Albert Pujols has given the Cardinals a deadline. If the sides don't agree to an extension by Wednesday, the powerful first baseman will hit free agency after the season. That possibility appears increasingly likely these days; Pujols turned down an extension from the Cardinals about two weeks ago and his agent has since told other teams that the Cardinals have "no chance" of locking Pujols up. Here's the latest, with the most recent updates up top:
- One competing baseball executive believes that the Cubs will offer Pujols the Alex Rodriguez deal, meaning $27.5MM per year over ten years, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Goold that he'd "like to have a term sheet" completed by Wednesday's deadline (Twitter link). Presumably that means the Cardinals would be happy to agree to terms with Pujols, even if the contractual language gets finalized later.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the precise time of the deadline (on Twitter). The Cardinals asked to shift the deadline to 12pm EDT on Wednesday so as not to interfere with Stan Musial, who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House tomorrow. Pujols agreed to the new deadline.
wow, that’s mighty big of him….
I imagine you could hear his eyes rolling in Scandanavia when they asked that.
Pujols is handicapping the team…and I love Pujols. If he doesnt sign the extension, then at least let the cardinals trade you and get a key peice or two to show St. Louis you still care for their team.
If he plays the season they will get a whopping 2 picks for Pujols…miserable!
He must be a idiot! The Red Sox are all set at First base and so are the Yankees, Those were the only two teams that could have drove up his worth.
The Angels,Mets,Dodgers,Orioles,Nationals,Cubs and a few other teams would beg to differ. I think everyone will be surprised to see how many teams will line up to bid on a player of Pujols caliber.
Hahahaha!
I’d scratch the orioles off that list based on their GM’s comments recently. And the Mets due to their financial difficulties. Dodgers have some difficulties as well. The Nats need pitching.
The Angels, Cubs, and Cardinals would be the highest bidders on Pujols… probably in that order.
The Angels,Mets,Dodgers,Orioles,Nationals,Cubs and a few other teams would beg to differ. I think everyone will be surprised to see how many teams will line up to bid on a player of Pujols caliber.
Hahahaha!
The Angels,Mets,Dodgers,Orioles,Nationals,Cubs and a few other teams would beg to differ. I think everyone will be surprised to see how many teams will line up to bid on a player of Pujols caliber.
Hahahaha!
This is my favorite post of yours in the thread.
The Angels,Mets,Dodgers,Orioles,Nationals,Cubs and a few other teams would beg to differ. I think everyone will be surprised to see how many teams will line up to bid on a player of Pujols caliber.
You know, i think the angels, mets, dodgers, orioles, nationals and cubs would beg to differ
I think you are overlooking the fact that the Cubs signed Pena for 1/yr 10mil at first this year. They also have, expiring contracts in Fukudome (13.5M), Ramirez (14.6M), and Byrd (6.5M) thats 44.6 Mil coming off the books. They have in-house replacements for the outfield in Colvin and Brett Jackson (minors) as well as Josh Vitters (minors) at 3rd. The cubs could easily offer 30+ Mil/yr for the first baseman!
The cubs might be able to afford him, but he says he wants to win. So I dont think that he will be wearing a cubs uniform next year.
What would be the ultimate accomplishment for the supposed best player of this generation? …Say maybe ending a long standing championship drought? Just a thought.
Ok, 30 million falls off for ONE year how about the other 9 years?
…? The payroll commitments are only going down. I actually think Ramirez will be back, but even with him back, Pena, Kosuke, Silva, and Grabow combine to take like $34 million off. I’d bet heavily against any coming back. They’ll spend money somewhere. I’m sure Pujols alone would be worth more wins than those 4 combined. I’m not saying it will happen or anything, but the dealbreaker won’t be the Cubs budget constraints. It will be whether the Cardinals step up their offer.
The Jays should be added to this list. 140-150 in allowable payroll, under 25 committed beyond this season, and a rays like combination of young pitching and hitting prospects make for an attractive long-term destination. Plus it’s not liek their set at first.
he already stated that he would reject any trades so stuck on that one
I know what he said…Im just saying he should to show love for the fans and city of St. Louis. At least they will get more in return compared to the draft compensation.
