Alou Deserves a Pickup

August 18, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Scott Ehrlich
Edited by Ryan Dodson

At 41 years of age New York Mets outfielder Moises Alou can still hit. However, for most of the season, the Shea Stadium faithful didn't believe it. Alou had a calf injury that kept him out since mid-May. Despite a good April, Alou had really suffered from being out-of-sight, out-of-mind in New York. In fact, with his age and injury history, it wouldn't have surprised many if Alou never played again.

Yet play again he did. And everyone in New York now knows first hand that Alou can still rake. After a few July games to get his timing back, Alou has hearkened back to his Houston Astros days by pounding the ball in August, with seven home runs and 15 runs batted in thus far this month.

Table: Moises Alou's Stats since 2002

Year	Team	AB	H	HR	RBI	AVG
2002	CHC	484	133	15	61	.275
2003	CHC	565	158	22	91	.280
2004	CHC	601	176	39	106	.293
2005	SF	427	137	19	63	.321
2006	SF	345	104	22	74	.301
2007	NYM	177	56	8	28	.316

With essentially a half-season of rest on his aged body, there is no reason Alou shouldn't be able to play five or six times a week from here on out. With outfielder Endy Chavez still hurt and Shawn Green really showing his age, Alou will keep playing as long as he keeps hitting. The leg hasn't given him any trouble thus far, and he has had more than enough rehab time to nurse it back to health. While it's unlikely Alou will duplicate his August in September, especially in the power category, there is no reason he can't put up a .300 average and a few homers. In addition, with shortstop Jose Reyes, second baseman Luis Castillo, center fielder Carlos Beltran and third baseman David Wright in front of him, there should be plenty of RBI opportunities. A fantasy owner can do much worse than Alou for the rest of 2007.

As for the future, who knows? Alou has just one season (2004) of over 600 at-bats in his career and has appeared in 150 or more games just twice since 2000. However, if he keeps hitting, he can play as long as he wants. If he's not back with the Mets next year in a part-time or platoon role, he would make a nice DH and could put up numbers close to his 2006 season maybe one more time. He could at least be able to match his 2002 numbers for the next three to five years if he plays that long. He's available in 79 percent of leagues and is worth a look.

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Scott Ehrlich

Scott Ehrlich has been involved with sports for the last four years. He spent parts of three seasons working with various minor league baseball teams and internet sports sites. In 2004 he hosted his own sports talk show on 790AM in South Florida, featuring guests from all four major sports. Scott currently resides in Ft. Lauderdale, FL but will be attending law school at the University of Florida in August, where he hopes to one day be the guy responsible for holding your favorite player out of training camp.

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