Pujols Signs With Angels

[docellis]

[ilstu24]

Translation,

I love you guys but I love $254 million more. Please don't damage my stuff in STL because I love you, but to be clear I love $254 million more.

What a [expletive] joke. I could have done without that little letter written by a member of his team. Make a statement. Don't hide behind a piece of paper.

[Gashouse]

No way he goes in as an Angel. I'd bet every penny I have at time he's being inducted that he goes in as a Cardinal.

We had him for the best years of his career. He's not going to put up a better 11 years after what he gave us. Griffey Jr. may have hit all his milestones in Cincinnati, but I'm still sure he'll go in as a Mariner. He did all of his best work there.

Doesn't the HOF also consider how many players represent various teams? I.e. Gary Carter went in as an Expo even though he was most famous as a Met because the Expos didn't have anyone representing them. Similar for Dawson. Cards already have several players wearing their cap. How many Angels caps are there in the HOF?

[sighyoung]

I could have proofread that statement and caught the missing word and missing comma for $150,000.

I would be happy to edit more carefully and fix any additional errors for a flat fee of $75,000.

[Slider]

don't know why and I know it is not fair but the letter ticks me off. Just a disappointed fan at this point that is all I guess.

As to the HOF...10 years is a long time...time will distant him from the Cardinals, the chapter of the Cardinals will be a footnote to the greatest start of a career that happened to be with the Cardinals...by the time his playing career is over and 5 years later into the HOF people will know Pujols as an Angel not a Cardinal. and to be honest not sure Card fans will have an emotional tie to him 15 years from now to care much one way or another...that is practically another whole generation that will come up that will have no clue or memory of Pujols a Cardinal.

He easily goes in an as an Angel...the cards are nothing more than a footnote to his career now as all the HOF milestones will have come as an angel.

[Gashouse]

I just found something that said that there aren't any players wearing an Angels hat in the HOF. Vlad would have potential to be the first, assuming he is elected. As long as AP doesn't have a career ending injury in the next few years, I think his hat will be LAA.

http://angels.ocregister.com/2009/01/09 ... ame/10066/

[ManEatingTarp]

don't know why and I know it is not fair but the letter ticks me off. Just a disappointed fan at this point that is all I guess.

As to the HOF...10 years is a long time...time will distant him from the Cardinals, the chapter of the Cardinals will be a footnote to the greatest start of a career that happened to be with the Cardinals...by the time his playing career is over and 5 years later into the HOF people will know Pujols as an Angel not a Cardinal. and to be honest not sure Card fans will have an emotional tie to him 15 years from now to care much one way or another...that is practically another whole generation that will come up that will have no clue or memory of Pujols a Cardinal.

He easily goes in an as an Angel...the cards are nothing more than a footnote to his career now as all the HOF milestones will have come as an angel.

Totally agree.
I remember when McGwire was all but assured of going to the Hall, and there was no doubt he was going as a Cardinal even though most of his career #s came as an A.

This is the most upsetting thing to me. The legacy that could have and should have been is gone.

Oh well. It's bizness.

I don't think I'll ever have an emotional tie to another player after this. It's just a matter of maturing and coming to the realization that it's not a two way relationship. It probably never was. Even Musial has said he would have moved on for more money if not for the reserve clause.

Sienfeld was right. We are just rooting for laundry.

[AdmiralKird]

don't know why and I know it is not fair but the letter ticks me off. Just a disappointed fan at this point that is all I guess.

As to the HOF...10 years is a long time...time will distant him from the Cardinals, the chapter of the Cardinals will be a footnote to the greatest start of a career that happened to be with the Cardinals...by the time his playing career is over and 5 years later into the HOF people will know Pujols as an Angel not a Cardinal. and to be honest not sure Card fans will have an emotional tie to him 15 years from now to care much one way or another...that is practically another whole generation that will come up that will have no clue or memory of Pujols a Cardinal.

He easily goes in an as an Angel...the cards are nothing more than a footnote to his career now as all the HOF milestones will have come as an angel.

And Pujols could get injured, go into a severe decline, not make another WS appearance, not reach all the predicted milestones...

Who knows?

[Fat Strat]

It's way to early to even consider HOF caps. Too much we don't know. What's he going to do with the Angels? If he finishes with 600 something HR's and no championships with them, then he'll go in as a Cardinal. Odds are against him doing enough in Anaheim to altar his legacy with the Cardinals.

[skmsw]

guess my only issue with what steve said was that I don't think it was phase 1 of replacing him as much as the insurance policy against him leaving ... It's a minor detail that'll bother me for awhile when people speculate whether Carpenter, Holliday, Berkman extensions kept them from 'having the money'.

I think they had the money. I think they could have offered something much more competitive than 9/<$200, 5/$150, or 7/$175 (if any of those are accurate; by my sources, they are the best I have).

I think they were worried about the risk. Those who agree that he "would not have been worth it" for a ten-year deal probably share that concern; injury, age, decline in performance, etc make it hard to project him to pay off at market value for the whole length of an 8 to 10 year contract.

But I personally, in my opinion, doubt that the problem was that they couldn't do it. I think they decided two years ago they weren't going to do it, unless it came in the form of a deal that minimized their concerns around long term investment and risk. Not that the money wasn't there to pay him his $25mm and still field a good team; that they were not going to go that long, there was not tolerance for the level of risk they were facing, that financial commitment over that length of time was simply too big a liability for them to carry. Whether it might work out on the field (say he stays at an AS or better level for 7 or 8 of the next 10 seasons -- and he might), in the history books (starts breaking historical records which fills stands, sells shirts and hats and DVDs), or otherwise (boosts radio and TV ratings, increases chances of playoffs, etc) and could have been done creatively enough to make it work.

All of which leaves out the possibility that maybe Albert just was ready to leave -- ignoring the disrespect of taking two years to ioffer progressively shorter deals, maybe no matter what, Albert felt like he'd done STL, was ready to move on, that nothing would have made him stay because he was ready to go. That's a pretty normal thing too.