Top 10 Reasons Albert Pujols Is Back Early

Cardinals' slugger and perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols was expected to miss six weeks with a broken left wrist. Instead, he's back a month early, and had a hit and an RBI (as of the time we went to press) in tonight's game with the Reds. What are the reasons behind Albert's shockingly early return?

10) Wary of getting Wally Pipped by Lance Berkman

9) He just hates the Reds that much

8) Knows that in a year when Pittsburgh is still above .500, the End Times Are Nigh, and doesn't want to be raptured while on the bench

7) As his upcoming free agency shows, he's just the teeniest bit motivated to put up big numbers

6) Distance from Tony La Russa does tend to improve the healing process, along with perking up flowers and making livestock less rattled

5) His hitting coach is Mark McGwire, which means that you can make all of the snide comments you want about his remarkable healing prowess, really

4) The Cardinals' medical staff considers a bad hangnail to be just another kind of broken wrist bone

3) Albert's just that motivated to get back and play a few more games at third base, so his fantasy owners finally have a reason to be happy he's around

2) He's just that motivated to participate in Home Run Derby and in the All Star Game, since that totally counts now

1) The broken bone was in his left wrist, and he stopped using that hand to make the game a challenge years ago