a unique ability. Feeling 50,000+ pairs of eyes watching your every move and knowing millions more are watching on their TVs in their homes can be nerve-racking, to say the least. 

Baseball purists and new-age sabermetricians have argued about the existence of "clutch" hitting ever since statistical evaluation became possible. But whether you believe in the advanced metrics or not, you can't deny that certain players have a penchant for coming through when it matters the most.

Here are the 10 last hitters than an opposing pitcher wants to see in the bottom of the ninth inning with the winning run on base.

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The Hot Stove is heating up once again, as a flurry of new activity has stoked the dying embers and re-ignited the flame.

We've got major trades to report, some more free agent signing rounding out team rosters, and we'll even throw in a few rumors to marinate on this Friday night.

Bleacher Report sends you into the weekend right, and satisfies your baseball cravings with all the latest news and buzz.  Here are 12 of the biggest recent stories across baseball.  Dig in!

This new decade of ours is only one baseball season old, but baseball fans have already seen the future in some respects. Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Starlin Castro, Mike Stanton and Stephen Strasburg each had huge rookie seasons, and they are not alone. Meanwhile, Albert Pujols shows no signs of slowing down as he enters his second decade of dominance over the league. Nor are CC Sabathia or Joe Mauer done building their Cooperstown cases.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "What is he talking about? How is Albert Pujols 'too good'?"

Well, Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball, so let's get that out of the way. If he continues on his current path, he'll most likely retire as one of the best ever.