We heard yesterday that the Cardinals and Albert Pujols have given themselves until Wednesday at 11am CDT to reach a deal. If Pujols doesn't sign an extension, he'll hit free agency after the season and the Cardinals will have to outbid rival teams to keep their best player. The sides don't appear to be nearing an agreement with a day to go. Here's the latest on Pujols:
- "There is zero momentum toward a deal," sources tell Scott Miller of CBS Sports, and it appears as though the deadline will pass without a new contract for Pujols.
- The talks between the two sides still have "a pulse," a source tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In another tweet, Strauss says the Cards are deciding between offering a guaranteed eighth year or offering a shorter deal that carries a greater average annual value.
- A source close to the Pujols team says the news of the Cardinals' alleged offer to Pujols today is "inaccurate, reckless and outrageous," according to Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown. (Twitter link)
- The Cardinals have offered Pujols an eight-year contract worth "south of" $30MM per season, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Despite the offer, Heyman says there is "very little hope" that the two sides will reach an agreement before Wednesday's deadline.
- Heyman also tweets that Pujols' representation asked for an ownership share in the Cardinals, who turned down the request due to the complicated nature of the process.
- La Russa's comments were misguided, according to MLBPA director Michael Weiner, who told Yahoo's Jeff Passan that "we have had no conversations with Albert or [agent] Dan Lozano." (all Twitter links). "No pressure," Weiner said. "Not even any conversations. Our concern is that players make an informed decision. Knowing Albert [and] knowing Danny, a very sophisticated player and representative, they're going to make well-considered decisions."
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says Pujols is feeling pressure from the Players Association to sign a massive deal, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). La Russa says it's more than arm-twisting. He argues that the union is "dropping an anvil on [Pujols'] back through [the] roof of his house."
- GM John Mozeliak says he's in "regular" contact with agent Dan Lozano, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Pujols went to high school and college in Kansas City and the Royals have freed up payroll, but one club official told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the Royals aren't likely to sign Pujols if he hits free agency. "For us to get a guy like that, heād really have to want to come here," the official said. "We couldnāt win a bidding war.ā Royals owner David Glass told Dutton that he would not sign a player to a $300MM deal. "You might as well give them the franchise,ā Glass said.
in “regular” contact? I’m assuming that is not in a negotiating room getting any closer to a deal. I was not happy when I seen Mozeliak wandering around at spring training yesterday. Made it pretty obvious to me that the negotiations are off and they are just waiting until Wednesday to make the announcement.
alternatively, maybe they have a deal and are waiting til wednesday out of respect to make the announcement?
haha I like your thinking Lunchbox, but I also seen Mozeliak’s interview yesterday. He seems very uneasy about the whole situation. I just can’t see that being the case.
he’s totally just psyching you out.
He’s going to pull a …. to the cardinals fans out there, I did my best and I hate to be the one to tell you that Albert Pujols will not be… ugh this is tough.. what I’m trying to say is he will not bE A FREE AGENT EVER I SIGNED HIM TO A 9 YEAR 270 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT WOOOOHOOOO
lol, I give it a better chance that Mozeliak just hides in a hole and is never heard from again.
He’s gonna pull a Lebron
“You might as well give them the franchise,ā -Royals owner David Glass
Whatever team he is on, he IS the franchise.
You do realize of course you are using two different meanings of the word ‘franchise’
This is not basketball… a single player would never get you into the playoffs.
thats completely false. Pujols has carried his team on his back for years before holiday came. who else did we have?
Hmmm….how about the MV3???
You are completely wrong. Maybe you don’t remember a couple guys named Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds. Combined with Pujols they were the MV3. After they left and before Holliday came, the Cardinals never went to the playoffs. So no, one player cannot do it himself.
Can you win anything without exAngels?
edmonds and…….?? He is the only ex-angel who had an impact i can think of. What are you yapping about.
David Eckstein WS MVP? It’s called Schadenfreude; taking pleasure in another’s disappointment and it’s all we Angels fans have this year.
dont forget der teufelkreis
Yeah, Pujols was a hell of a pitcher in the 2006 postseason.
Edmonds, Rollen, Eckstein, Molina, Carpenter, isringhausen.
Funny thing is Pujols wasn’t the MVP of the 2006 World Series.
Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Larry Walker, Tony Womack, Edgar Renteria, Reggie Sanders, Chris Capenter, Adam Wainwright,
DON’T FORGET SCOTT SPIEZIO! HE MATTERS TOO!!!!
You know, you’re right… If I remember correctly…
Pujols pitched 30 no hitters in addition to his daily hitting contributions in 2006.
They’ve had Carpenter and Wainwright dominating in the SP and Ludwick in RF for previous years.
…and yet they’ve only managed to win the weakest division in baseball once in the past – what – 4 years?
that was dumb. The Cardinals had 5 all stars last year and a guy who probably would have made the AS team(Garcia) if not for the team being loaded on pitchers last year.
What I mean is a player that is the best on the team, brings attention to the team, and brings fans and their money to the team. I know I have a different thinking than most, but that is just my take.
Tell that to the ghost of Babe Ruth.
I disagree with the notion that any one player is a franchise and any sane owner is going to look 6-10 years in the future and realize it’s not worth the risk to burden your team with a contract like that for a player over 35.
As funny as it sounds now… but KC with Pujols in 2-3 years would be a powerhouse.
Except that the KC ownership is not going to share any of their Revenue money with a ball player, even as great as Pujols.
Common misconception… Why don’t you take a look at their drafts the last few years to see how willing they are to spend money on top talent..
Not every team wants a 100 million dollar payroll to not make the playoffs.
any team with pujols is going to be a powerhouse. he could go to the pirates and theyre in the playoffs
Thats why the cardinals made the postseason last year….oh wait
sorry, no.
Dan Lozano?
I guess you aren’t old enough to remember Alex Rodriguez’s time with the Rangers.
Yeah, 12 or 13 sounds about right.
stop.
Is he going to join the rotation too?
Hell Yeah! He has a sick Eephus…
I hear he recently learned a gyroball as well.
Respectfully disagree. While they do spend on draft picks, that’s money they receive from Revenue sharing, and that’s where their spending to improve the club ends. Look onto their recent past, they’ve used Tax money to enhance and renovate the Stadium, which is their right, instead of sinking that moneyinto making the team better.
