Joel Sherman of the New York Post typically covers New York's baseball teams, but in today's column he acknowledges that many of the sport's biggest stories are taking place outside of the Big Apple. His number one story to watch as Spring Training gets underway? Albert Pujols' contract negotiations with the Cardinals. An AL executive told Sherman that the Cards' nightmare scenario involves not only failing to extend Pujols, but seeing him end up in a Cubs uniform in 2012. The three-time MVP winner "would be to the Cubs what [Barry] Bonds was to the Giants, but with a nicer face and nine games a year at Busch Stadium," said the exec. Here are the rest of the latest stories on the negotiations:
- Agent Dan Lozano has told multiple teams that the Cardinals have "no chance to sign [Pujols]" before free agency, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Cards' star slugger turned down the club's offer about two weeks ago, a source told ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
- Pujols has turned down the latest offer from the club and unless a dramatic change is made, he will announce Tuesday that he's shutting down contract talks for the rest of the season, a person close to Pujols told Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- St. Louis GM John Mozeliak declined comment on whether the team has made a formal offer to Pujols. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that no official offer was on the table as of early last week, with the club "expected to present a bid" closer to Pujols' deadline.
- Whether or not an agreement is reached, the Cardinals plan to publicly address the negotiations on Wednesday, Strauss adds.
- Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch views the Spring Training deadline as merely the "first checkpoint" in extension discussions, calling it "essentially bogus."
- A GM for a larger-market team weighed in on the topic while talking to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe: "[The Cardinals] should stick to a number that makes sense for them, and if it’s not good enough, then you walk away." However, the GM went on to say that he thinks a deal will get done. "They probably have to do it," he said. "Because not doing it would create chaos and possible loss of revenue."
Cards are in quite the pickle.
I would agree and also the Cards wont be the only team hurting from this deal. Pujols is the best. Right now. But your also setting the tone for years to come. Any team willing to pay Albert 30 mil for 10 years will be affecting the league. Im not saying he doesn’t deserve it but the only reason he does deserve it is because of past, outrageous contracts; A Rod, Werth, Howards.
That being said, any future player close to the numbers these guys are putting up will just drive the offers up based on past superstar contracts.
Mike Trout, Bryce Harper are both going to be amazing players, who will eventually get paid more than they are worth because of ridiculous contracts.
You say that like these guys don’t deserve the most money possible? Owners have been cashing in for decades and now in the past 11 years, players finally start making money. It always seems like fans tend to forget that teams are owned by billionaires who are quite savvy when it comes to business. If the organization does not see potential return on their investment, they don’t land the player, end of story. STL has already made boatloads of money on Pujols first contract, and now he wants a piece: What’s the problem with that?
I like that Bonds is refernced in this piece, because it’s true: his record breaking season, he got payed 15.3mm… Two of the baseball’s caught in the stands combined for over a mill in auction sales! The Giants cashed in. Ya, he had some trash on his name, but people packed the stands just to boo and witness history. While you may not think this is applicable, I think it is.
If you could get a “ridiculous contract” in your own day job, due to ownership seeing value in you as an asset, you would be singing a different song about Pujols negotiations.
Always keep in mind that The Organization and Ownership saw value in offering the contract and nobody held a gun to their heads.
What are you doing here Scott Boras?
Scott Boras: funny how his name is brought up in a negative manner, but the guy has figured out that the money belongs to the players. Ya, he gets his 5%, but the guy fights for the players we love to watch, not for ownership who have been exploiting baseball profits for decades. He is the hands down best at what he does. First agent to negotiate a 50mm, 100mm, and 200mm contract = for the PLAYERS. Contracts prior to him were designed to benefit the owners more than the athlete.
Example: in 98, NYY said they would not pay more than 60mm for Bernie Williams, yet they payed 87.5. For the PLAYER.
While you joke, just do some research about the name you use as a joke and pay Albert accordingly.
NYY and cave on negotiations go hand in hand.. Find another team please. Boston set a trend with Ramirez back in 2000 with an 8 year deal, but other than that it’s been NY for the last 35 years with the trend setter deals.