Hasnt he “given” the fans and city enough over the last several years? I mean he has been paid well under his fair market value his entire contract. He has made your mediocre teams good, its funny to see fans turn so quickly and it becomes “what can we get out of him now” …the cards would simply be foolish not to give him the richest contract in baseball, because at the end of the year someone else will!
Point taken. And trust me, they are not my favorite team but do watch them a few times a year. And I could care less where he signs! I just think if he knows he isnt coming back to atleast let the cards trade him and get something in return. The cards also did a lot for pujols as well, drafted and developed him!
My point is, it would be a nice parting gesture.
He and his agent accepted the deal that ultimately paid him well under market value for the length of the deal. This is a business. If they thought it wasn’t a good deal, they shouldn’t have signed it.
If he wants to get paid based on past performance, fine. At the end of each season where he has OBP above .400 35+ HRs 100 Runs and 110 RBIs, pay him 32M. .375 30HR 90R 100RBI 27M and so on, declining to a minimum of his current 16M. Throw in incentives for career HRs, Runs, RBIs.
But he and his reps would never go for this.
Nor would Major League Baseball.
Are you talking about the 100 million dollar deal the Cards gave Albert before he hit arbitration? The one where they gave him 100 million after 3 years of service time? That’s the one where HE “gave” the fans and city enough? I’d be careful about calling anyone else foolish.
It’s a positive sign that the two sides agreed on something. It could have been a lot worse. Pushing the deadline back is better than throwing up his hands and saying “there is no point in doing that.”
So the team has asked to move the deadline back, not because there is still a chance we get this thing done, but so Stan the Man (a true Cardinal) can get his award. While that is all fine. It’s obvious the reports are true and there is no deal even close. This is going to be a long season. I can already see this is going to be a huge distraction. I have a bad feeling this is going to hurt the team and this year will not turn out well. Time for a new era in St. Louis for 2012. TLR and Pujols will be gone.
I was very optimistic all year last year but that optimism is running thin 🙁
They pushed it back because the deal will be announced and they do not want a double news day where Pujols trumps the honoring of another Cardinal legend.
Well…..I guess we can all hope. But I’d give that about a .8% chance.
They’re going to announce a deal, but his agent is telling people they have “no chance?” That doesn’t seem to add up to much more than wishcasting.
Dare we dream???
Cardinal fans in general, once they get over the initial shock, are smart enough to know that in this day and age, that very few players spend their entire career with one team. They will have had Pujols for 11 very productive seasons. That’s a pretty good run these days and it’s still possible he’ll find out that the offers on the table after the season aren’t much better and will come back to St. Louis.
I don’t buy the distraction stuff. That’s just a built in excuse. If the Cardinals don’t win it this year, it’s because they aren’t good enough. All teams have distractions. Milwaukee has Fielder and possibly Weeks on the final years too. They aren’t worried about distractions.
“…it’s still possible he’ll find out that the offers on the table after the season aren’t much better and will come back to St. Louis.”
Good thought. First off, I find it hard to believe that Seattle or Baltimore or Washington or one of the other teams lacking a long-term option at first base would be willing to offer an A-Rod type contract.
Second, I find it hard to believe that Pujols would want to play for any of those teams over St. Louis.
Looking at A-Rod’s current 10-year deal, anyone can see that the Yanks are already starting to feel the beginning effects of an aging slugger (A-Rod has averaged 133 games played over the past three seasons), and A-Rod is only two years older than Pujols.
I’ll applaud the Cards if they stand pat where ever they are, which, I’m assuming, is somewhere in the area of 7/$210 with a couple of options. Not many teams can afford to gamble 10 guaranteed years at $30MM on any one player, even if that player is one of the five or ten best hitters of all time.
And like daveineg alluded to, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pujols isn’t satisfied with offers from inferior teams and ends up back in St. Louis anyway.
well the Cubs did only give Pena a 10 Mil/1yr deal which opens up first base for them next year, as well they have about another 30+ Mil coming off the books with fukudome and ramirez’s contracts both expiring. So if you dont think there is a team besides the Yankees or Red Sox that can offer him 30+ mil a year your sadly mistaken. Dont be shocked if Rikketts empty’s the bank on the rivals 1st baseman!