Seems like we’ve been hearing about their great minor league system for years now, they bring up a great prospect and he’s traded a few years later, either because of salary or he doesn’t pan out quickly enough. Alex Gordon, De Jesus, Geinke, come to mind. It appears to me that what KC does, is pocket the Revenue money, spends a bit on one or two mediocre players and then wait for the prospects to arrive and add them to the mix. Go no where in the standings and then use the excuse that they’re a small market team that needs to use their farm system to compete. All the time making a profit but not really competing.
They are not the only ones to do so, I’m not picking on them for running their team as more of a business than an MLB team. It’s just that I’m tired of them hiding behind the facade of not really trying to win and then state how in the future, their very talented farm system is going to make them winners.
It’s been how many years since they’ve been a .500 team?
Respectfully, you obviously haven’t been paying attention to the Royals for the last five years at least. More, if you think that the farm system has ever been regarded as even “good” until a year or two ago.
Greinke spent six years with the team, the normal amount of time before reaching free agency. DeJesus had been on the team for seven, and probably shouldn’t have been traded, but we kept him through most of his best years, in all likelihood. Alex Gordon is still on the team and has not been traded, despite your allegations to the contrary.
This year the Royals will have an incredibly low payroll. And that was the norm, years ago. But last year’s payroll was over $70 million, and the prior year was about the same. The problem wasn’t that we didn’t spend, it was that we spent it on players like Guillen, Kendall, Ankiel, Cruz, Farnsworth, Crisp and others who weren’t as good as players we already had in the system.
You were right about one thing: they do spend on mediocre players. That’s why this Pujols news is so disappointing. I’d rather have a superstar than ten scrubs. We can always get scrubs from our own system.
I stand corrected on Gordon, I should have said Tehan who was traded to the White Sox.I never really thought the farm system was anything to get excited about either, what I said to Lunchbox in my reply was that many have stated about how great the farm system has been and how the were somehow going to bring the team to the playoffs.those statements have been going around for more than two years, perhaps not by you but we’ve been hearing it for a while. He also made a point as to how KC was spending on talent and I agreed, but only to the point that it was on minor league signings. They have always had a low payroll and the increase in payroll was due more to the fact that those teams paying the Luxury Tax were complaining about the teams receiving the monies were pocketing the money instead of re-investing it.That’s why I don’t see the KC ownership offering anything to Pujols. They would have dig into their own pockets to secure his signing.
No one has time to read any of that ^^
If you don’t have time to read,then make certain the batteries are fresh in your Gameboy and stay where you’re better suited.
I am better suited at my job making money and saving the economy. Instead you are posting page long reports on hypothetical nonsense. Great work Buster Olney…. wait a minute though, he gets paid to do that. How about you make certain your laptop batteries are fresh and stay where you’re better suited online. GET A JOB!
I have a job. And it’s because of the job I have that I don’t take offense at your insipid blather. I deal with the likes of you on a daily basis. I’m a proctologist!
are those the people who make protractors?
No, that’s at the other end of the spectrum.
A fellow doctor? or do you use that as a cover for your enjoyment in probing people? I work as you would say “at the other end of the spectrum,” as a brain surgeon. You know there have been amazing advances in my field, a lobotomy is not the shame it once was.
playing operation with your son doesn’t make you a ‘brain surgeon’
No, but graduating from Duke Medical School, completing my residency at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and passing my exams to become a board certified neurosurgeon does.
Kansas would have to change their team name to the Kansas City Pujols.
Try again, I know you can be more creative than that.
A for effort though right?
I can be, but the only problem with being human is I’m not perfect.
Kansass Shytey (Replace with correct vulgarity) Poo Holes?
lol, now that’s better.
How about the Kansas City Prince Alberts?
To call Kansas City, “Kansas” is like calling New York, “York”. It just sounds silly.
Why not just “New”?
Actually it’s kinda like calling New York City “New York”.
Meanwhile, I wonder what Missouri would call its team, ya know, since the Royals play in Missouri.
Oh my bad…all these years I thought the team was called the Kansas City Royals instead of the Missouri Royals. You should tell the New York Giants and Jets that they play in New Jersey also.
The difference is Kansas City is in Missouri. Kansas City, Kansas is very small, and an afterthought. It’s simple geography. The Jets/Giants just happen to have stadiums in Jersey. I’m sure any New Yorker will tell you that New Jersey is NOT New York, just like any Kansas Citian will say the same thing about their city.
And how about the Tampa Bay Rays? They play in St Pete.
And “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys, play in Arlington
And those LA Angels play in Anaheim.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim excuse you.
Everybody is making it sound like if we dont sign him today or tomorrow morning, we have no chance of signing him. Cardinals are going to sign pujols whether its before or after noon tomorrow. Pujols will be a Cardinal for life. No doubt
How are you so sure to say that? They wont give him what he wants now, whos to say that they will when they are bidding against other teams in FA? There are plenty of other teams out there that will give Pujols what he deserves, which is what he is asking from the Cards now.
Well… I don’t think he “deserves” a 10 year $300 million contract at 31 years old… Any GM to mortgage their team future on one player should be shot. Of course I am a Cubs fan and my GM is the odds on favorite to deliver said contract if Poohole makes it to free agency. Best case scenario for the Cubs is that the cards trade him out of the division and he signs with that team.
Cardinal fans approaching the cliff!
Jason, Jason, Jason. Baseball is a business my friend. There is no garauntee he will be a Cardinal past 2011. If you are not even starting to realize there is a real possibility Albert Pujols leaves after this season you could be in for a big heartbreak.
Ok, but why can’t he take a hometown discount?
He’s not stupid. He can google bad contracts worth $300 million.
He took a hometown discount the first go around. 7 yrs at 100 million dollars, thats pretty cheap if you ask me. Especially if guys like Matt Holliday and Jason Werth are pulling 7 yrs and over 170 mil
You need to do some fact checking and then come back.
Why are the Cards still playing hardball? He is the face of that franchise and slowly becoming the face of baseball itself. Give the man not only what he wants, but what he deserves. He deserves every bit of what he is asking! Pujols’ numbers speak for themselves. If the Cards lose him then they lose a lot of their fanbase. I for one am a Braves fan but I tune into Cardinals games just because of Albert. Pujols by himself has carried this team!
I don’t believe it’s the money thats the issue, the Cardinals had been trimming payroll the last few years (minus last year) in what has been believed to be an effort to retain Pujols. What seems to be the issue is the 10 years Albert wants. This is the NL where there is no DH. Giving a guy 30 mil at age 40+ to be an everyday player is a tough pill to swallow. I see them guaranteeing 6-7 with options to total 10…now to get Albert on board with that.