7 years for Kevin Brown. Also, the Rockies have given some long contracts… Hampton comes to mind… Yes, the Yanks are the obvious names to throw out for long contracts
Your logic is flawed. Yes ownership is signing the check, but what you don’t mention is that if a player gets paid 30mil a year and others get paid 15mil and several with 5+mil, it all adds up, looks like the cardinals payroll this year is slightly over 100mil. if players get paid more, ticket prices go up. ownership isn’t losing money, the fans are. what good is having the “best player in baseball” if you cant afford the team that plays around him. if pujols doesnt want to take the offer, thats fine, he can move on. babe ruth (arguably the greatest player in baseball) made at most $125,000 in a single season, which is just over 1mil in 2010 dollars. and he did what no other team as a whole could do, hit 60 home runs. stan musial (arguably the greatest player in cardinal history) made 100,000$ in a season during his career ($750,000 in todays dollars). i agree the better the player the more money he gets, and i agree with most when they say pujols is better than a-rod and should get paid more than him, but a-rod got over paid when he went to the rangers and then got even more when he went to the yankees, but you know what? he plays for the yankees, they can afford that kind of money, st louis cant. i dont care if he goes to chicago, they still wont win. if pujols wants to be on a winning team and stay in st louis (like he has said before) he will be reasonable with his contract, i wouldnt offer him more than 18 mil/yr for 7 years (126mil for 7years), compare that to hollidays (120/7yrs) and see what he’s like at that point. if you want a winning team you need a group of good players, not just a couple.
No, my logic isn’t flawed. Baseball as a business in whole has expanded. Again, if owners don’t see value in the contract, then they won’t offer it. Most of these billionaires didn’t just get that way without some business savvy.
You are using eras in baseball that didn’t support higher salaries, and if they did, the owners were still cashing in on below cost talent. This isn’t rocket science, it’s business. Now agents are standing up and using business and logic to get their talent more money, what’s the problem? Pay the man.
Stop using the Yanks as a cop out too, they have won just as many WS in the past 10 years as STL with 199mm extra in their budget.
you more or less focused on the 2nd part of the response, my main point to want you said was the part about the owners not losing any money in the deal, owners would raise ticket prices to pay the higher salaries, fans pay the players salaries.
I feel like we are both saying the same thing, but you are saying it more concise. Yes, contracts trickle down to the fan. I get what you are saying.
Not to mention the fact that if prices are too high, fans won’t come, owners will lose money, and players will get offered less.
Everyone complains about prices NOW, but still attend. What’s Fenway’s sellout streak at now?
Last 11 years? I’ve been a baseball fan for 25 years. Don’t recall players ever lining up at the soup kitchen to get some chow in their tummies. Baseball players have always been ridiculously paid.
Take a guy like Clemens. He earned $2.6m in 1990 (21 years ago). The median income in the US was under $40k. What is that? Seventy times the average of the median income in the US? The average ballplayer was above $800k. A mere 20 times more than the median US income. Ballplayers have been doing just fine. No need to lose sleep over their whether they have enough money.
So who gets hurt when payroll goes up? Just for comparison … in 1990 the average ticket price was $8/seat. In 2010 the Yankees average seat was $89. The Angels had the cheapest at $24. Incomes have risen fractionally over the past 20 years yet for Yankee fans their ticket price has risen 10 fold (or so).
The fact is paying Albert Pujols won’t cost his owner anything. He’ll just raise the cost of the ticket/parking/concession, etc to cover the cost of the contract. It’s not like he’s writing a personal check for Albert. And that’s fine BTW. Albert is a great player and fans will pay to watch him. Let’s just not pretend that a players paycheck somehow doesn’t impact the fans experience.
last 11 years, yes. Kevin Brown in 99. Yes, that could be 12 years…
While the income was lower, so was everything else. Cost of living was lower as a whole as it should be if the median income is lower. The 2010 median income was 49k last year, yet baseball didn’t suffer from attendance. People still live in America and have the right to prioritize their own money and attend $25 baseball games. Hell, Petco Park still offers $6 entrance. It’s priorities. There is a reason thqt fans will pay the prices for entrance to Yankee Stadium because they know what they are getting. We all act like the Cardinals organization has been struggling, but like the Dodgers, eventually you have to put some stars on the field because the fan base supports it.
I see what your point is, but you used Clemens as an example who makes a strong argument as the greatest pitcher ever in baseball… just saying…
Also, just food for thought, Nolan Ryan had been making over a mill since 1980…
If Pujols isn’t willing to sign, it really sucks he won’t be willing to accept a trade. I find it hard to believe that 1 Year of Pujols is more valuable than 6 years of Mike Trout, basically giving up on 2011 and using saved money to sign Prince Fielder or possibly Adrian Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez? Oh man, cue the Red Sox Nation shock troops. They should be here any minute to call you a troll.
