OT: Albert Pujols

[john h]

Albert turned down what ever the Cards offered him. He wants ARod type money and a 10 year contract. He is age 31. The Cards only have until Wednesday to respond.

Albert is probably the best player in all of baseball but he has disappointed me on this hard stand. How much is enough? In St Louis he could stay and still be worth many hundreds of millions of dollars and they would build a statue of him when he retired. He would become a legend just like Stan Musial. If he goes to the Yankees or someone crazy enough to give him this kind of contract any statue would be torn down by the fans.

I think the fans are owed something in this deal. After all, it is them that will be paying all these hundreds of millions. No one at age 31 is worth a ten year contract at something near 25 million a year. That is a quarter of a billion dollars. I am no Cardinal fan but as a Cub fan will be glad if he leaves our league altogether much less just our division. He is worth the price of a ticket just to see him on the field. He plays hurt and he plays at 100% and is a stars star. I give him all that. The one thing it appears he is not and that is a fans players in the end. These fans supported you and cheered you Albert. Now it is time to offer them some sort of break and live out your career in St Louis. You belong there.

We are in the age of "ME". The word "Team" seems to have faded away. I always hated the Boston Celtics with Red Auerbach lighting up his cigar when the game was out of reach. They were just to darn dominant. Even their 6th player was cheered when he entered the game and was as good as many of the starters. The hated Celtics were a TEAM.

 

[azsportsfan01]

Albert turned down what ever the Cards offered him. He wants ARod type money and a 10 year contract. He is age 31. The Cards only have until Wednesday to respond.

Albert is probably the best player in all of baseball but he has disappointed me on this hard stand. How much is enough? In St Louis he could stay and still be worth many hundreds of millions of dollars and they would build a statue of him when he retired. He would become a legend just like Stan Musial. If he goes to the Yankees or someone crazy enough to give him this kind of contract any statue would be torn down by the fans.

I think the fans are owed something in this deal. After all, it is them that will be paying all these hundreds of millions. No one at age 31 is worth a ten year contract at something near 25 million a year. That is a quarter of a billion dollars. I am no Cardinal fan but as a Cub fan will be glad if he leaves our league altogether much less just our division. He is worth the price of a ticket just to see him on the field. He plays hurt and he plays at 100% and is a stars star. I give him all that. The one thing it appears he is not and that is a fans players in the end. These fans supported you and cheered you Albert. Now it is time to offer them some sort of break and live out your career in St Louis. You belong there.

We are in the age of "ME". The word "Team" seems to have faded away. I always hated the Boston Celtics with Red Auerbach lighting up his cigar when the game was out of reach. They were just to darn dominant. Even their 6th player was cheered when he entered the game and was as good as many of the starters. The hated Celtics were a TEAM.

If Pujols were to leave, which I highly doubt he will, he would not go to the Yankees. The top team would be the Cubs with a team like the Nationals lurking in the background.

As for Pujols himself this contract isn't only for him but for the rest of the players. There is a reason most guys take the largest contract because the player's union wants them to so they can boost the level of pay for the lower level guys. I don't see them getting a deal done by Wednesday but they will have a exclusive negotiating period at the end of the season that they will probably get something done during that time.

 

[BC867]

... the player's union wants them to so they can boost the level of pay for the lower level guys.

You and I and the rest of us are all the lower level guys -- the ones paying for it. They're the millionaires for providing us with some entertainment.

 

[chickenhead]

I don't get too worked up about it usually, because like any other business, the players are evaluating themselves against their peers--not people in other industries. They are also competing for a share of total revenue with the owners.

In this particular case, however, Pujols should really consider what his legacy is worth, too. If he stays and fences are mended, he gets a statue next to Musial and down the line becomes the #1 Cardinals ambassador for the rest of his life. If he leaves, maybe he still gets a statue but not next to Musial. If he goes to the Cubs, maybe there's no statue at all.

He's set for life, obviously, along with his family for generations if they are wise. But there are still a lot of appearances, speaking engagements, and business opportunities after retirement for someone who could be known at some point as the greatest living Cardinal...

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

He is the best player in baseball and has been a model citizen, he deserves to be the best paid player in the game. He is the most remarkably consistent player I have ever witnessed.