Brandon, there is some other team out there (Cubbies?) who will guarantee Albert at least 7-8 years, if not 10. He is the marquee name in MLB right now, and this contract saga is only raising his profile nationally – or at least keeping his name in the headlines.
If the Cards had guaranteed 8/232 with automatic vesting if he has 500 PA in years 7 and 8, then it would may have been done already.
From what I’ve read the Cardinals haven’t offered more than 6-7 years. that won’t get it done. He’ll get more years elsewhere.
My question is, do you think his name being in the headlines for demanding $300 million dollars is a good thing for the public’s perception of him? Granted baseball fans understand that he is worth that kind of money, but I really don’t see these headlines benefiting him (or baseball for that fact) nationally to people who already complain about how much athletes make
I understand the years completely. But have they offered him anything like the 7 year deal w/ options to 10? Who knows.. I think they need to do WHATEVER it takes to get him back in a Cards uniform next year. Could you imagine the spectacle it would cause if the Cubbies were the ones to sign him. Thats something that the STL FO should never let even get close to happening.
Cardinals must know something that no one else knows, like is his arm gonna fall off?
How about 30M/year 6 years guaranteed. IF in years 4/5/6 he gets a total of 1500 plate appearances, his years 7/8 become guaranteed. Then if in years 7/8 a total of 1000 plate appearances is met, years 9/10 become guaranteed.
Total breakdown:
2012-2017=30MM
2018=27.5MM
2019=25MM
2020=22.5MM
2021=20MM
HR goals=25MM total
Total would be the 275MM he is looking for with 25MM bonus for reaching HR goals. I believe would be fair with easy to meet the plate appearances if he’s healthy. (He’s never had a season of less than 634 plate appearances)
You can’t give incentives based on HR totals..
other than that….impressive.
The 25MM for HR goals is a bonus for big names on the HR list. Just like ARod has money coming to him for passing people on the all time HR list.
ahhh so just a legacy bonus, gotcha.
I think it might be the most fair contract to give the man the money he wants in my opinion. If he’s healthy he’ll get paid. 500 plate appearances break down into 125 games a season if he gets 4AB a game.
well, you won me over
This works for both sides. So it probably won’t happen.
I could be completely mistaken, but I thought I read somewhere that a MLB contract could not be front loaded meaning the later years have to be greater or equal $$$ as the early years…. Again I am not sure on this.
Drew, good point. What happens to fan interest if Pujols is in another uniform in 2012?
I know someone (a Phils fan) who was at a Red Sox/Phillies game in Boston, which the Sox were winning handily. He was sitting next to some Red Sox fans who were staying at the game only to watch Ryan Howard come up and hit again. Howard is no Pujols, but the great sluggers – and Pujols is one of them – put fannies in the seats.
Oh yeah no doubt. Like you said Howard is no Pujols. Pujols has been the definition of consistent since he arrived on the scene. He seems to be a class act and takes his job seriously. I’m sorry but I dont think Holliday will keep the fans in the seats like Albert has been doing.
Winning puts fannies in the seats. If Pujols is gone and the Cards are a playoff caliber team, Busch Stadium will be full.
To me, that is actually an upside if Albert walks(not saying I want him to). But there will be more pressure than ever on the front office to put a winner on the field.
Interesting idea. I think fans’ idea of a winner is a world series contender, and the Cardinals FO idea of a winner is a team that wins the NL Central.
Apparently you don’t watch playoff baseball. If you get into the playoffs you are a World Series contender.
Not if you’re the Twins playing the Yankees…
Hey at least you guys got Holiday though, right?!
Holliday, Rasmus, Molina, Wainwright, Garcia…..Not a bad core to build around, take some of the money saved and bring in a quality 1B/2B/RF This team could still compete without Albert.
Could this mean Prince could be a Cardinal?
No
He meant could this mean Prince could EAT a Cardinal
to which the answer is undoubtedly, yes
*insert witty Prince being vegetarian* comment
Damn.
Why limit yourself to just one Cardinal? Dare to dream big my friend.
He starts off with a Rasmus appetizer. Moves on to the Carpenter entree. Then finishes off with a molina pie and a La Russa aperitif.
You get the idea.
I agree. With the saved money, a couple of top pick ups, and pretty good core to build around, losing Pujols doesn’t equal losing seasons. If Pujols stays true, I don’t think Chicago would be his choice, just because of his desire to win.
Just because my Cubbies havent won a WS since 1908 doesnt mean that we dont have same desire to win as your Cardinals. He maybe the missing link to bringing another Championship back to Chi-Town
But he laughed at the idea when asked if he would play for the Cubs, and said he would not go to the Cubs. But I do take that with a grain of salt. He also said all he cared about was winning and being a Cardinal for life. So if he hits free agency, all bets are off.
So did Johnny Damon before he sold his soul to the Yankees Organization.
Did you just read the first sentence? Read the whole post! Geesh
Damon is a puppet to whatever team pays him. Last year there was no greater honor then putting on a Tigers uni. This year is that it’s always been a dream of his to play for the Rays
That’s really not that different from any player…
Also, I definitely remember Damon last year saying that he wanted to stay a Tiger, and them telling him they wanted to go a different way. You can’t really expect the man to retire just because Detroit was no longer interested in him…
Only a brain-dead GM would give a player over 30 years old a 10 year contract.
so… you’re saying theres a chance?
Yeah, only it take someone dumb enough to sign Kyle Lohse to a 4 year $44 million contract to go do that!
Which you think would put the Royals in the right spot for this one. . . š
So you’re saying Brian Cashman is brain dead?
I didn’t mention any names, but remarkably you came to your own conclusion about Cashman.
cashman didnt even do the arod deal…the owners did. cashman was against it from the beginning
Shhh….You don’t want to step in the way of a lame brain-dead joke with facts.
What would make this all really interesting is if the Cardinals win the world series this year, if Berkman hits .315ish and 30HR’s, Carpenter tanks…..then even more decisions would have to be made.
yea I’m pretty sure Berkman may hit .315…
And I win the powerball, the Royals go up for sale, I buy the Royals with my powerball money and bang Kim Kardashian
wow, your idea of a dream world consisted of a used up hoe… I was on board for Powerball, that sounds nice. Buying the Royals, ok ok… then Kardashian…
He didn’t say he wanted to date her… Then we could really jump down his throat
I know alot of used up ho’s that dont look as good as Kim K..or have 1/10th of her money…and are still able to get married and pop some kids with some truck driver named Rufus who is happy to have a good looking ho by his side.
