Is this really happening?
Can it be?
Will Albert Pujols actually make it to 700 home runs after all?
The great slugger, 42 years old and in his final season — he insists — hits Wrigley Field on Monday with 692 career dingers, fifth on the all-time list, as a five-game series against the Cubs gets underway. And Pujols is startlingly, wonderfully hot, with six homers in his last seven games in the starting lineup, including a grand slam Thursday in St. Louis and a pair of bombs Saturday in Arizona.
The Cardinals are threatening to run away with the National League Central title, but Pujols’ chase for 700 — he’s only four shy of Alex Rodriguez’s 696 — might soon overshadow that developing story, not to mention teammate Paul Goldschmidt’s MVP bid.