Pujols To Angels

[Justin Spencer]

I blame the weather, had it not been so crappy during the playoffs and world series I think he wouldn't have gone to sunny California where his aging muscles can stay warm come October. While I am a little disappointed in Albert's decision I will be more disappointed in the Cardinals if they don't use the money they would have used on Pujols to make a splash in free agency.

Go Gorillas!

[vincel]

The Angels must have a lot of money just laying around.....the way i see it they are spending about $1 mil per homerun!

[FishinCricket]

That's the thing...You watch, I guarantee he gets a standing o because that's the kind of baseball town St. Louis is and those are the kind of fans we have. And Albert just took a sloppy crap all over us for, like you said, a few extra mil. Big whoop. How rich do you need to be before you care about acting like a human being? I hope I'm at his first game back so I have the chance to throw one of those stale hot dogs at his giant head.

Point of order:

While the cost of living may eat into the extra 25(?)Mil out there, remember that there's more to be made in endorsements and royalties than that...

(I could care less, I just noticed no one has pointed that out yet)

[Outside Bend]

I would have gotten my wish if he had shown a little humility and gratitude for Cardinals fans and the citizens of St. Louis, who supported him and kissed his arse and worshipped at his altar for a decade. I just thought he was a self-centered whiner before...now I think he's a sellout. Strike that...he is a sellout. How many millions do you need for a "better lifestyle?" I'd venture to say he was quite comfortable here.

Ah, we're better off anyway. He'll sprain his ankle walking to first base on a routine grounder and he'll call it a career ender...and the Angels will be stuck with the bill instead of us.

He isn't a saint, he's a baseball player. His job is to hit a ball really, really hard. He's not a role model, his job isn't to be lionized or worshipped. He's human, he's a guy, he's an employee, and at the end of the day he's motivated by the same things as anyone else. Frankly, he doesn't owe anything to St. Louis,or the Cardinals. While he was here he played hard, he proved his worth, he put up the numbers. Whether he's a great person, or whether or not he should move on, doesn't change that.

I'm totally with exiledguide on this one. Pujols is a great ball player, he wants to be paid accordingly. If someone is willing to pay him more elsewhere, it'd be silly for him not to make the move. The St. Louis market doesn't have the same financial capacity as New York, Boston, Chicago or LA, and we couldn't pay him enough to stay. It's business. It's entertainment. That's life. And as great a player as he is/was, he's not the end-all, be-all for the Cardinals programs.

Coming off a World Series victory with new management and their star player gone, there's so many unknowns I think this could be one of the more interesting Cardinals seasons we've seen in a while. Only time will tell...

[eric1978]

He isn't a saint, he's a baseball player. His job is to hit a ball really, really hard. He's not a role model, his job isn't to be lionized or worshipped. He's human, he's a guy, he's an employee, and at the end of the day he's motivated by the same things as anyone else. Frankly, he doesn't owe anything to St. Louis,or the Cardinals. While he was here he played hard, he proved his worth, he put up the numbers. Whether he's a great person, or whether or not he should move on, doesn't change that.

I'm totally with exiledguide on this one. Pujols is a great ball player, he wants to be paid accordingly. If someone is willing to pay him more elsewhere, it'd be silly for him not to make the move. The St. Louis market doesn't have the same financial capacity as New York, Boston, Chicago or LA, and we couldn't pay him enough to stay. It's business. It's entertainment. That's life. And as great a player as he is/was, he's not the end-all, be-all for the Cardinals programs.

Coming off a World Series victory with new management and their star player gone, there's so many unknowns I think this could be one of the more interesting Cardinals seasons we've seen in a while. Only time will tell...

There's more to life than money...for some people. And there's a lot to be said for loyalty. Of course it's business, but there's a lot more to baseball than salaries. The relationship with the city and the fans is a large part of the nostalgia of the game, and people invest their hearts and souls into teams and players. I find it nauseating that a human being can be so self-absorbed and greedy as to throw everything away for another chunk of change that, for all intents and purposes, only his financial advisor will care that he has.

And for the record, I'm not worried for the team about his departure...he's past his prime and I think the Angels are making a fool's bet. Like you said, he's just one man...another star will be along at some point. The Angels will rake in some revenue for the first couple years, but ultimately I think it's a stupid move for them, since at least half of his contract he'll spend on the bench and in physical therapy. He already limps around the bases and is as agile a first baseman as a cinder block. I'm really happy that the Cards didn't shell out his ridiculous asking price, and what makes me sick is how some people, no matter how rich they are, will always be a whore...it's never enough. Maybe he can buy some dignity with that extra money he made. He should talk to someone like Dave Chappelle to find out what's truly important in life.

[snap]

eric...totally agree with your first paragraph!!!...emotions ran wild a bit in the second....lol...but you make some strong points!!! He had a chance to be an icon, something really special, by spending an entire career with the same team. He chose not to, so, ....his choice....still think the restraunt is St Louis ...from a business pov..doesn't have a chance and will close within the year!!! JUST BUSINESS!!!...no reason for anyone from St Louis to go there and eat!!!

[Justin Spencer]

Funny how before he made this decision no one was complaining about how horrible a person he was. If he was such a bad person we should have had a campaign going to not bring him back. Like many people he probably just wants to be left alone and live his life. If he can live with his decision that's what's important, not what a bunch of baseball fans think. After all it is just a game.

[snagged in outlet 3]

What jersy will he have on when he's in the hall of fame?

SIO3

[Justin Spencer]

Royals?

[Al Agnew]

Here's the thing...this turned out really well for both AP and the Cardinals. He gets a truckload of money, plus he gets a chance to be a DH in the last few years, with less wear and tear on his body. He's in a better situation from that standpoint than he would have been with the Cardinals. The Cardinals, had they signed him for the money they offered (the highest ten year offer they made), would have probably been handcuffed once he really started going downhill. As it is, they can legitimately say they tried hard to keep him.

His production has already gone down the last three years. And this year, while he was pretty valuable during the stretch run, he was not a huge part of their play-off and World Series wins. In fact, he was pretty ineffectual in the Series except for the one monster game, a game that was decided long before he hit his last couple of home runs. The Angels guy said that even if Albert is starting to decline, he'd still take him as a "great" player even if he was no longer a superstar. Hey, you just paid him superstar money.

I'm guessing that he still has a couple .300, 30 plus HR seasons left, but I think the chances are that he'll never be the player he was with the Cardinals.

Where the Cardinals made their mistake was long before the first contract offer two years ago. They should have renegotiated his contract back several years ago and wrapped him up then for ten years at a salary that would have made him happy then. Once they decided to offer two years ago and his agent said it would have to start out at A-Rod money, the writing was on the wall. At that point, egos had become involved, not only Pujols but his agent.