Albert Pujols has been named St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year, but he thinks there's room for improvement:

The St. Louis Cardinals' cleanup hitter was honored Tuesday as the Baseball Man of the Year by the city's chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. But like a lot of his teammates, Pujols' bat went silent in the playoffs as the Cardinals were eliminated by the Giants in a five-game National League championship series, so there's a bit of a sour aftertaste.

"I think if we would have hit a little better, including myself, I think we would have had a better chance," said Pujols, who was 5-for-19 with two RBIs. "I had a lot of opportunities to drive some runs in with men on third base with no outs and I didn't do my job.

"That's how it is. That's the game."

To manager Tony La Russa, that attitude is another indication of how far Pujols has come in such a short time.

"I'm glad to hear that," La Russa said. "I think that's really healthy, instead of just turning the page and saying everything's OK."