OT: Pujols to sign with Angels

[YankeeCollector]

Im totally shocked by this! I like when players stay with one team for their career! 10 years, 250 Million

[sportscardpete]

Going to be 42 when he retires, huh? Actually, it makes more sense for an AL to sign him long term than the NL. He can at least DH for the tail end of his deal.

[slidekellyslide]

The most shocking thing to me is that someone is going to give a man who is 32 years old and may be older than that a 10 year contract in the post-steroid era? I feel bad for my Cardinal loving pals...if I thought anyone was going to be a one team lifer I figured it would be Pujols.

[Fred]

Looks like Lance Berkman will probably take Pujols place for this year. It's going to be tough to fill those shoes....

[rdixon1208]

Great....when the Astros get to the AL West, Pujols will be there waiting for them.

[YankeeCollector]

I just think this is terrible for baseball and the hobby. I always thought Pujols would join the likes of Jeter, Ripken, Brett etc and play for one team. I think this hurts his collectibility personally.

[thekingofclout]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[sportscardpete]

He's in decline as well.

[slidekellyslide]

Did the Red Sox or Yanks even take a shot at him? All week I was hearing the Marlins...never once did I even hear about the Angels and they swoop down and snag him just like that.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Did the Red Sox or Yanks even take a shot at him? All week I was hearing the Marlins...never once did I even hear about the Angels and they swoop down and snag him just like that.

If the Yankees and Red Sox didn't have 1b already, Pujols would have had an even higher deal.

[insidethewrapper]

Like was said above, he will need the AL and the DH role more each year, especially in the last 5 years of the contract. Will Prince Fielder get more ? He is much younger !!

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Did the Red Sox or Yanks even take a shot at him? All week I was hearing the Marlins...never once did I even hear about the Angels and they swoop down and snag him just like that.

You're right Dan. Pretty much what the Sox did with Crawford last year. BTW... I'd like to personally thank Theo for stealing Crawford away from the Angels, otherwise we never could have signed Albert!

[pgellis]

Heard last night (Peter Gammons) that the Sox are very close to reaching the Luxury Tax level and that this leadership group does not want to cross that threshold, so they are laying off even the likes of Ryan Madson to become their new closer.

I don't think the Sox will do anything of any impact this off-season.

Also, players don't have any loyalty to their teams......it's been that way for a long while now. Ripken and Jeter were WAY overpaid by their respective clubs for their last contracts when their careers were in decline. You can't expect the Cardinals to overpay for Pujols when $250 Million was already on the table.

[vintagecpa]

I guess I can't think of a better player to overpay than Pujols given his steady production. I actually might consider making him the part-time DH even now to save some wear and tear on his body. He will fill some seats. Since it isn't my money, great signing.

[thekingofclout]

I find it a little odd that we as fans, should think that we are entitled to keep our star players for the rest of their career. I've worked at a LA Casino since 1987. So if a Vegas Casino offered me twice my income, I shouldn't take it?

How about when I get older and they boot me in favor of a younger guy who'll work for less money but has little or no knowledge of the business. Where would the loyalty lay there?

The Cards had there chance last spring and they BLEW it! Tough shit! They should have signed him then, instead of playing hard-ball with him!

[alanu]

For the Angels sake I hope Pujols doesn't "shrink" when they start testing for HGH

[barrysloate]

This is going to be a lot like A-Rod's deal- Pujols is going to be very productive and worth every penny in the early years of his tenure. But in the last 4-6 years, depending on how soon his body starts to break down, he will be grotesquely overpaid. It's amazing that owners still give out these contracts.

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

I find it a little odd that we as fans, should think that we are entitled to keep our star players for the rest of their career. I've worked at a LA Casino since 1987. So if a Vegas Casino offered me twice my income, I shouldn't take it?

How about when I get older and they boot me in favor of a younger guy who'll work for less money but has little or no knowledge of the business. Where would the loyalty lay there?

The Cards had there chance last spring and they BLEW it! Tough shit! They should have signed him then, instead of playing hard-ball with him!