I’ve heard a couple people mention Trout in a trade with him but I definitely don’t think that would actually happen. But yeah, I see what your saying. They would have been able to to get a couple can’t miss prospects if Pujols was willing to cooperate like that.
It’s doubtful it would happen, as Pujols will likely veto any trade, and the Cardinals doubtfully would be willing to give up on their franchise player. I just think it would be the right move.
Hate to break it to you Joel, but most of the stories take place outside of the Big Apple, you just over dramatize everything to make it appear that way. The world only revolves around New York in New York.
Shock troops? Not really. I just don’t understand why babawhitesox would think for a moment that Adrian Gonzalez would be available. Technically, he’s only under contract for 2011, but no teams is going to ship 3 of its top 10 or so prospects on a one-season rental. Just because the Red Sox are jobbing the luxury tax by announcing an extention (7 years, $150 mil?) after the start of the season doesn’t mean he’s available. He’s about as available as Teixeira.
I think you just proved his point.
Didn’t realize stating facts makes me a shock trooper. That he said it at all makes me question his baseball acumen and his understanding of trades, contracts, the luxury tax and the like.
He’s not likely to be available, no. But there is a chance. I’m not expecting it to happen, but as you said, technically, he’s not under contract. Also, I don’t get why everyone is harping on my mention of A-Gone. That was not even the point of my post. I was trying to say it’s unfortunate they cannot trade him, which (in my opinion) would be the best move if they can’t resign him, as I really can’t see the Cardinals doing much in a National League that’s tougher than ever.
ayy theyve only got 3 more days….whether they tell the media or not, they ve better get it done…after reading many posts i dont want pujols coming to the mets…hel be 42 at the end of his contract….if only he was looking for a 4-5 year deal..then hed be worth the 30 mil each year…but players start to get bad, even pujols… this is why i want the cards to get him so we dont have to even think about spending that much money
Awesome
As a Cubs fan I kind of hope the Cardinals can work out an extension, because in the short term with Pujols and Holliday, they’ll have the same talent and a much higher payroll, and in the long run they’ll have less talent and a much higher payroll.
same here but i’m a rangers fan i hope they can for 3 reasons
1. He is the face of the cardinals franchise
2. the cards will suck without him they wil probably be tied with the pirates in last place
3. can anyone honestly see him in another uniform
See him in another uniform? I think it’s definitely more likely that Pujols is in another uniform in 2012 which, ironically, could symbolize an end of days for the Cards! Either way makes for good conjecture on here!
yeah your right it will be the end days of the cards
Yeah, I forgot the St. Louis Cardinals did not exist before 2001.
i didn’t say that before 2001 they were bad they had great players and they still do. they still have holliday, wainwright, and newly added berkman. but will they be good without pujols? no one knows. hell they could be best without pujols i really dont know. but i think they will sign him so no worrys.
wait. now berkman’s a great player?
was
Is considered one of the greatest switch hitters to play the game…
They’d still have a very solid rotation in 2012 and have a very strong middle of the lineup bat, and have a considerable amount of money to spend on free agents. The Cardinals found a way to succeed before Pujols and while I REALLY hope he stays, they’ll find a way to succeed without him (although 2012 may be a bad year if he goes)
i agree
I’m a cards fan, but without Pujols the cardinals are a 4th place team.
I highly doubt they will be anywhere close to the Pirates.
More like this, Pujols walks were right there with how “successful” the cubs have been in the past decade.
Reds would probably control the Central for a few years. BORING!
hey dont forget abou the brewers
who?
haha
the brewers have a one year window.
that year is now.
2. Not with their caliber of pitching.
oh your right the brewers pitching sucks they only have gallardo, greinke, and marcum.
Not sure what you’re responding to Ryan…? I am making the point that with STL caliber of pitching, they won’t be last or even tied for last. PITT and my Astros are in the same division and don’t (at first glance) pose any kind of threat to STL, MIL, or CHC, (and does CIN actually repeat this year’s performance?).
