Pujols Signs With Angels

[jagtrader]

Yeah, sad is the only emotion for me. Not devastated by any means. Just sad.

[Slider]

I'm very sad that my son will not get to grow up watching the greatest Cardinal I've ever seen.

That's all I have to say about it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and I am even more sad that the big kid (me) won't get to have his musial

[JunkBondTrader]

Did we really even offer him 10/220ish? I thought people were saying that wasn't even true?

[Spider John]

I love the P-D drama headline:

" PUJOLS TURNS HIS BACK ON ST. LOUIS"

[Transmogrified Tiger]

A better baseball team, and the resources to stay a better baseball team?

The Angels are that much of a better team? Take Albert off both rosters for a moment, and I think they are pretty even. The Angels being a tiny bit better of a team right now had to be a small factor compared to the money.

Your point that the Angels have the resources to stay a better team...uh, "resources" means money. And resources are no guarantee of success, either.

I agree this makes the Angels better on paper for the next few years. It will remain to be seen if this contract makes the Angels the better team 6+ years from now.

I don't really want to get into a big discussion about the relative merits of the Cards without Pujols v. the Angels without Pujols, so I'll just leave it at I think the Angels are the better team, and they'll have the money to stay that good, while there may not be 100% certainty of that in St. Louis.

But ultimately, that's not the true point. The Angels offered him a bunch more money, they offer a larger market and hispanic community, probably a better team as discussed above, and the DH to help keep his body in shape to reach career milestones. The only thing that he truly turned down was longevity with the Cardinals. Obviously that means more to some than others, but I don't know if there's an example of someone turning down so much to stay where the only relative benefit is the legacy of staying in one place.

It sucks because there's no real place to target the sadness at losing Albert. In hindsight, the only way to maybe have convinced him to stay was to pay him more prior to now(which obviously would not be popular), and that might not even have worked. You can laugh at the Angels I guess(because unless Pujols hits optimistic projections and has a bunch of deferred money, that's going to be a hefty NPV for them), but you can't blame Albert or St. Louis for the decision.

[Michael]

Did we really even offer him 10/220ish? I thought people were saying that wasn't even true?

There were reports the 10th year was some sort of option. I suspect 9/200 is closer to the true value.

[sighyoung]

So does the WS take away some of the sting of this for you or does this news somehow/somewhat overshadow the WS for you?

Yes, the WS helps quite a bit. But frankly, life goes on. I'm currently moving my mother out of her home of 53 years. Pujols is the least of my concerns in life right now.

[OmahaCard79]

Albert said that "he'd go wherever God took him" in regards to free agency. God Money wants him in LA apparently.

That's the only thing that bothers me about this process. He said it was all about God, family, and winning.

It's obvious it was about Money, money, and more money!

I wish I had the actual quote to put in my sig where he said it was about winning and family. I've lost a ton of respect for the guy. I still respect him as an amazing baseball player, but I think he's a lousy guy that's shown his true colors.

[Cronos]

Yes, the WS helps quite a bit. But frankly, life goes on. I'm currently moving my mother out of her home of 53 years. Pujols is the least of my concerns in life right now.

I feel you, Sigh (and feel for you). I also have quite a few things on my plate right now. As much as the baseball fan in me is disappointed, this is the least of my concerns at the moment.

[Cronos]

...At $250 million over 10 years, the Angels are essentially paying for something close to 40 wins over the life of the deal. In order to believe he’ll produce at that level, you need to see Pujols as something close to a +6.7 win player now and will age fairly well, which is possible but is not the most likely outcome in this scenario. You also need to believe that he’s not lying about his age – if he is, there’s almost no chance this deal works for Anaheim. And, of course, you need him to stay healthy, which bigger guys often can’t do in their thirties. The Angels have absorbed a massive amount of risk by guaranteeing Pujols this much money for so long, and while the potential for him to earn it is there, it’s not clear that this is the best path they could have taken...

...If the Cardinals had signed him to this same deal, I think I probably could have talked myself into it. Pujols is great enough that this kind of contract isn’t totally crazy on its face, but when you look at the context of the Angels situation and how much this actually improves them, I just don’t know that this is how they should have spent $250 million. Perhaps Arte Moreno will approve payroll increases up to $200 million and they’ll be able to keep the core of their team together, but if I was an Angels fan, I’d be a little worried that I might be heading to the park to watch Pujols play with a cast of teammates that just aren’t quite good enough to keep up with the Rangers in the AL West.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... rt-pujols/