I never said that there wasn’t a team out there that could offer $30MM. I said I don’t expect any team to do so.
Think about this: Who’s going to be in more demand for teams that don’t have a virtually limitless payroll? A 32-year-old Pujols looking for 10 years at $30MM per or a 28-year-old Prince Fielder, who’s going to be on the back burner and probably won’t get much more than six years while topping out at $25MM per?
I get that Pujols is a once-in-a-generation player, but a once-in-a-generation player tends to price himself into a once-in-a-generation market. And considering the teams that already have a long-term option at first base, that market may not be there if Pujols tries to test it.
And all AP will have to do to satisfy Wrigleyville is play RF, 3rd, and 1st for $30+ million a year.
The Cubs could do with out Fukadome this year as Colvin is a much better outfielder and proven to be more consistent at the plate. They also have Brett Jackson who could be ready for the move up sometime this year. Josh Vitters the 07 1st round pick should also be close to ready this year. The cubs have the in-house replacements for 3rd and the outfield! So “AP” would only play 1st for 30+ M/yr. 🙂
And those prospects would have to produce, and Soriano would have to regain his form, and Zambrano would have to regain his composure (what he had in the first place that is) and Garza would have to step up big in the NL and….
A lot of things would have to go right for the Cubs for them to be a serious contender even with the addition of Pujols. They’re not really close yet, although they are moving in the right direction. I’d wait another 6 months before I declare the Cubs a legit suitor for Pujols. Right now they certainly have the potential, but people talk about them as if they’re a lock, which they certainly are not.
I agree to an extent and by no means think the Cubs are a lock, if anyones a lock it still has to be the Cards. I’m simply saying the Cubs have the talented prospects to fill expiring contracts in the OF and 3rd which would free up plenty of cash to offer an Arod type deal. …I don’t see Soriano ever regaining his form, Garza should be much better in the NL central then he was in the AL east, Zambrano ended last year 8-1 so i’d say he has regained his composure it just needs to carry over
MIke, #5 has accomplished much on an individual and backed in to a WS Ring already. He says winning championships is at the top of his list. To that point, do you really think he wants to surround himself with rookies, albeit highly regarded rookies? He has seen several of those come and flame out in his decade in the bigs.
Another Cub fan who already knows this year is fourth place at best and is “waiting for next year”……when Albert doesn’t sign with them and they suck again.
I don’t know why people keep counting out the Nationals and Orioles. Or ANY team for that matter. This isn’t a top free agent of an offseason. It’s the best player in many generations. Everyone will be interested and many will be willing to pay him what he wants.
See my response to Mike above…
It’s very well thought out, I just happen to disagree. He may not get $300 million but I’d be very, VERY surprised if he didn’t sign the richest contract in history. He’s flat out better than ARod was when he signed his deal.
but its albert pujols he doesnt have to pick money or winning
he can pick both.. so unless teams like the nats and o’s can show there is something there. I doubt he leaves st.louis to go play for a team not ready to contend.
The Orioles and Nats could be very good very quickly.
If Pujols could carry that awful last Cards team to a title, then he can do the same with the Cubs or Nats too! That team was barely .500 club w/Albert!
Also, A-Rod has been playing for a number of years more than Albert, being that he broke into the majors as a teenager (some would say he hasn’t much matured beyond that either). Arod has a lot more mileage on his body at the same age.
Yes because we see how those are the same. Do you see “Rickie Weeks Rumors Monday”?
It’s not an excuse, it’s something that needs to be dealt with. But the way this team handled adversity last year, I don’t have much confidence they will handle this any better. Every team has to deal with distractions, I just don’t think this is going to turn out well.
I bet you anything Pujols is buddies with Derek Jeter.
This has Jeter all over it.
This Cubs fan grin is gettin’ bigger and bigger.
Wait til your season starts, that will clear right up.
We shall see………………………..