The (2.) was in reference to your 2nd point saying that they would be tied for last with PITT… Where did the Brewers come up?
wow. cards lose either way
door A: keep your franchise player for 300 M or more and 10 years worth of 1B roster spot
door B: lose your franchise player, possibly lose revenue, get prospects/draft picks and financial/roster flexibility
if they sign him it wont be or I don’t think it will be 10 years he’ll be 41 I can see 7 but not 10
if they offer 7 i don’t think pujols signs with them.
they will go 8 with a player option for 9… I bet thats the ceiling for the Cardinals and it might actually work. Say he signs for that. He will break a lot of records in that time and by the time he is 39, he should be very very close to the all time records and will have the option then to sign as a DH somewhere else. I think thats the only shot STL has of keeping Albert. Otherwise and I hate to say it but if they dont get this extension done, Cardinals are at least going to have to make it and compete in the NLCS to see Albert take any discount.
This is what everyone says….but as a fan of the Cardinals, I sort of look at it like this.
A: I get to watch one of the greatest players in history finish his career in a Cardinal uniform. Good or bad contract, the memories I will have from watching Albert chase all kinds of records over the next 8-10 years will be ones I will never forget.
B. I get to see a new era of the Cardinals begin. With alot of money to spend and with a good young core and an improving farm system there is no reason to think the Cardinals will not survive without Albert.
The Cardinals may take a hit at first IF he walks. But the Cardinal tradition is much greater than the Pujols brand. Don’t get me wrong, I would love for him to stay. But it would not take long for the ballpark to be packed again. All St. Louis wants is a winner.
Ya if Albert walk, trust me they will do all they can to bring in the player next to him. There will be a superstar in St. Louis if Pujols walks.
Those “memories” will be worthless if your Pujols breaks down at age 35 and your team retains zero financial flexibility for the last 6 years of his deal.
Pujols is the best player in the game. He will be worth $30m for 5 years or so. Anything beyond that will be a regrettable signing.
I find a lot of the doomsday people on here amusing saying if Pujols jets out of St. Louis, they’ll be terrible. They still have two pitchers that have been Cy Young candidates each of the last several years in Wainwright and Carpenter, a pitcher who last year in his rookie season went 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA (Garcia) and they’ll have two cornerstone-type players in Matt Holliday and Colby Rasmus. In addition, AFTER 2012, they’ll have their biggest blunder of a contract (Kyle Lohse) coming off the books.
Also, remember this is the franchise that has the most World Series Championships of any NL team and is 2nd only to the Yankees overall. They’ve done this by having solid management and a fanbase that supports the team in a manner more fitting of a large market than the mid to small sized market St. Louis really is.
Will it hurt if Pujols leaves? Of course. Will the Cardinals be a championship caliber team in 2012 if he does? Probably not. But the Cardinals will rebound, put together a solid team that will compete, and most of the fanbase will stick around, Pujols or not (But of course, we’d prefer to avoid the “not”).
Really? Carpenter is on the wrong side of 35 and been in decline since his Cy season, and their farm system is barren of high upside talent at the upper levels. Shelby Miller and Cox are at a minimum of two years away, and beyond them, there’s not a whole lot.
And I won’t argue that Carpenter is probably in decline (although saying he’s been in decline since his CY season is mostly just due to injuries, something that’s always plagued him), but even in his decline, his last two seasons, he’s been 33-13 with was worth 5.6 and 3.7 wins, which made him roughly as valuable as Adam Wainwright in 2009 and Cole Hamels in 2010. Obviously Carpenter is older, but the Cardinals found a way to go to the World Series with a rotation that has Woody Williams, Matt Morris, Jeff Suppan and Jason Marquis (in addition to the aforementioned Carpenter) and were able to win the world series with a rotation of Anthony Reyes, Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan and again Carpenter.
Dave Duncan is a master of picking up scrap heap guys and getting league average to above average seasons out of them. The Cards can patch together a competitive rotation around Wainwright and Garcia for the next few years.
Also, you fail to address any of the other points I made. Picking up that Carpenter is towards the end of his career by itself doesn’t mean the Cardinals are going to fall off the map. I’m certainly not arguing that they’ll be World Series champs, or even a playoff team in 2012 if Pujols leaves, but they’ll have money to spend the next few years if he doesn’t sign ($16M freed up from Pujols and $12M from Lohse after 2012) and they’ve still got enough on the team to field a solid team, especially when you consider 1B is a pretty easy place to get at least reasonable production from (not Pujolsian production, of course).
Not sure how your point about the Cards having the second most WS titles has any bearing on the current organization. The players, coaches, FO, and owners are all different. That fact is simply irrelevant.