I’m not sure what your point actually is here? Are you just bragging about knowing alot of ho’s? Biblically?
Dude, humphries is doing Kim, I’m pretty sure without any money she’s lowered herself to doing guys who aren’t that rich or good looking. ( no offense, just saying, you can prob get her now)
Hey, some people like to screw fans(David Glass) I like to screw hoes š
I appreciate your honesty. I feel you’ve made a real breakthrough here: First, one must admit he loves humping hoes, then progress will come
My names Jeff, and I have a problem….
If Albert is feeling alot of pressure from the union, it makes you wonder if there are offers on the table he is considering.
god I hate unions…
god I hate unions…
I’d like this all to just be posturing, but even if this doesn’t get done, I expect Pujols to remain a Cardinal.
Why? If Carpenter has a horrible year, you don’t pick up his option. Berkman was the wild card this year. The Cardinals always sign someone with high upside they can get on a one year deal, last year was Brad Penny. If Berkman has a great year, you say thank you and let him walk and get a nice contract from another team. Winning the world series has nothing to do with either scenario.
Reply Fail! This was to Josh H.
Can’t Disquis get something done about this? It seems to be getting worse.
Feel your pain, son, I mean friend. Sry…been catching up on BET today.
Kansas City even being in the same article with Albert made me laugh so dang hard.
Give him 10/275 and frontload it like A-Rod’s and everyone is happy.
Why? He is easily a $30MM per season caliber type player.
Why would you ever front load a contract?
So you’re not paying him $30 mil when he’s 40. On Arod’s disaster of a deal the one “saving grace” is that he’s “only (insert sarcastic tone” making $20 mil per towards the end. It makes it a little more tolerable I guess.
No, because of basic economics you want to be paying the player the most money in the years where the dollars are worth the least. This is why you don’t really see front loaded contracts. Why pay $30 million in 2011 when $30 million is worth less in 2015? This is the same logic behind deferred payments.
It doesn’t matter how old he’ll be at the end of the contract. The overall outlay is the same in actual dollars, but it would be extremely foolish to pay the premium at the outset of the contract. That you used possibly the worst contract in the game right now to make your point should tell you something.
Basic economics may tell you that, but economics are rarely, if ever, basic. Teams would consider a front loaded contract if they are going to be paying a player for his “older” years, like when Pujols/A-Rod are closing in on 40: they are going to have diminishing skills and the additional money off of the books would give the team extra money to find complimenting players keeping overall production per dollar the same, or similar. You also have the fact that the economy is at it’s lowest point in decades; the value of the dollar is also very low and likely will be for at least a couple more years, so in all likelihood a contract signed today would actually have a MORE valuable dollar at the end of the contract.
See the rest of this conversation wherever it happened to land while Disqus was screwing up the reply feature. Still doesn’t make sense.
If the dollar is likely to be worth more at the end of the contract than at the beginning it absolutely makes sense.
No, it still doesn’t make sense (even considering the unlikely event of a dollar being worth more in 10 years). Put the money in the bank, earn interest on that money. Now you have the money at the end of the contract and you have made interest (which is awesome because the dollar is now worth more!).
Why? All it did was say that he is from here in KC, and shot down any sort of rumors that the Royals might go after him. He would hurt the franchise more than he would help them with that sort of contract.
Sorry, but Stl is kinda screwed, here. If they keep Albert, though it will be great for the first five years of the contract, it will be very difficult on them the last 5. That is, they’re going to have to overpay for performance and will be hamstrung with other negotiations. And if they don’t sign Albert they’ve lost the face of their franchise, a lot of butts in the seats, and pretty much any hope of winning the Central the next several years. Pujols is sitting in the catbird seat.
Pfft. As if Pujols could outperform Billy Butler at any aspect of baseball.
Thanks for the laugh, Glass.
I eagerly await Billy Beane declaring his intention to sign Pujols in the off-season and then saying Albert is asking for too much ala Iwakuma.
That’s not the point. The Royals aren’t going to spend half of their payroll on one player. Now if you want to slam Glass for being a cheapo, that’s a different story.
The Red Sox and Yankee’s don’t have the opening at 1B. The Angels just got saddled with Wells for 20 million per year for the next 4 years. The Cubs have a lot of bad contracts on the books. St. Louis should just wait this out until after the year- theres no need to do anything. Lets see if he can get through another year healthy- he is aging and his best years are certainly behind him.
I guess you never heard of a trade. What team wouldn’t want Teixeira or A. Gonzalez?
All of the teams that couldn’t afford them. The only teams that would be interested in taking on Tex or Agon are teams that we are discussing as possibilities for Albert. So why if your a team interested in Albert are you going to take on a huge contract from another team, so they can pay the best player in the game? In this scenario the Yanks or Sox would have to take on some salary to make it worthwhile.
Because its not for 10/$300M. There are very few (if any) teams that can afford that, but there are teams that can take on say Teixeira’s remaining contract…. including the Cards.
So the Cards are going to do the Yankees a favor by taking Texeira off their hands so the Yankees can outbid them for Albert? No.
yeah, if the Cards had the ability to pay Tex $22 mil then my guess is they would somewhow find the money to pay Pujols.
I was listening to Cowherd on ESPN this morning and I had to laugh as he stated that the Cards didn’t really need Pujols and that if they didn’t sign Pujols then they can go out and sign Fielder and there would be no more than a 20% drop off in production. I guess he forgot that Fielder is a Boras client and will probably be seeking somewhere around $25 mil per too.
Oh My God. I was going to blow my brains out this morning listening to that tool. Did you notice how many things he said that weren’t even accurate? He quoted how Pujols’ doesn’t score a certain amount of runs, how his down-season this year was a sign of declining every year from now on, how because Pujols has been bad in two WS he’s not a big time hitter and he’d take Edgar Renteria over him. How because Bonds and Sosa only won two and one playoff series they weren’t worth their pay….OMG I can go on and on, that was the most maddening hour of simulcast radio I’ve ever heard/watched.
the remainder of Tex’s contract would be 5 years at 22 mil…
thats about 110 million dollars…
or about 190 million LESS than what Pujols is asking for…
Tex’s contract would END at Age 36…
Pujols’s contract would BEGIN at Age 32
Tex’s contract in conxtext with Pujols’s potential 30 mil 10 year deal is no where even remotely close
No Tex’s contract is going to be pretty toxic to other teams, they did a story on him and how he is going to decline gradually as his remaining 6 years goes by.
