The first order of business for "St. Louis Sports" as a whole HAS to be the signing of the best player in baseball today, Albert Pujols. After the 2011 World Series, Pujols will be a free agent. There are several concerns facing Cardinal nation right now in regards to this situation. First and foremost, for St. Louis fans such as myself it seems like it was just yesterday that we were reading about how, although Albert claimed to have a deep respect and love for this organization and its fans, he still had a business decision to make and that the money would be a factor. This was not too long before his first re-signing in 2004 for 7 years and 100 million dollars. "El Hombre" has given us no reason to think that money is not just as much of an issue in 2011, and Ryan Howard recently signed a $25 million per year contract with the Phillies. If that amount is appropriate for Howard, than many experts put Pujols' value at somewhere around 30. Can the Cardinals afford that? Unless they have somehow come upon a Chicago Cubs-like salary cap, they have never given us any evidence that they have that kind of money to throw around, on top of what they already pay for guys like Matt Holliday, Chris Carpenter, and Yadier Molina.
Secondly, what would the St. Louis Cardinals be without Prince Albert? He has been the staple of this organization for nearly a decade already, and should he put up numbers like he has been on a consistent basis Albert would be in the discussion for one of the greatest baseball players in history, if not THE best. Is it even an option to let that kind of talent out of our grasp? The Cardinals have to consider his value not only to the team, but to the city of St. Louis as a whole. Pujols has been, throughout his tenure, one of the most charitable players in sports. What his baseball talent brings to the Cardinals, his honor and humility as a person brings to the city, tenfold.
And finally, Albert has already stated that after the first day of Spring training, he will not engage in any further contract negotiations until the end of the season. That would cause the Cardinals to lose out on the exclusivity of their current negotiations with the big man. They can't afford for that to happen.
If Albert Pujols is to be in a Cardinal uniform in 2012, the deal has to be made NOW!
No comments:
Post a Comment