(Image Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch)

BY KAVEH KAGHAZI

ANCHOR MARC STEIDLER

Big Albert is in big trouble. Pujols and several other Cardinals players ditched reporters following their Game 2 loss against the Texas Rangers.

Questions remain as to why the players left the stadium early. Some say Pujols was dodging questions about whether it would be his last home game as a Cardinal. Some say Pujols cost his team the game after an error in the ninth inning. Here’s ESPN’s Jayson Stark and Jim Caple after Game 2.

CAPLE: “I was somewhat interested, wondering whether Kinsler might have been deking him a little, or whether he saw Kinsler coming around third so aggressively and maybe that just caught him flat footed for just a moment or what. I don’t know. I still don’t know what happened.”
STARK: “Well I’m going to ask you a trick question. What did Albert have to say?”
CAPLE: “Albert was not available in the clubhouse tonight, so we don’t know.”
STARK: “Yeah, well, that’s unfortunate.”

So, should the media have a right to be irritated with the redbirds who flew the coop? A Yahoo! Sports blogger argues it was Pujols responsibilty to explain himself after the 9th inning error.

“Part of stardom – perhaps the hardest part – is accountability. Pujols is not accountable to the media.”

A blogger from NBC sports says while the Cardinals’ actions may have been weak, the media is blowing this out of proportion.

“I don’t want to just gloss over the Cardinals’ actions, because in a perfect world they should be present, but the media needs to understand that this is something they care about more than the fans do.”

Coincidentally, the other Cardinals to leave early actually follow Pujols in the batting order. Next to leave after Pujols were Matt Holiday, Lance Berkman and Yadier Molina. The lines are blurred as to where the media stands on this. A writer from Fox Sports says Pujols shouldn’t have left his team hanging.

“In almost every case, answering questions from the media has little to do with whether a team wins or loses its next game. But this was one occasion when Pujols, as a team spokesman, should have accepted the blame for his defensive blunder and reassured those inside and outside the clubhouse that the Cardinals were going to be fine.”

Finally, a Yahoo! Sports blogger says - while it seems like a big deal to the media - its really not.

“...What does it really matter if a player just wants to forgo the mob of microphones after a disappointing loss? It's not as if anything they say will change the outcome of the game or affect how they do in the next contest.”