I think you make a good point with the doubling of your salary, but I think there is quite a difference between making $40-50K a year vs. 10-15Mil a year and then doubling it. The difference is that Pujols already has enough money that another dime pretty much wouldn't make a difference in his life. If you got offered a salary double what you are already making, your lifestyle could/would change dramatically.

Loyalty is far and few between these days in sports. I was very happy when Weaver signed an extension before the end of this past season. He knew he was going to get plenty of money and already had a good amount and when you're making 10 mil a year, what's the big deal to make 2-5 mil a year more? To us, it seems like a lot, but seriously it's not. I hope Pujols and the Angels well, but I kinda hope it blows up in both of their faces...too much money, and he's on the tail-end of his prime. Good signing Angels!

[the-illini]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

I find it a little odd that we as fans, should think that we are entitled to keep our star players for the rest of their career. I've worked at a LA Casino since 1987. So if a Vegas Casino offered me twice my income, I shouldn't take it?

How about when I get older and they boot me in favor of a younger guy who'll work for less money but has little or no knowledge of the business. Where would the loyalty lay there?

The Cards had there chance last spring and they BLEW it! Tough shit! They should have signed him then, instead of playing hard-ball with him!

We will see how you feel about this contract in about 4 years. As a Cardinals fan, I am sad he is gone but that is silly money for a guy who is going to be 32 when he steps on the field for the first time next season.

I would have loved to have had him retire as a Cardinal, but part of me is relieved that the Cards don't have that contract to deal with

[HRBAKER]

As a Cardinal fan I HATE to see him go. On the other hand he helped to 3 WS appearances and two championships in his time there. He was paid handsomely for what he did and you can't overpay or overspend based on what he has done already - you owe him nothing for that. If you pay one player to the extent that you can't field a championship caliber team otherwise, what have you accomplished?

Wish him the best in LA. Most likely will go down as one of the all time greats and certainly the highest paid DH in MLB history by the time the day is done.

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

Like was said above, he will need the AL and the DH role more each year, especially in the last 5 years of the contract. Will Prince Fielder get more ? He is much younger !!

I wouldn't think so, he's got several loaves of bread on Albert.

[calvindog]

Basically the Angels are paying for 5 years for $50 million per -- because he's already on the decline and he's not getting younger. The Cardinals dodged a bullet here.

[Michael Peich]

Chris--I am with you on this one. Pujols gives the Angels maybe five years, but his bat speed is declining, injuries are starting, and the final five years of his contract will not be pretty--think Mo Vaughn!

Glad to see him out of the NL, although he was always fun to watch.

Cheers, Mike

[sycks22]

People are already talking about how is body will break down like A-rods. That's a pretty major difference between playing 3B / 1B. There's a reason why you don't see a 40 yr old 3b and late in their careers a lot of stars head to 1b. 10 years for anyone is crazy, but pujols has been pretty amazing. Did anyone else mention that they signed C.J. Wilson today too?

[chaddurbin]

too many dollars and too many years...angels would've been better off giving prince 6-8 years if they were desperate for a 1b bat (which they're not). but hey, not my money so WELCOME TO ANAHEIM albert! will get to see him a few times a year

[Anthony S.]

This does raise the ethical question, which Angels employee will be tasked with the unseemly responsibility of putting a dead hooker in the trunk of Vernon Wells' car in order to take the $87 million still left on his contract off the books. And will they lend that employee to the Giants (cough, Zito).

[novakjr]

This deal does make more sense for an AL team, than it would a NL team. If there's any hiccups, he can still DH... I'm gonna take this back a little to the deal that Thome signed with Philly the first time...That deal didn't make sense for a NL team. For an AL team that deal would've been fine, that way he could've DH'd when things fell apart physically for him... I honestly think that this deal could be the best thing long term for all three parties, LA, St. Loius and Pujols, in regards to the next ten years..

[kmac32]

Go Cubs Go!!!

