http://tinyurl.com/3cm5ws 08/02/2007 12:44 PM ET Notes: Pujols helps pitcher for once Star first baseman points out possible pitch-tipping to Maroth By Matthew Leach / MLB.com PITTSBURGH -- Albert Pujols is in the business of punishing pitchers, not helping them out. But he saw a chance to lend a hand to teammate Mike Maroth, and the slugger took it. Pujols picked up on a cue that Maroth was giving to opposing hitters, so he let the left-hander know. It seems that Maroth does something different with his glove on offspeed pitches, as opposed to when he throws his fastball. "When a guy like Maroth is showing his pitches, obviously it's a plus for a hitter," Pujols said. "His best pitch is a changeup, and now you don't have to worry about his changeup because you know when it's coming." Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is convinced that part of why Maroth has struggled recently is that he's tipping his pitches. After a brilliant first start as a Cardinal, Maroth's National League ERA has soared to 10.74. "It's not that much of a difference, but it only takes a little bit of a difference," Maroth said. "Albert's really good at doing that. He's able to see it. For me, it's hard to see it. But he told me kind of what I was doing, so it's something that I can be cautious of." Following a difficult relief outing on Wednesday, Maroth spent a lengthy period looking at video of himself pitching. On Thursday morning, he asked Pujols for help, and slugger and pitcher both sat at a video machine going over Maroth's delivery. According to both Pujols and Maroth, the tendency was less pronounced on Wednesday than in Maroth's previous start, but it was still a problem. "He looked better than last time, when he was tipping pitches [against] Milwaukee," Pujols said. "I just told him, he's my teammate, and I'm going to help everybody. I know it's not my job, because I could face him on a different team [one day], but he's on my team [now], and I'm going to help him out." --

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