I suppose you and I are actually closer than we suspect. I don’t think the Cards will be terrible if Pujols leaves either. However, they are better in the next five years with him. And since they didn’t make the postseason last year, and the NL Central is improving, that does not bode well for the Cards future.
its not entirely irrelevant. Look above at the guy who is screaming the sky is falling and STL will become like the pirates. They were champions before pujols, they can be champions after pujols. The Cardinals didn’t come into existence in 2001.
their last championship before pujols was 1982….lets not act like they were some sort of juggernaut….championships in the 40s and 50s have no relevance today
so they had 1 championship with 10 years of Pujols. Color me shocked, but maybe he wasn’t that huge of a deal afterall. I know this might be a shock,but no single player can carry a team in mlb.
Also, they won 2 pennants after 82(85, should have won series, and 87, damn dome in minnesota).
I never said they could not be champions after Pujols. And to “reinforce” your position by pointing out the position of the “lunatic fringe” ie. the sky is falling doesn’t exactly say anything.
BTW, the Miklasz article in the SL-PD today was total garbage. The whole premise of the article was based on a false choice and called Albert’s character into question should he choose to take the highest offer instead of staying with the Cardinals. I would much sooner question the character of the man who put pen-to-paper to write that junk.
i haven’t even read the article yet, what the hell are you quoting me on?
I don’t know why you think the article was “junk” In the article he says that he would not blaim Albert for wanting to be the highest paid player in the game. But for the last 4 years all we have heard from him(Pujols) day in and day out is all he cares about is winning. Money wasn’t the issue to him. He wanted to be a Cardinal for life and he wanted to win. So if he got the whole city of St. Louis to fall in love with him because he is this great guy who loves St. Louis and the tradition here, and then he turns his back and does everything opposite of what he has been quoted his whole career. Why shouldn’t he be called out on it?
Cardinals will not resign Carpenter.. not only is he declining he is a total egotistical head-case. I dont even think the Cards will pick up his option unless he has an unreal season. There are plenty of options for Carps replacement. I personally would love to see Buehrle pitch in St. Louis next year.
Cant the Cardinals offer Pujols stock in the franchise?
My point is, as Pujols gets closer and closer to breaking records you can bet Cardinals games and Pujols merch are going to sell out all over the place.
That way Pujols is kind of creating his on destiny and literally putting more money in his pocket. Revenue will sky rocket and by being a part owner, he will get paid that much more money.
I don’t know for certain, but I think something like this is against the CBA.
Please stop mentioning merchant money people. Please. The Royals make the same amount as the Cardinals on Pujols merch, as does every team in the league. This has no bearing in contract negotiations.
Ok.. then endorsements will benefit King Albert during the record breaking seasons.
And he’ll only get those in St. Louis? If anything a market like Chicago, NY or LA would be far better.
I didnt say that. Obviously he will get endorsements in any of those places..
Doesnt matter where he is getting them from.
Look, next time I post a message on here Ill try and keep it more simple for people like you. I was really trying to emphasize on the fact that if the Cards were willing to offer some form of ownership to him that would be a great way for him to receive possibly more money than he is looking for through ticket sales and what not. Merch was just a filler. Im happy to see that you understand that merch is ran and controlled by the MLB and not the player but that wasnt really my argument.
Next time you want to “emphasize on” something (whatever that means), maybe you could actually lay out your argument better for “people like me” who learned how to construct a thought.
what was your argument?…your two main points were based on things that have no relevance?
My argument is wether or not the organization has the possibility to work out something creative with Albert. Like give him stock options. How is that not relevant you fat kid?
Also, learn how to use the word “literally” properly.
Ok, Tom Jones. Keep it up, I “literally” know where you live
I think the cards need to get this done before ST. If Lebron can leave Cleveland then Pujols can leave the cardinals.
Except unlike Cleveland, the Cardinals will be contenders for years to come. Even without Pujols, a core group of Rasmus, Wainwright, Holliday, Molina, and Garcia isn’t a bad place to begin from.
Sure losing Pujols hurts, but with $30 million in freed up funds, you can find a quality FA or two or five.
Which hopefully is a starting point and the Cards have a better offer tomorrow.
I figured the Cards would have gave him a packet of offers for him to pick and choose.
