Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 16, 2009
Albert Dictates

Via BBTF, Albert Pujols is starting to make noises about leaving the Cardinals after the 2010 season:

"It's not about the money all the time," the first baseman said. "It's about being in a place to win and being in a position to win.

"If the Cardinals are willing to do that and put a team (on the field) every year like they have, I'm going to try to work everything out to stay in this town. But if they're not bringing championship caliber play every year, then it's time for me to go somewhere else that I can win."

It's almost always about the money. FanHouse wonders if Albert is making noise now because the Cardinals didn't sign Manny Ramirez.

What should the Cardinals do? Albert is one of the game's great players, but he will be 31 going into the 2011 season. That was the brilliant thing about his long term contract, it locked Pujols in through his prime years. It's likely a 31-year-old Albert is worth more than the great majority of 27 year olds, but for how long? If a player is trying to dictate to a team, maybe the money is better spent looking for his replacement.

The Cardinals have won a World Series, after all, and are playoff contenders nearly every season. Yes, they didn't go all out in 2008 and appear to have done little to improve the team in 2009. While they don't make a splash, they do get a lot of mileage out of marginal players. I suspect they're reloading, and Albert will likely want to be part of the 2011 team.

Barring a major injury, the Cardinals will find a way to keep Pujols around. Like Gwynn or Ripken or Yount or Brett with their career teams, Albert is the face of the Cardinals. I suspect they'll find a way for him to finish his career in St. Louis.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:43 AM | Players | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I hope they do. He's great, and so far seems to be PED free... extremely unusual combination nowadays. It'd be great to see him stay in St Louis....that is, unless he goes to KC ;-)

Posted by: Devon Young at February 16, 2009 10:23 AM

Pujols' situation reminds me of Barry Sanders with the Lions. Barry was such a great runner that the Lions were always "pretty good" with him, and sold a whole lot of tickets because of him. But the organization did a poor job of building around him. Eventually, Barry got tired of carrying the load and simply retired.

The Cards have been contenders most years, but in a very weak division. It could be argued that the front office hasn't felt the need to improve the lineup because Albert is so productive. If they go through another year or two like this, I could see Albert getting tired of it and leaving.

Posted by: jvwalt at February 16, 2009 01:08 PM
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