Pujols Signs With Angels

[ilstu24]

I wish I could sig that entire article.

[CardsofSTL]

I'm disappointed. I really don't blame Albert or anyone for taking the best deal they can get; but he could have been Musial-esque; now he is just like every other player in the big leagues that puts dollars over everything else. And that has to be the case here; because you can say that the Angels will have a chance to compete for a championship; but no greater a chance than St. Louis would have to repeat with Albert in the lineup. I still think the Cardinals will have a competitive team and a legitimate shot; but I don't think you can believe that winning is the most important thing to a player when that player leaves the only team in the majors that has been in three world series with two championships in the last ten years. The Yankees have also been in three series with one championship. So if you care about winning and you pay attention to recent history; you choose St. Louis over LA every day of the week. I still appreciate what Albert did for St. Louis and will always consider him one of the greatest; but this is just a disappointing turn in his story.

[docellis]

[docellis]

allen craig is on 101.1 right now

[planet planet]

Is Albert Pujols Really Worth $250 million?

The same word of caution that applies to the Angels should foster some optimism in St. Louis. The Cardinals just won the World Series. They did it without staff ace Adam Wainwright. They did it with old retreads Ryan Franklin and Miguel Batista anchoring the back end of the bullpen early in the year. They did it with Pujols playing worse than he ever had before. With playoff hero Allen Craig likely to crash the lineup (and Lance Berkman moving to first base), this should still be a strong offense. The Cards also suddenly have a big chunk of disposable income, which they could use to do anything from pursue Prince Fielder (the last elite free agent on the market), go after Jimmy Rollins to play short, or trade some of their pitching depth for a big-ticket player whose salary might be weighing on his current team.

Just as you can't plan a parade just yet in Anaheim, you shouldn't discount a potential repeat run for the Cardinals. One player can certainly nudge a team toward a championship. But he can't guarantee it. Not even close.

[CardsofSTL]

“Some debate about what hat Albert wears into Cooperstown. Barring career-ending injury in 2 years, though, after today, has to be ANA, yes?”

I don't understand that at all. His next 10 years there are probably going to have to trump the 11 he had here, or at least come close. That means 3 pennants, 2 WS titles, 3 MVP awards (and 4 second place finishes), 2,073 hits, 445 HRs, 2 Gold Gloves... Does anyone really think his next 10 years are going to be more fruitful than that? Or even come close?

I was thinking about that, too........ but does he get to pick?

If he gets to pick, then it's pretty clear where his loyalties are. It's not with St. Louis. (I hope that doesn't sound too whiney)

I believe that the Hall of Fame chooses the hat. And as I said earlier, I agree that Pujols' career in Los Angeles is unlikely to trump his accomplishments in St. Louis. If Leitch were a betting man, I'd take that bet and wager that Pujols enters Cooperstown in a Cardinals hat.

I think there was a rule change a few years back in which the Hall includes the inductee on the decision; but the Hall makes the choice based on where the player made the most impact.

[Fat Strat]

Finally home and get to weigh in on this. Spent the day in StL. Heard the news right when it happened and followed it all day, but couldn't actually post until now.

I'm really happy and somewhat surprised at the reactions that I've heard. Few people are being unreasonable about this. The deals from the Marlins and the Angels were a great deal better than what the Cards could offer in good conscience. Heading into this, I expected that I would have to suffer through months of complaining and 2nd guessing of the way the organization handled the negotiations if he signed elsewhere. But, the way this all went down there's very little to say about Mo and DeWitt. We made a solid offer. A great offer. A huge offer. Far more years than what I wanted them to offer (about the same total money). And we still got been by at least $34M (probably more).

In the end, the amount that Pujols signed for is ridiculous; it would have been hamstrung the organization. For the Angels, though, with deeper pockets and the DH available, it makes more sense. They have a TV contract that will cover the added payroll they'll need to take on in order to continue operating at their normal levels. It works for them. It doesn't work for us.

Thanks Albert! 11 great seasons. So many memories. You leaving doesn't sour any of them. You shouldn't have to apologize for your decision and we shouldn't begrudge you the right to sign for that much more money (and if we did so, it would be us who were just being greedy). Good luck in Anaheim. I'll still be rooting for you. When you're not playing the Cardinals.

[Radbird]

Reading this made me feel a bit better:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove11/story ... s-st-louis

Especially this quote -

"I think Billy Beane said it perfectly: 'You can always recover from the player you don't sign. You can never recover from the player you signed at the wrong price,'" said an NL GM. "There's some truth in that. Everybody is replaceable. But if you make a mistake and sign the wrong guy, that can be crippling."

Given that we got the best first 11 years ever of a career (at a price that I'm sure was well short of $250M), the fact that the Angels, not us, pay for the next 10 years based on the production we've already received is settling well with me. You don't have to wish Albert ill to project that his last 10 years will not equal what he did while wearing the Birds-on-the-Bat.

So I'm in better shape than I thought I'd be. And as I said many pages ago, looking forward to a new era of Cardinals baseball.

[Socnorb11]

Finally home and get to weigh in on this. Spent the day in StL. Heard the news right when it happened and followed it all day, but couldn't actually post until now.

I'm really happy and somewhat surprised at the reactions that I've heard. Few people are being unreasonable about this. The deals from the Marlins and the Angels were a great deal better than what the Cards could offer in good conscience. Heading into this, I expected that I would have to suffer through months of complaining and 2nd guessing of the way the organization handled the negotiations if he signed elsewhere. But, the way this all went down there's very little to say about Mo and DeWitt. We made a solid offer. A great offer. A huge offer. Far more years than what I wanted them to offer (about the same total money). And we still got been by at least $34M (probably more).

In the end, the amount that Pujols signed for is ridiculous; it would have been hamstrung the organization. For the Angels, though, with deeper pockets and the DH available, it makes more sense. They have a TV contract that will cover the added payroll they'll need to take on in order to continue operating at their normal levels. It works for them. It doesn't work for us.

Thanks Albert! 11 great seasons. So many memories. You leaving doesn't sour any of them. You shouldn't have to apologize for your decision and we shouldn't begrudge you the right to sign for that much more money (and if we did so, it would be us who were just being greedy). Good luck in Anaheim. I'll still be rooting for you. When you're not playing the Cardinals.

Good post, Fat.

He shouldn't have to apologize for taking more money, but he should apologize for his hypocritical stance about what was important to him. You can't have it both ways. You can't put on a sentimental front, but then do a turnabout when push comes to shove.

[docellis]

Given that we got the best first 11 years ever of a career (at a price that I'm sure was well short of $250M),

i think it was around 100 mil