Is Matt Holliday the best trade deadline acquisition of 2009?

With two weeks left in the regular season and the playoffs yet to be decided, it's still a little premature to start making proclamations, but it's sure hard to argue against what Matt Holliday's done since being acquired by St. Louis Cardinals. All you have to do is look at his stats since the trade to know he's made an impact. In just 49 Games, here his statline: 35 R, 12 HR, 48 RBI, .363 BA. Pretty darn impressive considering he'd been floundering for most of the season with the Oakland A's.

But, believe it or not, his impact goes even beyond the stats. Perhaps his most significant contribution to the Cardinals has been his presence behind Albert Pujols. For most of the season, Pujols has had to carry the St. Louis offense on his more than capable shoulders, but now he's finally got some protection in the lineup. Not only that but having Holliday bat fourth in the order allows guys like Ryan Ludwick and Mark DeRosa to slide back into their more natural spots in the order. To put it simply, having Holliday in the middle of that lineup makes everyone else better around him.

The final chapter of this season has yet to be written, and the Cardinals owe a lot of their success to their dynamic pitching duo of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, but if they do manage to win the World Series, I'm going to proclaim that they wouldn't have done it without the acquisition of Holliday. And when deciding who was the best trade deadline pick-up is there any other criteria?

Fantasy Impact: There are some very happy fantasy owners out there who persevered through 3+ months of lackluster production and who are now reaping the rewards. His production since the trade reminds many of his days with the Colorado Rockies when he was one of the top fantasy producers in the league. And for those who had the mental fortitude to stay the course in the middle of a dismal season, I salute you!

Can Pujols win the Triple Crown?

I don't think there's any doubt Albert Pujols is capable of winning the Triple Crown, but can he really do it? With all of the great players in the game today, can any player really do it? My answer is YES and I think he's going to do it this season!

That may be a bold prediction, but I'm willing to make it. Every time he steps in the batters box, he's capable of doing something great. Earlier this season I had the pleasure of seeing him play against my hometown San Francisco Giants and he single-handedly took us apart (2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2RBI). I just sat there and realized I was watching greatness. Not only that, but I found myself rooting for him because of it. As a student of the game, I love to root for greatness. I love to see great players do amazing things. And I think this is the year that Pujols becomes the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967!

At this point in his career (29-years-old) he's already a Hall of Fame lock. With 9 straight seasons of at least 30 HR's, 99 R's, 100 RBI's, .300 BA to start his career, NL ROY ('01), 2 NL MVP's ('05 & '08), Gold Glove ('06), 8-Time All-Star, and a World Series champion ('06), the only thing left is the Triple Crown. Coming into play today he's 1st in HR's (34), 1st in RBI's (90), and 2nd in BA (.333), 12 points behind Hanley Ramirez (.345), which is certainly not insurmountable.

If there's one thing we know about Pujols it's that he's at his best in big moments. If the St. Louis Cardinals can stay at the top of the NL Central, then I think the big games in September will help put him over the top. I know it's not easy and certainly not a sure thing, but he's also probably the best hitter in baseball today. It should be an exciting 2nd half of the season!

Fantasy Impact: There are few players worth trading the farm for but Pujols is one of them. He's about as untouchable as Lincecum from my previous post.