Well I guess if a writer says it’s so then it is? If you consider that Tex suffered thru a broken thumb, brusied big toe and pulled hammy he still had a pretty d@mn good year with 33 hrs and a .365 OBP. His contract ends when he’s 36 which I think is the right age to be done paying a guy that much (Yeah I’m looking at you Jeter).
Not to mention the whole no trade protection that Pujols has.
Not talking about trading Pujols. Talking about one of the teams that already have a 1st baseman signing Pujols and then trading their present 1st baseman.
The idea would be illogical, considering Pujols’ age at the end of a contract and the big contracts already made to the first basemen on the Red Sox and Yankees. Likely if they were traded, they’d benefit the other team more than themselves (Phillies Lee for Halladay trade) and may have to eat up the contract. It’s just not a very smart move, sorry. Now signing him as a 1B and moving one of them to DH would work, but I don’t think any of those 1st basemen would want to be DH.
I know the Yankees already have too many DH types to move Teixeira to DH. Let me pose a question, If Pujols walks and you are the Cards, would you sign Teixeira for 5/$112.5M?
yes, but add in the giving up top prospects the yanks would want, no. Also doesn’t Tex have no trade protection? Or do we just completely ignore all of that in our little fantasy world here?
Not at his age of 32 to age 37, you want to play Nationals?
What big contract does the Red Sox first baseman have? 6.5 million for this year and then what? its pure speculation Adrian has a contract in place, you don’t think the teams that benefit from the shared revenue would cry foul? how about MLB coming down on them for fraud? They have no deal, just perimeters meaning they now now what it would take to get a deal done but there is no deal.
Adrian wouldnt break any team’s bank this year, if a team was to take him off the Red Sox’s hands they would owe him a whopping 6.5 million dollars, and then get two draft picks if they couldn’t sign him for what he wants at around 20 million a season, he stated he doesn’t want Pujols money, so he will sign for less than whatever Pujols gets which I estimated at around 28 million a year.
The Cubs have 72MM in guaranteed contracts for 2012. Their 2010 budget was 146MM.
and something like 48 mill in 2013
and its probably not in the cubs best interest moving forward to give albert(shut up everyone I know its albert) a 10/300 contract….yes the cubs have a ton of money and a bunch of money coming off the books. But Jim hendry in his infinite genius back loaded most of those contracts and has deferred payments to most of his roster. I could see the cubs coming uip with 28+ next season yes but 28+ for ten years? nope…not with the way wrigley is in serious decline and i doubt the city of chicago would give them the fun to rebuild it on tax payers dollars not with how in debt the city is…ricketts is going to have to pay for either a new ballpark(smartest option and make wrigley a landmark) or for continous rebuilds to that crappy crappy ballpark
Let’s start a fight on Wrigley here, smart. The Ricketts’ have expressed their desire to do a Fenway type renovation to a great ballpark.
Think about the revenue generated from sigining Pujols to a big market. It has international potential. And if he brings a WS to the Cubs, I can’t even imagine the extra revenue that would bring in.
Cubs have a ton of money coming off the books so I don’t see signing Pujols being a problem if he’s willing. I think they can have as much as $60 mil coming off the books (probably $50 after subtracting the buyouts). Considering Pena gets $10 mil then that would only be an additional $20 mil to add Pujols.
No player is worth $30 million. If the Cardinals sign him for that kind of money, they shouldn’t count on getting anything much else in the offseason. And Pujols will not automatically walz his team into the playoffs. The Cards missed the playoffs last year and have only won in 2006 (somehow as the worst team). So, why pay 30 million a year for a single player who can’t guarantee a playoff spot? If he leaves, someone else can be a franchise favorite. He’s not the only good baseball player out there. There are other MUCH cheaper and still successful options.
its funny…cuz 20 years ago…someone probably once said…NO player is worth 3 million a year..
i hate this whole thing and im not even a cards fan. I would love to see albert on one team his whole career. BUt from a business stand point giving a 10 year deal to a guy who has elbow problems and would be in his 40’s at the end of the deal making 27+ mill a season business wise its not that great of a deal. If the cards were in the AL yeah sure go for it, then he can DH, or if the cards can restructure Hollidays deal(maybe back load it more or defer even more payments) Then sure do it. Or if that cards can honestly look at the team now and whats in the pipeline and say. “you know what with albert, and matt and colby here for a good 4 more years together we can sacrifice some pitching then yes” But that means buying carpenter out, possibly trading wainwright and not being able to improve the team for years to come. I understand Where albert is coming from, he is the best and by the end of his career many of us will be saying “hey i saw the best hitter ever to play the game” But that kind of deal really in the long run hurts the franchise. Which is why I’m still surprised albert is doing this. The same guy who has said for years that the money does not matter and that he just wants to win. There was an interview with him a few years back from MLB or ESPN i dont remember where he was talking about contracts. And he said that its not about the money, he has gotten his fair share of money and he just wants to win again(it was after 06 i believe) Well maybe he should listen to his own words. and look at the evidence from other teams with monster years. Wells hurt the Jays, and will hurt the Angles, Zito hurt the giants(untill they caught lightning in a bottle this past season) Arod hurt the rangers(the only reason he wont hurt the Yankees is because of the DH, he will go there soon, and because they have more money than god) Hampton hurt the rockies, Peavy hurt the padres, Hafner is hurting the indians, Griffey hurt the reds, Howard will hurt the Phillies, oswalt hurt the Astros…There is more than enough evidence to show that HUGE monster Deals hurt teams chances of winning more than anything…Look at the yakees before 09 They had what 10 years without winning one because they had huge contracts all over the field….Albert if you want to win take a discount(250 is still more money than anyone needs) But if you are not willing to do that, which i think we all understand. Then the Cards cant look bad at all for not being able to resign him. Baseball is about putting the best team on the field year in and year out and if they cant afford albert then its not their fault. Yes its a no win situation for the cards. They either let Albert walk(because he wont let them trade hi for some reason, even though it might give the team the best chance to make up for losing him and it might give him the best chance to win a WS again sooner than later) OR they sign albert to a 10yr 300 mill deal that hamstrings the club for many years….What about a 8 year 250 mill deal…add another 10-20 mill in HR goal incentives+ 5 for every MVP WON+10 FOR WS MVP.+ the typical 500K for silver slugger, gold glove+10-20 mill for tripple crown…and throw in a team buyout at some point maybe before the 7th season(incase of injury or slowing in production) Give albert an opt out after the 5th year…make the 8th year a player option, 9th a vesting or mutual option and the 10th a club option….bring the total value of the contract upwards of 300+ and keeps him there longer….offer him a front office job clause in there as well
WALL
There’s this thing.. its called a paragraph…
Yeah, my English teacher always used to say the same thing. That guy was a tool.