I am sure there is pressure from the Player's Union, but Albert should not be allowed to hit the open market.

 

[john h]

If Pujols were to leave, which I highly doubt he will, he would not go to the Yankees. The top team would be the Cubs with a team like the Nationals lurking in the background.

As for Pujols himself this contract isn't only for him but for the rest of the players. There is a reason most guys take the largest contract because the player's union wants them to so they can boost the level of pay for the lower level guys. I don't see them getting a deal done by Wednesday but they will have a exclusive negotiating period at the end of the season that they will probably get something done during that time.

I do not think the Cubs will ever do a deal for even 7 years must less 10 after their experience with the big bucks deal with Soriano. I just do not see any NL team who will do a 10 year deal with a 31 year old superstar. Begining Wednesday he or his agent will have not further discussions with the Cards and he will become a FA at the end of the season. Teams with mega bucks who are not afraid to spend like the Yankees, Boston, Etc seem like the most likely candidates. As a Cubs fan I sure would like to have him on my team but not on a 10 year deal. I read last night that he is looking for 30 million a year. That is insane in my opinion. Albert must have let his agent talk him into such a deal. I really doubt any team will do what he is asking. The Cards usually have a payroll of around $100 mil. They now pay Pujolos $16 mil a year which even that is a strain on the team. They might offer something like 5 years at $18-20 mil which is a further strain on the team. Albert cannot win a pennant all by himself. He needs to get real and look into the future. When you get old and have all that money you start to look back and ask yourself does i

 

[Russ Smith]

He is the best player in baseball and has been a model citizen, he deserves to be the best paid player in the game. He is the most remarkably consistent player I have ever witnessed.

I am sure there is pressure from the Player's Union, but Albert should not be allowed to hit the open market.

I stopped following baseball years ago for this reason and some others, but isn't the offer he rejected already going to make him the highest paid? I think his dispute is over length of contract, he wants 10 not 7 years?

I guess my issue is if the Cards do what I expect and cave, 5 years from now he'll think he's underpaid again and demand a new contract. Or if 5 years from now at 36 he's showing signs of falling off, will he offer to take less money the last 5 years of the deal, we all know he won't.

this is the problem pro sports has with longtime fans, the player movement is just out of hand, guys just don't stay with one team and when a guy like Pujols actually appears to buck that trend then he goes out and does something like this.

 

[john h]

He is the best player in baseball and has been a model citizen, he deserves to be the best paid player in the game. He is the most remarkably consistent player I have ever witnessed.

I am sure there is pressure from the Player's Union, but Albert should not be allowed to hit the open market.

No matter how good he is a team must decide if they can afford his demands. They are not winning with him now and he is clearly the best player in baseball. They have as large a payroll as they can afford. To sign Albert at around $30 mil (His asking price) for 10 years means they would have to cut some good players and the team would become worse not better. As a Cub fan I would love to have him but it would destroy the team payroll and lead to losing players we need. Baseball is a team game and no one player is bigger than the team or game.

Prince Fielder will become a FA next year and you can bet he is watching this very closely as he is a big time first baseman who though not as good as Albert will be much in demand. What ever Albert gets will effect what Prince ask for.

The Cubs had the largest payroll in the NL last year at around $135 mil and the new owners are going to cut payroll this year. We could not win with $135 mil and the low payroll team the Reds almost won it all with some great young talent. In time these young guys will want the big bucks and move on.

I would like to see the NFL have some sort of payroll limit for each team period. Not let the Yankees have a $225 mil payroll or what ever they want. The tax that is levied on the teams with the big payrolls is not high enough to stop them from spending.

 

[overseascardfan]

If Pujols were to leave, which I highly doubt he will, he would not go to the Yankees. The top team would be the Cubs with a team like the Nationals lurking in the background.

As for Pujols himself this contract isn't only for him but for the rest of the players. There is a reason most guys take the largest contract because the player's union wants them to so they can boost the level of pay for the lower level guys. I don't see them getting a deal done by Wednesday but they will have a exclusive negotiating period at the end of the season that they will probably get something done during that time.

Someone baseball columist speculated that KC might be a possiblity as Pujols grew up there, went to college there and met his wife there. They could be a dangerous team in a couple of years and adding the best player in the game could put them in contention.