We will find out tomorrow what the 2nd offer is. There is always a 2nd offer.
if pujols is DEMANDING that much money F*ck him! let him walk who cares. The cardinals can be good without ONE guy. They can spend that 25+ Million a year on other players. Jamie Garcia (among others) are going to get paid soon. Cardinals have too many needs to pay that much to one guy. A good hitting first baseman is easy to find. They need middle infield help and IMO a third basemen. David Freese is unproven and a 30 year old ROOKIE its uncertain what you will get out of him. Bullpen needs some work also. I just think they can spend their money in other areas and improve the team more than by signing AP.
Freese is 28. He was drafted when he was 23. Thats barely 4 years of total professional experience, he is very much a rookie.
Not that I totally disagree, but David Freese is 27, and I’m pretty sure he’s lost his rookie eligibility.
What could you get for Pujols money? Well looking at next offseason’s FA list, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get Rickie Weeks AND Jose Reyes. That would shore up the MI for sure…
Pujols is the best player in baseball, but pitching wins baseball games. The old saying that good pitching beats goo hitting is true. Pitching can be 75% of a game. I think the additions of Lee and Greinke are bigger than where Pujols goes. The Phillies have a much better chance of winning the series with their pitching than the Sox do with their additions. The Cards need Pujols, but without Wainright and Carpenter they will not win.
Pujols is taking his talents to south Beach Mcdonalds where he will be paid 30 million McNuggets a year!
Pujols may have out priced his worth like A-Rod, Crawford, Werth, Lee, and others. Once at player gets the big money it becomes hard to meet expectations. Pujols is 31 and will start declining in a 4 or 5 years. I still think the Cards will sign him, they have no choice!
Bernie Miklasz has honestly made the most sense out of this whole Pujols negotiating process.
Take a look at his article above.
He basically is stating that this so called “deadline” means absolutely nothing. At first I though to myself BS but if you get a chance to read it, it makes all kinds of sense for both sides.
If this deal isn’t reached by his deadline all hell is going to break loose. There is going to be a media frenzy daily in St. Louis.
Hey! Read that article I was just talking about above and Ill bet you change your mind.
I saw your post and checked it out, and no I still feel the same. St. Louis fans are going to be overeacting and the media will feed off of it if an agreement isn’t in place by the deadline. Sure, it’s not the end all, but it’s one less chance they have at retaining him.
Hence the first check point. Not saying that the media is going to blow this up or that the Cards will indeed extend him with time but it does provide some sort of closure for the fans. Its just a good piece.
I like Slider32s post as well.
People, especially STL fans are worried about this. The situation is inevitable but the truth is whatever happens, doesnt necessarily make this a loose- loose situation for the Redbirds. Obviously its a great time to be Albert. If the Cards can get this done for a reasonable amount then they win. I think the real looser is the team that will sign him during FA for the 30m 10 years he wants…. which might end up being the cubs.
to be honest, the st. louis media seems to really not care that much. No one is overreacting. In fact, it is more people outside of STL who think the sky is falling. I would even go as far to say that many are taking the ownership’s side knowing that Pujol’s demands are unreasonable and would leave them uncompetitive for the last 3-4 years of his deal at 10 years.
I dont know about that. Im unsure if your from St. Louis but seeing your post on here often gives me the idea that you might. I think STL is taking it well and saying “well, lets just see what happens before the chicken little” but have you listened to ESPN radio in STL? DeMarco Farr and the rest have a lot to say about it. In fact Farr said the other day that is Pujols walks… fine, but if he goes to the cubs he will be the first to burn Alberts jersey like Cleveland.
That is more or less not making a big deal of the situation which is what i said above as a reply to dc218192 who thinks all hell will break loose when the deadline passes. However, if he does go to the cubs, i’l buy a Pujols jersey then burn it. That is the ultimate backstab.
Anyways, no i don’t listen to ESPN radio unless they arehosting a cardinal game on sunday nights. yes, i live in STL area(go to college at Wash U)
Albert will be asked more often than not about his future in St. Louis if nothing gets done as LeBron did before his situation in Cleveland played out. Doesn’t matter what sport we’re talking about. The media wants to know answers so they’ll ask, ask, and ask again.
I honestly dont believe an extension will get done before the season starts. I do find it hard to believe any team will offer Albert 10 years, I think the highest he will see is maybe 8 and the Cardinals, because of that, might get him during his free agency. Even if we offer him 7, that might be our “hometown discount” when the time comes. He may go as far as to test the market and get a ridiculous offer and turn it down for the Cardinals offer. Man STL fans would each that up, as pathetic as that sounds.
