Pujols Signs With Angels

[Slider]

Deedee

"Listen, St. Louis, we made it our home," she said. "We have a lot of time invested in the community. You can't just get up and leave it like that.

"Now, it's more like we have an additional place to be [and call home]. We realize there is a lot of hurt. We're experiencing the same thing. That wasn't our intention in our decision.

"We're never going to stop loving St. Louis, and loving the people. I don't want Albert to be a possession. He was a human being. I can't tell you deeper than that. He's a man."

is this from the Strauss article? If so can you post a link I cannot find it. Thanks

[longhornbaseball]

Keenan was already gone before Brett left. Quenneville was the coach when Hull became a FA.

True, but as I remember it, the damage was already done by Keenan, who was a dick. I think that is the perception most fans have. Most people view the current Cardinals ownership and management group in a favorable light, so it's more difficult to understand why Albert would leave.

[Slider]

Deedee

"Listen, St. Louis, we made it our home," she said. "We have a lot of time invested in the community. You can't just get up and leave it like that.

"Now, it's more like we have an additional place to be [and call home]. We realize there is a lot of hurt. We're experiencing the same thing. That wasn't our intention in our decision.

"We're never going to stop loving St. Louis, and loving the people. I don't want Albert to be a possession. He was a human being. I can't tell you deeper than that. He's a man."

is this from the Strauss article? If so can you post a link I cannot find it. Thanks

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball ... 0f31a.html

Personally I think there is plenty of blame to go around for both sides...fans are the ultimate losers in this situation which is completely unfair

[jagtrader]

"I don't want Albert to be a possession. He was a human being. I can't tell you deeper than that. He's a man."

Wow. She probably shouldn't have talked to the media.

[indyredbird]

Albert: "I don't want to talk about negotations. But to tell you the truth, it wasn't about money. I'm going to die saying that, because it wasn't about the money. It was about the commitment. It was about the way he made me feel. [Angels owner] Arte [Moreno] made me feel like he wanted me to be with the Angels forever. He doesn't want me to be 37 years old and have to go somewhere else. It was a commitment. It was something I expressed myself, and I kept expressing durring the conversation that I didn't want to go somewhere else, that this was going to be my last contract. And whether people want to believe if it was about the money, I can't control that.
"Even if I would have signed in St. Louis, people were going to call me greedy and all that. I can't control that. It was the commitment Arte made to me."


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball ... z1gBfoEp6H

Up yours Albert, like you didn't know the Cardinal nation didn't want you forever? This all from 2 phone calls with the Angels owner.

[AdmiralKird]

"I can't tell you deeper than that. He's a man."

[ThatGuy]

It seems like Albert was upset at the Cardinals offering a five-year deal up front instead of going with the ten-year deal right away. I can't really complain about the FO's approach, though. Pay him $25+ million for the next five years when it's sort of justifiable (assuming his performance stays around the same level instead of declining more), and save the decision about a contract for his least productive years for later. Obviously, even a stubborn and competitive guy like Albert knows he's not going to avoid getting worse and getting older, so it's understandable that he wanted to have some long-term assurance going into the last part of his career. He wanted to get all of this negotiation stuff out of the way for good, and it's not hard to imagine how much less leverage he would have had as a 37-year-old first baseman with only a few playing years left.

So, we basically had two sides with goals and priorities that just were not going to mesh. It hurts and I hate it right now, and seeing Albert with an "A" on his hat was utterly surreal, but this is just how it had to transpire. The Cardinals didn't want to handcuff themselves by taking on a gigantic contract that might only look okay for half of the given years, and Albert wanted this to be his last contract. A square peg cannot fit in a circle hole.

I do have to wonder how he feels about giving away the shot at being the new Stan Musial for one of baseball's most storied franchises. It probably sounds ridiculous and useless to logical people who are firmly grounded in the concept of making as much as you can while you've got the opportunity, but Albert actually seems like the kind of person who values having an incredible legacy. It's entirely possible that his time with the Angels will only add to his legend in a positive way, but I think it's just as possible that maybe 4 or 5 of these last 10 years will be pretty rough and will likely leave him wondering how spending an entire career in St. Louis could have changed things. I'm probably just being a Cardinals homer here, but even given the factors that made him choose the Angels, it's undeniable that he gave away quite a bit when he left. That is definitely your loss, Albert.

[cards2468]

Go [expletive] yourself, Mr. Pujols.

[Swirls]

Albert: "I don't want to talk about negotations. But to tell you the truth, it wasn't about money. I'm going to die saying that, because it wasn't about the money. It was about the commitment. It was about the way he made me feel. [Angels owner] Arte [Moreno] made me feel like he wanted me to be with the Angels forever. He doesn't want me to be 37 years old and have to go somewhere else. It was a commitment. It was something I expressed myself, and I kept expressing durring the conversation that I didn't want to go somewhere else, that this was going to be my last contract. And whether people want to believe if it was about the money, I can't control that.
"Even if I would have signed in St. Louis, people were going to call me greedy and all that. I can't control that. It was the commitment Arte made to me."

Well didn't the FO offer him a 9-year deal? That would put him hitting FA again when he's 40, turning 41. And he already has/had 10-5 rights, so he had full no-trade protection - we couldn't send him anywhere without getting his approval to begin with.

[docellis]

Joe Strauss
Full Pujols story to be posted soon @stltoday. Pujols too emotional to explain decision to kids after notifying agent.
Let's put it this way: If it was all about $$, I would've expected AP to be more bubbly today. Seemed reserved, relieved, a little quiet.