Yes; They Can Win Without Him

On Wednesday I asked if the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club could win their division and content in post-season play without their prolific first baseman Albert Pujols. I would say they can. Here's what I observe...Before the All Star break the Cardinals had much unsettledness in their line-up. Manager Tony LaRussa used fifteen different rookies to plug various holes throughout the first three months of the season. In those days the Cardinals very much depended on the stability and performance of Pujols. Knowing this, opposing teams and pitchers often utilized an easy strategy with Albert - don't pitch to him. Don't give him any pitches he can hit; even if you walk him, the odds are better to put him on base and work to hitters with less strength. It had some effect. By the All Star game, the Cardinals were clinging to a slim, tenuous divisional lead.

After the All Star break Cardinal management made some bold decisions and changes. Knowing that opponents were pitching around Albert, they intentionally put strength on the other side of him, acquiring veteran hitter Matt Holliday to hit right behind Pujols, among other significant moves. Now if you pitch around Albert, you have to face the strong and hot-hitting Holliday. With that kind of strength in the heart of the line-up, strengthening hitters lower in the line-up, like Ryan Ludwig, rookie Colby Rasmus, and Yadier Molina have less pressure and more freedom to be aggressive at the plate. The result is a nine game first place lead for the Cardinals, nearly twenty games over .500.

Basically the moves insured that the Cardinals could win without depending solely on Albert. True, their odds may be better with him. Goodness knows he's a monumental contributor to the team's success, and heaven forbid they would have to play without him because of injury or illness or something. But if they had to, they could. I believe Albert would be the first to say that the goal is not for him to be indispensable. The goal is for the team to win, and for Albert and all the team members to do their part to meet that goal. It's tempting for any of us to want to see ourselves as indispensable - to our team, to our family, to our work, to our church, or whatever. The truth is that there is only One who is indispensable - the One who gave life, the One who seeks to bond with us and transform us, the One who is not dissuaded by all the complexities with which humans entangle and strangle ourselves, the one who comes into the very middle of the entanglement in Jesus. God makes it happen, not me. God doesn't need me, but God certainly wants me and wants me to join in what God is doing.

That's what I think about indispensability. Your thoughts? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.