Albert wants to win. Check
Albert loves St. Louis. Check
Money is no issue to Albert. Check
Than why not take a small discount to win on the team you love?
If he takes this so called discount… and it really is a discount, giving room for the Cardinals to improve and bring in other guys then St. Louis could become one of the toughest teams to get threw in the next decade. Possible a dynasty.
So, Albert can get his wish. He can make this a lot easier on everyone if he truly wants to win and is not all about the money.
I dont blame any athletes to go for the money if thats what they want. They worked hard enough to get to the level they are at but Albert Pujols has the power to get paid very high, contend with the team he loves, and win world series for years to come if he wants.
Which finally would be a WINWin situation for the player and the St. Louis Cardinals.
I like all of the checks, because that is what it will take: a Check
I like that you wrote, “I dont blame any athletes to go for the money if thats what they want. They worked hard enough to get to the level they…”
I agree 1 trillion percent
could it be pujols 10 yr / 300 mil to the yanks in 2011
SS d. jeter
2B r. cano
1B a. pujols
3B arod
RF m. teixeira
C j. montero
DH j. posada
LF n. swisher
CF c. granderson
LOL
Yes add to an already potent offense, but leave a already thinned rotation to rely on. good work
Tex in RF? Dude, see a doctor.
It worked for him on PS3.
Just dump Posada, he is terrible at this point. Pujols at 1B, Teixeira at DH.
So when Arod cant field, Tex and Arod will platoon at DH? lol
Teixeira in right??? lmao
“Ground ball hit to $31 mil, $31 mil flips the ball to $15 mil for 1 out and to $30 mil @ 1st for the double play. Another fine DP by the Cash Money Boys”.
Pujols will not be coming to NY. Not that there are any great FA starting pitchers next year but we need to spend money where it matters most…on whoever is the best Scott Boras closer available next year!
Did that Royals Official say that for 300 million someone could own the Royals? where can i get the paperwork?
You Cub fans are delusional too, I don’t care how much money is coming off the books this year, you don’t pay him 30 million once, he wants a check every year, are you going to have another 30 million come off the books in 2012? and 2013? who will play the other positions?
In 2010 the Cubs supported the third-largest payroll in baseball. If they stay around 150MM and pay someone 30MM, they still have 120MM to allocate toward other players.
“you don’t pay him 30 million once, he wants a check every year, are you going to have another 30 million come off the books in 2012? and 2013?”
I don’t even know what to say about this. Why is there no facepalm emoticon on here?
I also can’t blame the Cardinals other than they knew this would happen when they extended Matt Holliday, but come one 30 million for one player? doesn’t anyone remember what happened to Texas when they thought they could pay A-Rod 252? They couldn’t, it crippled them, any Cards fan that wishes their team to be crippled is no fan at all, not saying Albert doesn’t deserve a good contract but he also has to come back down to reality and see that as he makes a lot of money, the people who come to the ball park every day are wanting discounts because some struggle from paycheck to paycheck, or maybe he doesn’t watch the news on just how well we as a nation are doing.
I think a mid-sized market like the Cards or the CUbs CAN afford to pay Pujols $30 mil per but they would absolutely have to be creative and depend on their farm to save money and couldn’t make signings like Berkman.
Also, it’s just hard for me to beleive that a team with the 4th best record in attendance @ 3.3 mil and the 14th highest payroll can’t afford to up their payroll more. I understand some bigger market teams have TV contracts that help their ability to spend but shouldn’t the Cards be able to do at least hover around $115-$120 mil?
I’ve been saying that for years, you want to buy into the team? People around here have believed Bill DeWitt is cheap for years. He claimed the Cardinals lost money last year, not sure how that’s possible. They seem to be able to magically raise payroll every single time they need to, but always seem to complain about how much it cost to run a baseball team when they do it. As much as I detest your Yankees, Stienbrenner always wanted to win first. I’ve always felt DeWitt just wants to turn a profit on the Cardinals when he’s sick of owning the team.
The problem is obvious, its Pujols’ agent. Here’s a guy trying to make a name for himself, at the expense of the Cardinals and the fans of St. Louis. Every single Cardinal fan that reads this knows the Albert Pujols we’ve watched for 10 years is not the same Albert Pujols that’s negotiating a contract with the Cardinals right now. He’s said countless times that its not about the money, that he wants to be a Cardinal for life. Remember how he hosted the All Star on behalf of the Cardinals, then jumped in Rasmus’ face for demanding a trade? All the times he’s stood up for the organization and the fans? Agents are scum, I understand they have a purpose, but this goes beyond what that purpose is. Pujols’ agent is just trying to put his name in lights right next to Scott Boras, he could care less about Stan Musial, the St. Louis Cardinals and all that stuff. He just cares about money. I think what LaRussa is saying is just an example of the frustration that we are all feeling because we know this isn’t right, something is out of place and its Dan Lozano. I’m glad LaRussa said something, because nobody else has said anything, I do think the Players Union is involved in this, but think that LaRussa is pointing a finger at the wrong person, but probably intentionally simply because so far, nobody has stood on the side of the Cardinals Fans until Tony just spoke his mind, Thanks Tony, Keep it up, somebody is going to have to get though to Pujols that his agent his hijacking his track record, and talent, and causing people to take sides against the Cardinals or Pujols.
Pujols’ agent serves at Pujols’ pleasure.
It is nice to finally get some insight from somebody with intimate knowledge of the situation…
Albert’s agent works for Albert. If Albert wanted to take a big hometown discount, Albert would take a big hometown discount. You are being very niave about this if you really believe this has nothing to do with Albert.
It’s likely if anything, Pujols’ agent is the one who had Pujols say those nice things about the Cards and their franchise in the first place.
Very well could be. When a player says things like that it puts alot of pressure on the front office. Holliday did the same thing. Talked about how much he loved his time in St. Louis and blah blah blah. Well when he hit free agency all the fans cried “he loves it here, just sign him Mo” When in reality, he was going to the highest bidder and did not care what uniform he put on.