Washington will offer Pujols 200+ easily. They are actively looking for ways to waste their money for a franchise type player. I really feel like St Louis is low balling Albert at this point with a 6 yr 150 mil dollar offer. I understand that this is alot of money to all of us, but its not market value for Albert. You can thank the Yankees for all of this nonsense, since they gave into ARod ridiculous demands. They will regret that one starting this year.
Was that really the Cardinals offer?
Not the money but it has been reported that the cards wont go over 6-7 years. Dollar amount has not been reported.
oh good, I hope they would past Howard’s yearly
you are wrong. both St. Louis & Pujols have agreed not to discuss the negotiations publically. NO ONE KNOWS!
The Cardinals never said they wouldnt go past 6-7. They reported that they didnt want to do 10 and thats it. Dont know where you got that info but its false.
Here’s a thought… just because Pujols issued this deadline doesn’t necessarily mean all talks will stop after ST starts. I know the whole “I don’t want this to be a distraction” cliche, but I believe he wants to stay in St. Louis and that an extention will get done before the end of the season. And I’m not even a Cards fan.
It’s a shame it has to go down like this. Look as recently as Mauer – Yahoo “reports” he set a deadline, he flatly denies it, deal gets done before the season starts. How have the Cards so greatly wronged Pujols that he goes down this road? By paying him 100 mil so far? Shame.
Screw it. Canseco wants to make a comeback, right? That would be at least as entertaining as Pujols.
Dan Lozano = Jerry Maguire
New York Mets is the place to be, Alberto!
lol
I am a Cardinal fantatic and want AP to stay with the Cardinals as much as anybody, but if the Cubs want to pay a 40 year old 30 million a year; then let them.
Fantatic!
I think if the cardinals show that they can win with Albert Pujols and make it to the playoffs the cardinal GM will give Albert what he wants in contract. Maybe not a 10 year deal, but a 9 yr deal sounds about right. The bottom line is though if Cards are winning, it makes it that much more likely he will resign with the team. If the Cardinals are losing with Albert, I say there is no chance he re-signs as a cardinal.
I’ll be extremely interested in what the Cardinals final offer was. If it’s $30MM a year for 7 years and Albert turned it down, I think that makes Albert the villain in St. Louis. If the Cardinals offered less than that with the same amount of years, ownership becomes the villain. Either way, there will be a villain and the fans will not be happy!
One of if not the best player in baseball. But no one is worth 10 years at $30 million per. Moreover, the surprising attitude he has demonstrated toward the Cards and fans of St. Louis weakens his case.
Just how much money does one man and his immediate family need?
I’m all for some sort of slotting or a salary cap of some sort. The salaries I’ve seen agreed to this off-season are an outrage, particularly while our nation is suffering the second-greatest economic crisis of all time and many normal citizens and their famiilies are living on the edge.
I’ve loved baseball dearly all my life but either the owners (who are by no means heroes) have to show discipline or the fans should endure a strike/lockout in baseball for a couple years until some sense of sanity about salaries–drastic reductions–are achieved.
People like you make me sick. What business is it of yours how much money this man needs or deserves? Do doctors and investment bankers make a bit too much money for your liking? Perhaps we should limit their pay as well… back to gulag, commieBart.
Okay making 20-30m a year is SICK. People WONDER why our country is in debt. THE MONEY IS SITTING IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS JUST SITTING THERE.
What’s not in their bank accounts is in the owners. No one forces you or I or anyone else, to spend our money to watch these guys. But we do, and as long as we do, the contracts will get larger.
We’re in debt because of a handful of guys who are in the entertainment industry? Not because of years of a runaway military budget? Not because of constant tax cuts to the wealthy? Yeah, it must be because of a handful of guys who play a game.
You have to have a strong active military. What needs to happen is government spending needs to be cut on freebie stuff. P.S. The wealthy are the ones that spend their money creating more jobs for others. I’ve never seen a poor man give a job to someone…
Something tells me you and I would have a screaming match if we talked politics for an extended period.
Probably, being I grew up poor and I that don’t feel like I’m entitled to things I haven’t earned. I’d say a lot of what’s wrong with this country is done in goodwill thinking they are helping others where as they are really hurting them and masking the fact that they rely on free stuff.