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by pgellis

Also, players don't have any loyalty to their teams......it's been that way for a long while now.

What about Rickey Henderson, he came back to the A's a few times.....does that count as loyalty?

On the Pujols topic, he's usually hit the Tigers pretty hard so maybe his new suntan will help slow down his bat.

....and on Fielder, I think most teams are afraid of his weight and flailing man boobs to sign him to a long term contract. Just my opinion, imagine if he was in shape.

[mr2686]

Looks like I'll be going to a lot of Angels games this year. Hey Jimmy, beer's are on me!! Yeeeee Haaaaaa!

[ChiefBenderForever]

Angels desperate and will still suck

[David W]

Originally Posted by the-illini

We will see how you feel about this contract in about 4 years. As a Cardinals fan, I am sad he is gone but that is silly money for a guy who is going to be 32 when he steps on the field for the first time next season.

I would have loved to have had him retire as a Cardinal, but part of me is relieved that the Cards don't have that contract to deal with

Die hard Cardinal fan and I am also relieved it is over.

Good luck in California from year 2016 on. You're paying $25 million per for not much production, when .250 with 20 homers is a good year at the back end....

The Cardinals will be fine, we'll replace Albert eventually, and they've got lots of good young hitters coming along.

[HRBAKER]

Albert and the Cardinals both made good business decisions here.

[chaddurbin]

i just heard locally that the angels are in the process of re-upping their tv deal. with albert it could be 800mil-1bil during that 10 years...so don't feel too bad for arte moreno on whether he'll get a good roi in years 6-10 from albert. i know i feel better having heard that piece of news.

[Danny Smith]

Im bummed to see albert leave. Left a bitter taste in my mouth since all he said was that he wanted to be a card for life. I get that its a business and about the money though.

On the other hand, I really feel bad for all the special needs kids here that his charity supported who absolutely love him who more than likely got home from school today and saw that their hero has left town. That truly sucks.

[gashouse34]

Do I want to be in STL forever? Of course. People from other teams want to play in STL and they are jealous that we're in STL because the fans are unbelievable. So why would you want to leave a place like STL to go somewhere else and make 3 OR 4 MORE MILLION A YEAR? IT'S NOT ABOUT MONEY. I ALREADY GOT MY MONEY. IT'S ABOUT WINNING, THAT'S IT." - Albert Pujols.


It was always about the money(and could give a crap about winning)....

You should've been honest Albert it would have been easier to accept.

I actually like the Angels a lot and glad he went there as opposed to other teams. I hope he and the Angels are successful. I just have a hard time understanding the greed side of it.

Thank goodness for Vintage Baseball!

[chaddurbin]

pujols gave st louis an awesome discount the last contract...brought the team a couple ws and made larussa a better manager than he actually was. instead of showing him the respect and courtesy he deserved, they signed holliday to a big contract w/o re-upping pujols first. and now they tried to lowball him for a 2nd time because of this bullshit "hometown discount" thing.

people wanting to be paid accordingly to their performance level is not greedy. pujols would be stupid for not taking the angels deal.

[David W]

Originally Posted by chaddurbin

pujols gave st louis an awesome discount the last contract...brought the team a couple ws and made larussa a better manager than he actually was. instead of showing him the respect and courtesy he deserved, they signed holliday to a big contract w/o re-upping pujols first. and now they tried to lowball him for a 2nd time because of this bullshit "hometown discount" thing.

people wanting to be paid accordingly to their performance level is not greedy. pujols would be stupid for not taking the angels deal.

Actually, this "Home Town Discount" thing with his first contract is a myth.

He got $105 million for 7 years, $15 million a year. At the time it was the biggest contract ever for a player of his amount of years of service and guaranteed him security for life. He could have chanced it and taken 2 more one year contracts, and signed a huge deal at age 25 or 6, but he took the security of $105 million at age 25.

And the Cardinals last offer of 9 years was a fair offer as well, Albert merely was offered more and took it. I don't blame him either way. It seems it's not the Cardinal fans who are upset but everyone else.