That’s a lot of Albert…
Pujols’ agent shouldn’t care about Stan Musial or the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s his JOB to do as Pujols wishes and I guarantee you that ALbert is the one issuing HIS will to his agent and not the other way around. Please consider all agents “Tony Montana”…the bad guy. You need someone to be mad at. But in reality, I’ve never, ever heard of a situation where a player signed anywhere because his agent made him do it.
Be a fan and love your team but don’t for a second think that Pujols isn’t in control of his camp.
well, if that is the case then, Pujols is just a fraud then, I would like to believe he’s not, but when you make yourself the poster boy of the franchise, tell everybody that supports you that its not about the money, and then turn around and demand the moon, your just a fraud. As unrealistic as it maybe, your contract shouldn’t be what determines how good you are, it should be what you do on the field. The reason people in St. Louis are so worked up about this is because this guy has made himself the franchise, made himself the team leader, posed for pictures with Stan Musial, acted as an ambassador of St. Louis during the All Star Game and made demands to keep the team competative, all of which have been met, and then turns around and says basically, now that you’ve done all that, prove to me you want me, but giving me more money that you can afford. Your Yankees or Red Sox or Phillies may be able to throw that much money for that long a time at a player, but a smaller market team cant. People feel like they’ve been lied to all along, betrayed, and for what? What else was this city suppose to do to make Albert happy enough to back what he said about staying here when the money didn’t matter?
I think the Union should just FO, they have already gotten one present this year in Werths contract. I hope Pujols re-signs for what he is worth and not for what A-Rod and Boras needed for their egos.
as soon as someone offers him 10/275…he’s on a plane getting a physical
Except that he’s not a free agent?
Doesn’t mean he can’t take a physical on a plane!
does that qualify as the mile high club if he has to cough?
Southwards… meaning what? 25? 26? 29?
8 years in a compromise .. TAKE IT ALBERT!
Put him in the position to either get the largest contract ever or reject one of the largest contracts ever!
Cuz he may never see an offer this large
Why did you delete your previous post? Probably because you realized you were wrong. While not specifically prohibited, offering a player ownership is still not “possible.” What don’t you understand about this? Pujols would be forced to leave the MLBPA and forfeit all the rights that provides. It unravels very quickly from there.
“Deleted another one huh? Don’t worry I got it in my email. I’ll save you the embarrassment of posting it here and skewering its ridiculousness. You’re welcome.”
Go ahead CrackDude48, although I dont think there really is a way to delete what you have posted (at least I havent really had a need to find out if you can) and no, I have absolutely no regret nor reason to delete my posts.
So, say what you got to say and for God sakes quit being a coward and “flagging” my post because we all know thats what your doing.
What’s my doing? And why would I want to flag your posts? I want your (not you’re!) lack of baseball acumen to stay up. It may be because you have no actual argument so you resorted to personal attacks.
Pujols has to take this deal. No matter how many times La Russa and him say “it won’t bother us during the season”, it will.
I think he actually might. As long at it is above 26, 27 million. This might get done. I was afraid the conservative Cardinals were going to low ball the hell out of him and just see if they could pitch an offer during the season.
Im very surprised to see it just “south of 30” which means it has to be between 25-29.
I was ready to hear that the Cards offered Albert 20 for 7yr or something. Being this close to the deadline and the Cardinals are actually making a legitimate push to just get the deal done?? Well done so far Mo. Your on the right track for STL to keep liking you! If we all find out Pujols turns done an 8 year 29million contract thats enough for me to at least settle if we do in deed loose him and say well, at least we tried.
Unless “south of” 30 per is 25…then this is nuts. What a tool. Not a Cards fan but my GOD.
Which it prob is. That or these reports are false. Im just happy to see something actually happening. Guess we will know tomorrow.
But, I think it is safe to assume that the Cardinals organization as well as Albert understand this is going to be a major distraction both for the club and Alberts contract year, so if it is only for 25 for 8….Thats still an amazing offer. Considering the cost of living in STL is much cheaper than the east and west coast and maybe the Cards are thinking they may get a no tonight and they could add a few more mill on top as minute tomorrow.
im not an economist or personal financial advisor, but when you sign a $200M+ contract cost of living no longer applies
haha very true.. but if there is a difference between making 28 mil a year or 30 mil it just might.
regardless of what kinda money pujols takes in your theoretical hometown discount…the cards arent going to improve and certainly wont become a dynasty. They’re aging. Rasmus and Wainwright are going to get very expensive and the farm system is terrible.
Are you actually getting upset because there is an upside for STL? haha, whatever dude.
Whos aging? What is this a rip from ESPN laker talks? Cardinals are fine.. La Russa is the only one aging
Call me when KC get a decent franchise.
carp, pujols, berkman, yadier…all of their decent players but rasmus and wainwright…who are going to be very expensive within a couple of years. you’re a cardinals fan, do you see dewitt opening up the checkbook significantly? Thats the only way the Cardinals improve as a team. Or maybe for some reason, you’re the one person in the world who thinks the farm system is good? Or maybe you’re just another delusional cardinals fan.
Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto…he’s already got his name…he’s a huge baseball agent already
Patrick, this is the reply button. Reply button, Patrick š
i replied properly…i blame the disqus/yahoo shit…i can see acidentally missing the reply button once…but not like 5 times.
The logic, at least from a baseball perspective, is that you’re paying them more for the years where the productivity will most likely be the highest and less when you assume the production will taper off.
If Pujols hits .320, 42 hrs and .420 OBP in 2012 and slowly tapers off to .285. 25 hrs and .380 by age 38 then the team has more payroll flexibility towards the later years to compensate for the production falloff.
Also, if $30 mil is less in 2015 then by that reason isn’t $20 mil even lesser thus making the falloff in production more tolerable?
I understand what you’re saying, but it’s still unsound finance (again, which is why very few contracts are structured that way). The Yankees are going to end up paying money they shouldn’t have to. The Yankees especially shouldn’t be worried about the year in, year out payroll but rather making good business decisions. The contracts they come up with though don’t seem to show that they’re good at much more than having the money to spend.
The last point you make is sort of ridiculous.
That’s youropinion but I thing it’s quite logical to pay someone their market value when they are in their prime vs when they are in their declining years. For younger players it doesn’t matter because the assumption is that they will get better as they enter their prime years.
Just in theory..
If the Yanks signed Lee for 7/$161 mil and structured the payments as such:
2011 @ $30, 2012 @ $30, 2013 @ $25, 2014 @ $23, 2015 @ $21 mil, 2016 @ $18 and 2017 @ 14 mil.