Again I think if we went into specifics we might be both banned from this site. We might have some common ground, but I’m not sure where it is.
That the Cubs are awesome!
Cubs suck. Go Cards! 😉
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
So you would rather the owners pocket the money instead of giving a good portion of it to the players that people actually pay to see?
Don’t get me wrong, they are all overpaid. But I would much rather see the players earn the money than the owners just pocketing it.
Mozeliak says he would like to have a term sheet completed by Wednesday. So you’re saying theres a chance………………
i say there is a really good chance & that there is alot more going on than any of the fans or media think or know about. remember the talks are private
youre married!?!? What was all of that 1 in a million talk about?!?!
(Im assuming you know what movie we both just quoted)
Thank you, I was waiting for someone to come back at me with something!
best line of the movie: “Harry, your hands are freezing!” gosh I love that movie, cant stop laughing!
Face it Cards, you screwed it up. Now he’s going to the AL East next season.
Well according to the video game “MLB The Show”, Albert can still play 3rd base and the outfield! …I wouldn’t bet on it though. If Albert goes somewhere else, the Cubs are most likely on my list, followed by the Nationals and the Angels. Dark horses could be the Bay Area teams.
I still think he’ll get a rude awakening when he finds out that none of these teams are going to give him $300MM for 10 years. Once he realizes that, he’ll take the Cardinals’ offer.
People that think Pujols to the Cubs is the most likely scenario know absolutely NOTHING about Albert Pujols.
Personally, I don’t think anyone knows anything about Albert Pujols except Albert Pujols (and maybe Yadier Molina). Don’t swallow the crap he feeds the fans whole. Contract terms are “not in my control”? Its “whatever God wants to happen”? These are all phrases used to shift blame away from him should negotiations fail and they are BS. He should take some responsibility for himself and just say, “I want to be a Cardinal for life…. As long as I make $300MM over the next 10 years.”
Albert is a great player, but I don’t really think he gives a d*mn about the fans. Neither does DeWitt. It’s all about the bottom line for both parties.
Nothing personal, but you shouldn’t presume to “know” anyone unless you hang out with them on a regular basis. If you, in fact, do hang out with Albert Pujols on a regular basis, you have my profound apologies. However, he may not want to hang out with you much longer since you’ve essentially discussed his contract situation in an open forum.
I want to see a headline “CARDINALS AND PUJOLS REACH AGREEMENT…on making deadline a day later.”
So, I guess the “rejected offer two weeks ago” was 5 years at 30 million. Thats a good start. That shows that the Cardinals are willing to pay him upwards of 30 million a year. Now the discussion is length.
This is where the Cards say, “ok Albert, you want 30 mil here you go, 5 years”
Now we will see if Albert will bend, or prove that “money is no issue, I just wanna win”
Cardinals will prob offer him 7-8 years at 27mil plus incentives to make an extra mill of two (which he can easily make in the next 4 years) and see if he bites..
If he doesnt take that offer him 10 years at 25.5 as a final plan.
I think he should at least take 25mil for 10years over a cubs 30mil 10year contract.
I think he owes STL that much, AND before all you attack me with the, Pujols doesnt owe STL anything talks, hear me out.
The ONLY reason I am saying Pujols would “owe” STL this is because of what Albert publicly said last year during Holliday negotiations. He told STL that he was willing to take a “hometown discount” IF they showed him they are serious about winning. STL signed Holiday for more than they wanted to most likely to show Pujols they were winners, and thats the only thing I think Albert should give STL the benefit of the doubt for.
I’m confused…his agent is telling OTHER TEAMS that the Cards have no chance at signing him? Is that not against the rules? Pretty sure that other teams can’t be discussing players that are not free agents or under their control. Not sure how this applies to agents.
Sounds like Boras 2.0
This actually made me mad when I heard this. Lozano(sp?) makes it sound like his mind is made up and the Cardinals shouldn’t even bother negotiating.