I think Pujols’ ego is about as big as he want his contract! Who in their right mind would pay a person 30 million in his late 30’s or early 40’s
the cards need to let him go. if they give him 300MM, they will have trouble with all the other roster spots when some of there other players are up for a pay day. just offer him like 10 years 250 and when he leaves spend the money else where.
Signing Pujols long term won’t necessarily hurt the Cards. However, if they fail to raise their payroll then they’re in trouble. Assuming Pujols gets $30M a year and the team keeps a payroll around $100M then in 2012 potentially over 80% of their payroll could be tied up between Pujols, Holliday, Carpenter, Wainwright, and Molina.
The Cards have the 4th highest attendance in the league and a brand new stadium almost paid off. They must have the resources to raise their payroll significantly.
if they are not tied down to him though, they will have the money to fill several other positions. they could use a couple upgrades in the infield and the pay role flexibility that allowing pujols to leave would offer could get you about 3 B+ players instead of 1 A++++ player.
Yeah, I’ve been making a similar point for a while now. Which is better: Spending $30M on a HOFer or $30M on a handful of players? Logic would dictate multiple players but call me sentimental, I’d prefer to see Pujols in a Cards uniform.
as a cardinal fan, i really want to see Pujols retire a cardinal. But not if he is going to be a detriment to winning.
Goes back to my point, if they don’t raise the payroll then they shouldn’t keep Pujols. The only real long term heavy sunk cost the Cards have right now is Holliday. Add in Pujols and you have a $50M offense that relies on 2 players. Call me crazy but if that’s half the payroll then that sounds, well crazy. I still think the Cards can afford to keep Pujols around for the long run, but only if they’re planning on being one of the NL’s biggest financial muscle.
everything you said is true but a few things.
Holliday isn’t a sunk cost. He performs. What is a sunk cost? Kyle Lohse, conveniently gone after 2012 at 12million a year. Hell, just losing Lohse and adding Pujol’s current salary gets you near 30million and Lohse has been a sunk cost for the past 2 seasons…
I hope someone in the AL signs him … dude has be kicking our tails for long enough demmit! Time for someone else to feel that pain 🙂
FEEL THE BURN!
Well its about time for the Cubs to unload the ending of bad contracts and sign some new ones.
Hey, Al. Can you pitch?
– Brian
Hey, lazy commenter. Can you find a new joke?
Not until cash finds a pitcher
Why dont you pitch, and let brian catch man! 😉
The media circus around this mess is pretty cool. Not going to lie. No one knows anything. Congrats to all parties involved in keeping the lid on this so far.
Personally, I can’t wait til Tuesday night/Wednesday’s press conference when sh*t hits the fan. If the contract doesn’t get signed, the fanbase is going to need someone to be mad at. Either Albert for being ‘greedy’ (greed is good?) or for the Cardinals for being cheap. Depends on the years/dollar amounts (if they even get released)…
It’s a real pickle for Mo though. If the contract is too lucrative, the fans will be mad at ownership too.
Hell, the Cardinals should talk Pujols into letting them trade him for a nice 5-6 prospect package then re-signing him in the offseason. Wouldn’t that be something. Or is there a rule about signing with a team that traded you within such a short period of time?
Only problems with that is Pujols doesn’t want distractions during the season and despite being the best player in the game his trade value is no where near worth 6 prospects. Between the limits on what team would trade for him and his cost I’d say we’d be looking at a situation similar to the Johan Santana trade. Cards wouldn’t get anything big in return. I still think they need to re-sign him and raise the payroll significantly.
There’s no way a team gives up a great 5-6 prospect package for Albert without an extension pre-negotiated.
They’d get something good, no doubt, but not THAT good. Look at what SEA got for Lee…one good prospect, two scrubs, and one decent prospect that sodomizes people against their will for Lee, Lowe and cash.
Albert would bring more, but not a TON more. Probably two quality guys and two scrubs.
I wouldn’t be so sure an extension would HAVE to be reached. If you are that one bat away and want to win now, you’re going to make the trade right then. Sort of like what Milwaukee did with Sabathia. They wanted and thought they had a chance to win at the time when they made the trade and had no intentions of keeping him.
Exactly, look at what they gave up for CC: LaPorta, who was ranked in the 20’s (in Top 100), two unranked B-at-best prospects, and a PTBNL.