From 2011-2013 you figure to get elite production. In years 2016 and 2017 probably more like a mid rotation #3 or #4 guy. Why not pay less for what you expect him to be rather an avg of $23 per thru 2017? It’s less of a toll on the payroll and makes him easier to move if needed and it also frees up money to supplement the decreased production.
The idea that you’re paying less is completely false. All you’ve done is spend those dollars in the years they have the most value. The total contract value is exactly the same and the AAV is the same for luxury tax purposes. Quite simply, that kind of contract is the team pissing away money.
If you can afford $30 in the first few years, why not put that money aside in a high-interest account where you can make money on it over the life of the contract and not the player? Again, there’s a reason teams don’t generally do this, and in A-Rod’s case I’m sure the player and agent were quite happy to get those dollars early in the contract (and certainly pushed for it).
That’s your opinion. I think most would see it as structuring a long-term contract to try and pay market value for expected performances.
If the “average” mega star is getting paid $22-$25 mil and Pujols is the best then paying him $30 mil is not insane. 5 years from now when he probably ISN’T going to be the best but still very good then paying him $20 mil seems a lot better. The total dollars are the same overall but whatever money not being directed towards AP at age 37-38 can be used to pay another player who might supplement whatever you’re getting from AP at that time.
I can see the logic in paying AP $30 mil while Rasmus is in his cost-controlled years and then 4 or 5 years from now paying him $20 mil and allocating that other $10 mil towards paying Rasmus during his “market value” years when he’s not under team control and deserves an extension. To me it’s about payroll flexibility. But we can agree to disagree.
Agreed!
And he even misused WAR. He even tried to make the arguement using Bat avg and that there wasn’t a big deal between Pujols and player “B” because the difference in his bat avg and player “B” was only 10-12 hits. It was a silly arguement using inaccurate facts to try and prove his point.
Are you sure your not the real Scott Boras?
“Patrick, this is the reply button. Reply button, Patrick :)”
Irony, this is Stl_cards. Stl_cards meet irony. Wow..haha.
Hey I put a :). Fantasy_Theo needs to teach you what that means.
Hey why dont you go post about how C.C. Sabathia is about to opt out of his contract with your Yankees. I mean you have been a fan since 78 and all…
Brilliant comeback! I guess the Cards might be in one Sabathia if he does opt out because it seems like they have at least an extra $16mil in AP money to throw around this winter. You really want to go there dude?
he’s gonna opt out….get 3 more years added on his contract with a couple million more per year….CC is a complete nonstory.
How awesome is it going to be when Pujols signs that 8 year deal at more of an AAV than A-Rod?
awesome for who?…like arod cares…he’ll still have made like 150-200 million more in his career than pujols…just as many WS…more HRs…etc
Pujols is also 5 years younger and never been involved in a PED scandal
It won’t be raining in Chicago…. those are tears.
He will be with Halos next year. They have the money and a post
na.. you guys can have Loshe though. I heard him and Pineiro make a great 1-2
I really think the Cardinals need to think outside the box on this contract. The Cardinals should offer Pujols a deal that this year, and next year will pay him 20M/year (40M), then when the horrible Lohse contract is over (12M/year), his pay will jump to 32M/year for the next 5 years (160M + 40M = 200M). At that point, the Cardinals will own 3 team options which become player options based on MVP voting. A top 3 finish in one year will make the year 8 option a player option for 20M, a two top 3 finishes changes the year 9 a player option for 15M, and a third top 3 finish will make year 10 a 10M option. In the event the top 3 finish occurs the year before the option (year 7), then a 3M bonus would kick in. In the event the team option does not turn into a player option, it will include a 5M buyout. This would bring the contract to 10 years, 245M, and that does not include the deferred money the Cardinals will pay, 5M/year for 11 years at the end of the 10 year commitments, for a grand total of 10 years, 300M. This situation will allow the Cardinals to maintain their current roster structure, and be able to re-sign Rasmus and Wainwright (using the Berkman and Carpenter money) while keeping their franchise player. It would become the biggest contract in baseball (satisfying the players union) while not completely handcuffing the Cardinals’ future.
Just giving him Loshe’s contract and you’ve exceeded what he’s asking.
If your about to pay one person over 200 million dollars, your going to weigh every option. Trust me, Im sure they have a team working out every end of this deal.
TBrownYahoo Tim Brown
Source close to Pujols camp: Reports of a Cardinals offer today to Pujols is, “inaccurate, reckless and outrageous.”
I’ll be very interested to know all these “sources” after the fact, using words like inaccurate, reckless and outrageous” are words thrown together by somebody that sounds very frustrated with something.
“inaccurate, reckless and outrageous.”
Did Jackie Chiles say that?
Wow these post have been absolutely ridiculous…
FIGURE OUT YOUR SOURCES STORIES BEFORE YOU BROADCAST or “TWEET” THEM!
Pujols to the Phillies next offseason. Move Howard to #5 starter.
thats dumb.
Howard is a way better shortstop.
I dunno man, I kinda like his wheels. He looks more like a CF to me.
8/222 GET IT DONE
I see Heyman just doesn’t know when to stop making a fool out of himself..
Funny how it goes from no one knowing anything about the negotiations to all of a sudden and with in 30 mins, everyone like Scott Miller knows all the details.
“Pujols Cards far apart”
“Cubs might be front runners for Pujols”
“Pujols gets offer”
“Pujols rejects offer 2 weeks ago”
“Pujols get offered 8 years”
“Pujols wont sign by deadline”
Haha, Im actually laughing at myself for wasting a lot of time following and reading this BS.
We will be the closest tomorrow at noon.
Sure, pay a 39 year old ballplayer $26-27M, that’s a good idea.
Albert Pujols doesn’t get old, old gets Albert Pujols
We’re looking at an owners’ lockout before 2012 as it is, and no telling how long it will be. I look at it that it could be for a very long time as the majority owners will be pushing for expanded revenue sharing, mainly that the local TV revenues are included with the national, and The Players’ Union doesn’t bend. The Cardinals are telling Pujols we’ll check back with you after the next bargaining agreement. What club wouldn’t with the with the majority expecting the salary inflation corrected from MLB’s current bad “King-of-Beers” business model?! The Yankees are Anheuser Busch (Inbev) and the Red Sox MillerCoors (SAB) as MLB has allowed this rivalry and that entertainment value business interest to control the game. Lest we forget, it’s the owners as The Board of
Directors, Mr. Commissioner!! Now you see why Selig’s stepping down? The system has panzied him all along, he forsee’s this conflict coming, and refuses to put up with it anymore.