In the end, I’m convinced he stays in St. Louis. There’s more in play here that nobody mentions. He’s dedicated himself to a charity in St. Louis that I can’t see him abandoning for a few extra million dollars here or there in another city. He still lives in Kansas City (near Kansas City) where I believe his wife’s family is still living and has a home in St. Louis during the season. He’s not going to leave what he’s got going in St. Louis for money, nor does he reach free agency if they don’t agree to terms on a contract by wed.
The Cardinals would still have ample time to sign him after the World Series and should the Cardinals not be involved in the 2011 World Series (or post season), there’s a huge window of opportunity there to hammer out the specifics on a contract while everybody’s focus is on the World Series and playoffs.
He’s not going to the cubs, scratch that team off the list, they could offer him everything he ever wanted, but you can’t buy his dignity, he’s not going to abandon St. Louis for the arch rival, and hated cubs.
I do want to take his little parasite agent and grind him into a bloody pulp, agents are all scum and care nothing of tradition and history, just dollar signs. But either 1 of 2 things will happen, they agree to terms and finalize the deal before opening day and make Pujols a Cardinal for life. Or they drag this thing though the season, and sign a contract before he ever reaches free agency.
If no deal is in place, Pujols will spend the entire 2011 season being ask “when are you going to sign with us” all season long, everywhere he goes, by every Cardinal fan that he runs into out in public. Then he’ll see what a distraction is. He’ll eventually realize that he’s better off staying in St. Louis and there’s going to be no better option. He’s already got Holiday on board for what? 6 more seasons, a core of guys such as Molina and Wainwright that will be there as well. There’s no better option out there that St. Louis, there may be some that pay better, but he will play with the St. Louis Cardinals for the rest of his career.
Also, remember, the Cardinals resign the players they really want to keep. Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds and Matt Holiday all played here for less than a season and quickly signed long term contracts for less than they could have gotten on the open market. St. Louis has a reputation and a proven track record. You can wrap yourselves up in sensational headlines, leaked reports by unnamed sources all you want, you can crunch all the numbers over and over again, but in the end, its not going to be as complicated as everybody thinks. The Cardinals will come up with a contract that exemplifies how great of an asset Pujols is while still managing to leave themselves room enough to stay competitive and everybody will be shocked, but it will get done and he’ll retire a Cardinal with #5 and #6 right next to each other on the outfield wall at Busch Stadium
I agree with all of that. Plus, will he really want to start over? This guy has a legacy that is crazy strong in StL. He’s comfortable with the team. He practically makes the rules in the club house. He’s got fans that adore and appreciate him to full extent. The media respects him(before contract talks). He is THE king in StL. Does he really want to tear down everything he’s built up?
Agreed, to me its almost laughable to even consider him playing for another team. He is the Cardinals, they know it, and he knows it and there’s no way he’s gonna go some other place and be able to lead that team the way he does in St. Louis. In the end, one way or another, he’ll realize he needs the Cardinals and they’ll realize they need him and that both sides are better off with one another than without. He’ll never play for the Cubs, or the Mets, or the Dodgers or either of those rediculus American League East teams. He’s always stated that its not about the money and I can’t read anything reported by reporters outside of St. Louis without questioning the validity of what they are writing. Especially when they can’t even name the source. All will work out one way or another, He’s got everything he could need here and he’ll find nothing better elseware. Nice guys don’t always finish last, there’s simply no way he’s going to betray St. louis for something else. There’s no reason for it, nobody has wronged anybody, nobody has given him a reason to leave or showne him the door. Everybody outside of Cardinal Nation just feeds on this nonsense but we’ve seen him and followed him for 10 years and know he’s not playing for any other team for the rest of his career.
Couldn’t of said it better myself.
Yo hear me out on this. If the Mets franchise don’t act retarded and play their cards out, they should totally get in this. Screw Ike Davis or move him to RF, but lets bring Pujols to New York. Cmon, seriously, even A-Rod wouldn’t accept money to go to the Cubs. Mets should pay the man whatever robbery money he wants, just throw it at his face and get it done!!!
Kansas City is calling you Albert. How can resist? Hometown. Stacked farm system with tons of potential. Can you imagine that line up?
