http://0rz.tw/Tc0gf KANSAS CITY — Albert Pujols has an opinion. Actually, the Cardinals first baseman has plenty of them. But nine seasons into what appears destined to be a Hall of Fame career, the two-time NL Most Valuable Player still believes it best to keep them under a basket — or at least off the table — difficult as that might be. "They pay me to play the game," Pujols says. "That's what they want me to do." El Hombre has opinions about the direction of the organization, about this team's chances of reaching the postseason for the first time in three years, about his contract status. "If they want to talk to me about something, I'll talk. But no one has talked to me. So my job is to shut up and play," he says. Pujols, 29, acknowledges an increased responsibility as a team leader and even as a representative for the game. He will serve as centerpiece of attention during the festivities surrounding the upcoming All-Star Game. He will return home from a July 12 day-night doubleheader in Chicago to accept an avalanche of media responsibilities, participate in the July 13 Home Run Derby, perhaps attend a gathering at his Westport restaurant, then start at first base in the July 14 game. "It seems like every major magazine or newspaper wants to write something about me, either about baseball or something off the field," he said. "All that stuff has been there the last five years and they didn't want to do it. Now they do." Once viewed as mercurial, even churlish with media, Pujols now recognizes his fame carries opportunity and obligation. But greater exposure carries a need for greater care. "I've learned over the last three or four years this comes with it," he says. "I'm different. This came so quick. Everybody tried to approach me. I was feeling a lot of pressure. Everything came so fast. It's amazing. It's not like I'm disappointed. It's just happened very quickly." Now Pujols hears questions about the gradual evolution of a franchise committed to building from within while receiving regular criticism for conservatism within the free-agent and trade markets. Pujols, too, has questions to go with opinions. "As players, we don't have any control over that. I wish we could have more control," Pujols says. "But what are words going to do? Is it going to solve anything? A lot of times saying something only makes it worse. It just gives people more ammunition to write and say more negative stuff about the club. They (the front office and ownership) see what we see. They know what we need. If they don't make the adjustments, we can't do anything about it. We just need to go with what we have." Pujols insists he is not preoccupied with his next contract because he still has one guaranteed year plus an option left on his current $100 million deal. "If they're open to it, I'll talk," he says. "I'm open any time. But nobody has said anything. So until something happens, why am I going to talk about it? "Right now I don't want to stress myself out because no matter what I think, I can't do anything about it. When the time comes when I'm able to do something about it, I'll think about it." General manager John Mozeliak said last month that the club would aggressively pursue another bat due to third baseman Troy Glaus' open-ended absence. More recently, team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. played down the likelihood of an imminent move because of an uncooperative market. Manager Tony La Russa openly has pined for another bat since last winter. He also has discussed the matter with Pujols, who became an advocate for free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez before Ibanez signed a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Pujols told La Russa he would gladly lobby Ibanez but never received such a request from the front office. "I want to win," Pujols says. "I have experience knowing guys around the league and knowing what guys want. I would love to help." Some within the Cardinals' clubhouse see Pujols uniquely positioned to publicly cite the need for help. La Russa has not recited his wish list for a couple of weeks. But when interrogated last week about the protection provided Pujols in recent years, the manager shot back, "What protection?" After Ryan Ludwick's grand slam Friday, Cardinal cleanup hitters rank last in the league in batting (.226), on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.704) while tied for sixth in RBIs (46). The Florida Marlins' and Pittsburgh Pirates' No. 8 hitters had 25 extra-base hits through Friday compared to 21 by Cardinals No. 4 bats. "You can't tell yourself we need this or we need that. Then you're beating yourself already," Pujols says. "You need to be positive and go with what you have. If we take care of business here in the clubhouse and the field, I don't think the owners and general manager are blind. They need to see what we see. I don't think they're blind." The Cardinals reached the postseason in five of Pujols' first six seasons. "Everybody knew last year if we would have another key bat or guy in the bullpen we would have been there," Pujols says about an 86-76 fourth-place team that finished four games behind the wild-card Brewers. "The year before it was the same way. If we had a guy to help us when (Scott) Rolen and Jimmy (Edmonds) went down, I think we would have had a shot. I wish I had a magic ball and could say, 'This is how it's going to happen. This is how it's going to be run.' But my job is to be a leader here and respect my manager and my team." That respect causes Pujols to stop himself. "You can write the owners don't spend money or don't do whatever. But that disrespects the talent we have here," says Pujols. "I think we have talent that is one click away." One click, as in the sound of someone pulling the trigger on a deal. --

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