Haha good stuff Greg. There are a lot of other pretty funny Pujols pictures floating around, but I feel that the language, and hand gestures used on them are probably grounds to get me banned. Rory is 100% right about why people in the Lou are pissed. The local ESPN station has been playing the numerous clips of Pujols saying how great St. Louis is, blah, blah, blah. The more that comes out about the negotiations from '09 until yesterday, the worse Pujols looks in the publics eye. LaRussa himself said that he felt the Cardinals never really had a chance to sign Albert this offseason. Albert's biggest complaint once Edmonds and Rolen got old, was that he had no protection, and he wanted the front office to show him they were determined to win before he would talk an extension. 'Mo went out and traded for Matt Holliday at the deadline in '09, and locked him up long term that fall. It's been reported that 'Mo then approached Pujols about an extension, and his answer was 10 years 275 mil is the STARTING POINT. Talks never progressed from there. 'Mo has come out and said that this week the Cardinals offered Pujols 10 years for 210 million, gaurenteed.....all of that before incentives. Pujols and his agent felt "insulted" by such a low offer, and he's feels disrespected by the front office the last couple years. As soon as the Angels came in with 10/254, Albert ran. He did not call the Cards for a counter offer (which they would not have been able to do anyways). He did exactly what he told all the fans he wouldn't...he left for a bigger market to make 4.4 million more a year on a team that is probably the 5th best team in the A.L. right now. Side note.....most people have the Pujols-less Cardinals still winning the Central as it stands now (a lot of moves still left to make this winter). The real winner in this deal is Mike Matheny lol. It was going to be tough on the rookie manager to try to step into TLR's shoes fresh off an incredible World Series run. The guy has almost no pressure now. LaRussa won 2 titles with the best right handed hitter the game has ever seen. Matheny will not have that luxury. If he wins, he will get a lot of the credit, but if the Cardinals don't march into the playoffs, most will blame it on the void Pujols left. It's a shame, the greatest player I will probably ever see in St. Louis will be remembered as the guy who didn't stick to his word, and bolted for the extra dough. I'm not blaming him for doing it, and it didn't surprise me. However, he shouldn't be surprised if he ever steps into a batters box at Busch Stadium and recieves a mixed response. After all, his statue outside his restraunt in Westport Plaza is under 24/7 security....
And it just keeps rolling in.... Pujols ran this letter in the STL Post Dispatch today. ------------------------------------------------------------- To the City of St. Louis and Cardinal Nation, I want to thank each and every one of you sincerely from the bottom of my heart for the love and support you have me and my family for the past 11 years. In my time with the Cardinals, I have been fortunate enough to play on championship teams, and in front of championship fans. This community has reached out and embraced me, and for that I am truly humbled and grateful. My decision to leave has been incredibly difficult, and your support is the biggest reason why. While I am excited about this new chapter in my life, it was very important to me to let you know that St. Louis has been, and will always remain, in my heart. I have been honored to be able to wear the Cardinal uniform the last 11 seasons, and I want to thank the entire Cardinal organization, my teammates, coaches, managers and staff for everything they have given to me as well. We call St. Louis home and my family and I are so blessed to have made lifelong relationships in St. Louis that we look forward to continuing for many years to come, and words cannot fully express our gratitude to you all. Thank you and God bless, Albert and Deidre ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From all that I have read on it, is the fans don't like #5 anymore, and this letter burned some more bridges as the question of "Why did you leave" is brought up even more now. Too bad things ended like this for him in St. Louis.
LOL so difficult it took about 20 hours from the Angels offer to decision. I wonder if he was telling his wife to start packing while he was on the phone with the Angels lol
Pujols probably had someone write that letter for him, and then looked it over once. Torii Hunter said he talked to Pujols after the signing, and he said it wasn't about the money, it was about winning multiple rings......I think El Hombre may be losing it.... The deeper you dig into the sabermetrics of Pujols the player, and the downward trend he has been on, the Cardinals made the right move. However, Pujols would have been elevated into iconic status that baseball has never seen had he played his entrie career for the Birds.
I don't understand the distain....It worked out best for both parties involved. NO WAY could the Cards justify swallowing a $250million pill in an aging legend. On the flip side, NO WAY could Pujols pass up $40million from a team that has equal or better chances at winning it coupled with the fact that his contract should have been revised years ago. Not 09 when the end was in sight, but 07 or even 08 when they had hands down the best player in the game for pennies on the dollar to what he was worth. If they truly wanted to commit to him long term, they wouldn't have rode out his current deal, they would have resigned him as the highest paid first basemen for a 9-10 year deal, back when it would have actually made sense to do so. It doesn't make sense for him to stay nor does it make sense for the Cards to match a deal to keep him. Both Pujols and the Cards will benefit from this.
I won't disagree with you that in the long run both parties made a good choice (considering money as the only factor). The distain comes from Pujols going against his word. I don't blame him for doing it, and certaintly don't hate the man for it. Albert signed his old deal in '04 I believe. He was approached before '09 about an extension, but he wanted proof they were determined to win. They went out and locked Holliday up for 7 years to give Albert protection, and he responded by wanting to start negotiations at 10 years 275mil . I do not think one can put any blame on the Cardinals front office, nor should one despise Pujols for taking the money and running. Pujols was a baseball god in a city thay breathes baseball 365 days a year. It is only natural that some fans are upset about this. Cardinal fans treat their legends like royalty, and given time the shock of Pujols departure will wear off.
I live 50 miles to the west of St. Louis. The fact that he left hurts, but all the lies he tells about it not being about the money is a stab in the back. In the end though, it's better off him leaving rather than him stinking it up in St. Louis as he approaches his 40's making that kind of money. That would cripple the franchise. I couldn't imagine being a 10 year old kid in the area watching this all play out, it would be devastating. My favorite when I was a kid was Ozzie Smith, and I don't think they could have paid him to play for someone else. This is the first time a superior player has left the franchise in this manner and frankly we don't know how to take it. Many players are dying to play here and even for less money because of the fan support and the history of the club.
As soon as Pujols stops apologizing and making excuses for his reasoning, the sooner all this will go away. For those of you who follow Bernie Miklaz, check out his article from this morning. It sums up the feelings of most Cardinals fans better than anything that has been wrote on it thus far... http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_6baf3c37-03d7-59ef-9d98-e93cfd81a9e9.html