Cain- CF
Aviles- 2B
Pujols-1B
Moustakas-3B
Butler-DH
Hosmer-RF
Myers-LF
Pena/May?-C (kinda iffy here)
Escobar-SS
Can it get any better than that for a Royals fan?
Yes, you’d probably be better with George Brett and Frank White in the infield even today.
This actually made me think, its not even possible that Kansas City could sign Pujols, which makes me think of the larger picture here. Baseball has some serious problems that need to be address. Kansas City has had what? 14? 15 seasons of “rebuilding”, they’ve tried several different things, same with Pittsburgh and for what? 1 or 2 seasons maybe 3 or 4 years from now with a shot to win a title before having to start all over again? Yet when the Yankees or Red Sox want to Rebuild they just reach into their pockets and throw more money at a free agent, while, in the case of Carl Crawford overpay and continue to widen the gap between themselves and teams like Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Florida. Now the best player in the game is due for a contract and we aren’t talking about the Pirates or the Reds trying to re-sign him. We are talking about St. Louis, a team that pulls in 3 million fans a season with a metro area population of less than 4 million, talk about getting the max performance out of city, but you really can’t ask St. Louis to support its teem better than this and the biggest hold up to signing their first baseman is money. Serious problem here. The argument by the big market fans was always, “we support the team and go to the games don’t blame us” or whatever, but lets compare St. Louis to New York, 3 million fans at Yankee Stadium every season in a city with 12 million people isn’t really that uch to brag about when you compare it to what St. Louis is doing. Assume half of them are Mets fans, fine, 6 million per, big deal. The arguments towards teams like Florida that don’t spend money are arbitrary compared to the overall picture here, what’s the point really in spending the money when its not going to matter. Why should Baltimore bother to spend money they are just going to be out spent by New York and Boston by millions of dollars. Yes I know New York or Boston didn’t win the World Series last year, but teams in smaller markets shouldn’t be forced to be creative and better in player development just to be able to compete for a few years against teams that just keep adding to payroll as if they are printing the money themselves, driving up the prices of everybody else in an effort to out do one another. Seriously, where is the outrage, I’d be in favor of another strike, lockout work stoppage and even another cancelled World Series to fix this mess. Capitalism is a great concept, but keep it out of baseball.
This absolutely
This is absolutely amazing. he’s not even an FA yet and someone is speculating what the Cubbies will offer him when AP is almost 32. Give me a break. Kiss my a$$, Jon Heyman.
Totally agree–I hope the Cubs don’t sign him. As a Cubs fan, I don’t know what to think about the message this implies. The team’s got so many needs and their ownership has implied that they wish to stay away from rich contracts, especially to someone who’s 32 at the start of this one.
I would let him walk so fast it’d make your head spin. Thanks for the memories, we’ll see you around….I don’t know what his salary demands are, or the number of years he wants, but there is no way he would handcuff my team so bad that I could not put a competitive team on the field. He is one player. He may be a difference maker for the next couple of years or so, but could you imagine paying $30M to a 40 year old player?
I, as a GM, would stay very clear of of Pujols, unless he’d would be willing to sign a maximum 5 year contract. I would rather have 3 very decent $10M players than 1 $30M player.
I am a huge fan of Pujols, so I not just knocking him. Pujols is one of the best players this game as seen, but the fact remains that he is 31. His peak years will soon be behind him.
I’d like it if these “competing executives” would stop tampering with this whole thing by trying to stir up competition that doesn’t exist. The Cubs would offer the A-Rod deal? Really? I mean, I know the Cubs and their fans are world famous for giving up on their season in May (and rightfully so 9 years out of every 10), but to be worried about what contract you’re gonna offer a guy who won’t be a free agent until after a season that hasn’t even had Spring Training start for is a new low.
That’s the main difference between the two fanbases, actually. The Cardinals fans are worried about signing Albert and what kind of distraction not signing him will be for the upcoming season. The Cub fans are already waving goodbye to Carlos Pena before he takes an at-bat for them in preparation for a making a run at Albert, without a thought about what Pena might do for their club THIS year. Because they know this year is not the 1 in 10 they won’t suck.