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Jocephus wrote:it'll be kinda ironic/funny if TLR has more of a legacy in stl than pujols

At the moment, 10 is untouchable, but anybody can have 5, in my opinion. So yea, I think LaRussa will have a stronger legacy.

Michael wrote:

12veinte12 wrote:And, inevitably, Larussa weighs in

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball ... 11538.html

Retired TLR is awesome. I agree with everything he said.

I feel the same way...you can hear the lawyer in him come out when he said, "He shouldn't have said it isn't about money in 2009..." (paraphrased)

IF both sides wanted Pujols to be a Cardinal, then there is always a solution...always a compromise. In my opinion, one of the sides didn't want it to happen, maybe both, I just haven't figured out which side yet..or why. Maybe the Pujols-Cardinal FO relationship soured over the past two years. Maybe egos got in the way. I don't know.

If things went south, then you have to commend both sides for keeping it cordial (to the outside world) mainly for the fact that there is a possibility that Pujols will go into the HoF as a Cardinal. That might get a little awkward.

I just think there is a lot more in play here than just, "Pujols is greedy!" or "DeWitt won't open up the DeWallet!" (not picking on GRB here...just fandom in general)

I agree with La Russa in the sense the system is broken. No team should be able to pay Pujols that kind of money at his age. It's not responsible. The other part is puzzling. Why would anyone allow a choice involving this kind of money to cause them pain? It shows how juvenile the thinking became. If leaving the Cardinals hurt, don't leave. It's not like staying was going to cause hardship.

And no one will wear No. 5 in St. Louis again. Can we just stop with that?

jagtrader wrote: And no one will wear No. 5 in St. Louis again. Can we just stop with that?

Amen

jagtrader wrote:The other part is puzzling. Why would anyone allow a choice involving this kind of money to cause them pain? It shows how juvenile the thinking became. If leaving the Cardinals hurt, don't leave. It's not like staying was going to cause hardship.

I completely agree with that.

At the same time, it is very possible to make the right decision and still be very hurt and pained by the decision that you made. Transition and change is hard. Leaving the familiar surroundings for a completely unfamiliar one is hard. It can hurt. But, that's a you thing. Don't expect empathy.

The folks in St Louis don't want to hear about how painful this was for Albert. They aren't going to care about that. And it's going to go over exactly the way it has.

fanforever wrote:

jagtrader wrote: And no one will wear No. 5 in St. Louis again. Can we just stop with that?

Amen

[expletive], no reason to set aside a number for a guy who just turned his back on us. He can have it back 5 years after he retires.

Fat Strat wrote:

jagtrader wrote:The other part is puzzling. Why would anyone allow a choice involving this kind of money to cause them pain? It shows how juvenile the thinking became. If leaving the Cardinals hurt, don't leave. It's not like staying was going to cause hardship.

I completely agree with that.

At the same time, it is very possible to make the right decision and still be very hurt and pained by the decision that you made. Transition and change is hard. Leaving the familiar surroundings for a completely unfamiliar one is hard. It can hurt. But, that's a you thing. Don't expect empathy.

The folks in St Louis don't want to hear about how painful this was for Albert. They aren't going to care about that. And it's going to go over exactly the way it has.

Exactly, because again the fans are the only ones in this whole deal who got the shaft. Whether there are hurt feelings (Albert) or less butts in seats (Cards), they both got something they wanted.

planet puma wrote:

Fat Strat wrote:

jagtrader wrote:The other part is puzzling. Why would anyone allow a choice involving this kind of money to cause them pain? It shows how juvenile the thinking became. If leaving the Cardinals hurt, don't leave. It's not like staying was going to cause hardship.

I completely agree with that.

At the same time, it is very possible to make the right decision and still be very hurt and pained by the decision that you made. Transition and change is hard. Leaving the familiar surroundings for a completely unfamiliar one is hard. It can hurt. But, that's a you thing. Don't expect empathy.

The folks in St Louis don't want to hear about how painful this was for Albert. They aren't going to care about that. And it's going to go over exactly the way it has.

Exactly, because again the fans are the only ones in this whole deal who got the shaft. Whether there are hurt feelings (Albert) or less butts in seats (Cards), they both got something they wanted.

Yeah, it sucks for the fans. But, imo, it's not Albert's fault. Like TLR said, the only thing he's doing wrong is insisting it's 'not about the money'. I think in Albert's mind, like Berkman said, ($ + years) = respect. So, what Albert calls respect, we call $.

For anyone that has ever felt like they were underpaid/underappreciated, which I imagine we can all say we have at one point, it's really easy to understand AP's decision when you think of it like that. And, I think that's exactly how he felt. The total $ didn't mean as much as the appreciation part and from a business standpoint the Cardinals simply couldn't offer enough re$pect and justify the liability that they would take on. And whenever your star player becomes a liability instead of an asset, then it's time to move on....

I honestly believe that if the Cardinals had just given a straight 10/210 deal he would still be here. That said, I can understand why they didn't. When it comes down to dollars and cents, not all franchises are created equal, and that's why the BoSox can buy talent the Rays can't. It has nothing to do with how much either side re$pected Carl Crawford.

The only thing I wonder about anymore is if the Cardinals tried the respect angle from a non-monetary standpoint. If I was the Cards I think I would have approached him saying we can only go X dollars and we know there are clubs out there that can beat that - what other things can we do to keep you here that make up for the dollars we don't have?

Maybe they did. I hope they tried that because I think Pujols is the kind of guy to respond to that. But maybe he isn't and wasn't.

docellis wrote:

Great picture.