To use another example: AGon was traded for Kelly (20’s), Rizzo (50-60’s), and Fuentes (unranked), and that was with everyone knowing that had a deal more or less in place but unannounced.
They’ll get some nice stuff for Albert, but they’re not getting 5-6 good prospects.
wows
More like the Yankees minus Cashman
I think Pujols’ ego is about as big as he want his contract! Who in their right mind would pay a person 30 million in his late 30’s or early 40’s
——–
His ego is big because he wants to get paid his fair market value? If Holliday is getting $17 mil, and Tex $22, and Howard $25 and Arod averages $27.5 then I would say that AP probably deserves $30 mil at some point in his career, maybe not 10/$300 at his age but somewhere around a $25-$30 avg over 7 years sounds fair.
i don’t think you intended to but you proved his point. Pujols is asking for more than market value. What is market value, as you said is 30million a year at 7-8 years but that isn’t what he is looking for.
Market value is whatever a team will pay him. He’s only asking for too much if some team on the open market won’t meet him at his price.
currently the cardinals are the market. So yes, he is asking for over market value. I really can’t see anyone giving him 300million dollars in free agency either.
I’ll be a little upset if Pujols leaves (I don’t think he will though). The only thing that could ease the pain is if he went to the Royals.
*yawn*
exactly
I just can’t see Ricketts and the Cubs giving Pujols anywhere near 10 years and $300 million.
Maybe if that market really doesn’t exist, and someone can sign him at a more reasonable 6 years, the Cubs have a chance. Even with all the money coming off the books for the Cubs, rushing out to sign a 32 year old (next season) to a 6 year or longer deal is foolish, no matter the player. Pujols is a human, last I checked, and he will eventually decline, like everyone. I don’t want to be stuck holding the bag paying $30 million a year for several years after he becomes merely average or worse. Hopefully Hendry learned that lesson with Soriano.
It will be interesting to watch though, regardless of where he goes, because the Yankees and Red Sox supposedly being out of it should make Pujols get a lower deal. And Fielder loses out while Pujols steals the spotlight.
My guess is if Pujols can’t get that long term deal he goes back to the Cardinals. If he’s going to get similar money and length of contract he might as well stay in Stl.
Interesting that Albert called out the Cardinals for being unprofessional by talking about the deadline he imposed on them at the Winter Warmup, yet has apparently empowered his agent to run around and tell everyone the Cards have no chance to sign him before said deadline has passed. Lozano is painting himself as a bigger douchebag than anyone thinks Boras is.
MY BABY MOMMAS BOSS HAS A FRIEND WHO IS THE BROTHER OF PUJOLS WIFE. SHE TEXTED HIM AND SAID THAT “WE’RE COMING TO CHICAGO BABY!!!’
IM JUST SAYIN, I GOT SO EXCITED BUT THEN AGAIN ITS JUST A RUMOR. I DONT KNOW BUT IT WOULD BE CRAZY TO HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND THEN HAVE IT COME TRUE! BUT EVER SINCE IVE HEARD THAT ABOUT A MONTH AGO ALL THIS HOOPLA HAS STARTED WITH HIM, AND NOW THIS?!?!?!?
The Cubs are more likely to win a world series than they are to sign Pujols, in other words, it ain’t happening.
I, for one, will not be made at Pujols for wanting the money. Lest we forget that he ALREADY took a hometown discount with his 8/111 contract after having an OPS of 1.013, .955, and 1.106 for his first 3 seasons.
The Cardinals wanting Pujols to take ANOTHER hometown discount is kind of asking a lot. Shit, Jeter wouldn’t take a hometown discount even after his skills diminished, rather he inflated his contract.
Also, don’t blame all of it on Arod. The Phillies signed Howard to a 25mill a year til he’s 37 after putting up OPS of .200 less than Pujols year in and year out. And with worse defense.
Brewers would sign Pujols over the Cubs when they let Prince walk and wow, look at that a vacancy at first base and draft pick compensation for whoever signs Fielder….
Pujols said he only wants to play here, yet he wants all the money in the world to stay. I say let his greedy butt go and use that money to sign 2 good players. The cardinals don’t need him to win. They have 9 WS with out him and 1 with him. Peace Out Albert.
Honestly fantastic weblog I’ll definitely be returning to view it day-to-day sometime soon
This is a fantastic blog I`ve recently been looking all over the web for good information such as this