Will Albert be the ruin of the Cards?

[brm7675]

He is having an incredible post season and is on teh verge of leading his team to their second WS. This means that if so St. Louis has no option, no matter the cost they will have to resign Albert. So with such a bloated contract that Albert will get, how much will that hurt the overall franchise down the road 3-5 years to be able to stay competive? Also how will that impact on what Votto will want and get when his time comes?

[Vottomatic]

Pujols will be a Cub. Count on it. :eek:

[redsfan1995]

Pujols will be a Cub. Count on it. :eek:

i agree i think the addition of theo epstein will bring him in to the cubs.

[izzy's dad]

Can you imagine? It would be like watching Joey Votto play for the Cardinals. I don't think it will happen, but if it does it will be huge. I wonder if Albert will announce his decision on live t.v. like Lebron. Will the Cubs fan base be o.k. with Prince Albert posing and watching every home run he hits? I'm not gonna lie, I am very interested in where Pujols signs, but even more interested in the kind of financial handicap he puts on the franchise he does sign with. Both the Cards and Cubs have a much larger payroll than our Reds, but even they can't afford to have Pujols making crazy money for 6-8 years.

[R_Webb18]

id be willing to bet theres no chance hes a cub. id be shocked.

[NCCardfan]

AP will probably re-sign with STL, somewhere around 75% IMO. The value will not be known until the FA season starts 5 days after the WS ends. There is no way STL gets a contract before Christmas unless it's a monster overpriced deal by someone & whomever that org. is they will have overpayed more than likely.

The cubs are a player and nobody should count them out on anybody this winter. If they don't get AP or Prince then JV could get one heck of a pay increase to go to the Windy City.

I do not think that DeWitt & Mo will pay through the nose for AP but it's possible - scary but possible.

[lidspinner]

why in the world would Albert go anywhere else? Cards are a great team with a great pitching staff and a great fan base and they are set to compete for a few years if Al stays on board and the Cards promise to upgrade a few areas of need.....he would be silly to go anywhere else..

[Swampturkey]

I have no clue where Pujols ends up next year, but I honestly don't think he will go to chicago...

1. he wants to win. That won't happen with the Cubs.
2. he has said before he is not a fan of all the day games they play
3. the small clubhouse/training room
4. Pujols is a decent person and he knows that'd be like a knife to Cards fans. I don't see him doing that.

[Swampturkey]

Can you imagine? It would be like watching Joey Votto play for the Cardinals. I don't think it will happen, but if it does it will be huge. I wonder if Albert will announce his decision on live t.v. like Lebron.

He already joked that he wouldn't do that. :)

[texasdave]

I have no clue where Pujols ends up next year, but I honestly don't think he will go to chicago...

1. he wants to win. That won't happen with the Cubs.
2. he has said before he is not a fan of all the day games they play
3. the small clubhouse/training room
4. Pujols is a decent person and he knows that'd be like a knife to Cards fans. I don't see him doing that.

And the HGH dispenser in the visitor's locker room is always broken and he doesn't want to take the chance that the same holds true for the home team's locker.

[izzy's dad]

He already joked that he wouldn't do that. :)

I think it would be funny. Make a big to do of the whole thing. Donate all of the proceeds to the city of Cleveland.

[Mr Larkin]

AP will not be the ruin of the Cards. Instead, he may lead them to a WS win, again.
I think it will be tough for them to keep him around. Money will surely be better elsewhere. I have read in the past that he wanted to dip his toe in the free agent pool. If that is the case, StL can't pay him as much as others so he will be gone.
I don't think he would care about hurting his StL fans by going to the Cubs. He plays for whoever pays him - not the fans. He could build a winner in Chicago with Theo.

[Vottomatic]

I think it would be hilarious if the Reds fooled everyone and have been saving up to sign Pujols.

Then trade Votto for improved starting pitching.

I don't really want Pujols, but I'd still laugh if BC and WJ decided to shock the world and the Cardinals.

[brm7675]

There is zero chance Albert plays anywhere but St. Louis next year. Whatever he wants the St. Louis mag't will pay him. The first basemen who will land somewhere else this offseason will be Mr. Fielder and maybe Mr. Votto, but no chance Alberty moves.

[Old NDN]

I think Albert sees what offers he can get, then use them as leverage to get something close from the Cards. I don't see him going anywhere else. Fielder, OTOH, is gone to the highest bidder, IMO.

[NCCardfan]

I think Albert sees what offers he can get, then use them as leverage to get something close from the Cards. I don't see him going anywhere else. Fielder, OTOH, is gone to the highest bidder, IMO.

Truth. AP will get a huge paycheck but STL will be writing it.

Prince doesn't care who writes his check as long as it's enough to pay Boras and Boras just wants more money.

[jwmann2]

He is having an incredible post season and is on teh verge of leading his team to their second WS. This means that if so St. Louis has no option, no matter the cost they will have to resign Albert. So with such a bloated contract that Albert will get, how much will that hurt the overall franchise down the road 3-5 years to be able to stay competive? Also how will that impact on what Votto will want and get when his time comes?

That fan base will never forgive them if they don't re-sign him. Had Teixera never signed that big deal a few years back, Pujols would be a Yankee.

[bounty37h]

I dont care who ruins them, as long as they are ruined.

[Tadasimha]

I'm wondering if Pujols might have cost himself the big payday by not signing this off-season. David Freese has emerged for this team and if he continues to play the way he has, the Cardinals FO might decide that they already have bat enough in Freese for the next several years and don't need Pujols. They may only offer Pujols a shorter term deal than he wants and he'll go to another team for the longer term.

I still think he ends up on the west coast, possibly with the Angels.

[jwmann2]

I hope he goes to the AL. I hate playing against this guy so often every year. Same for Prince Fielder. Either one will land in Chicago. Scary now that they have a competent general manager.

[LegallyMinded]

I wouldn't mind Fielder staying in the division. The Cubs are quite a ways from competing: If Epstein does sign Fielder, by the time the Cubs are ready to make a run, I imagine someone with Fielder's body type will be well into his decline.

As for Pujols, of course, it would be great to see him in the AL, but I would guess it doesn't happen. The WS victory probably gives St. Louis a greater impetus to hang onto him, especially given his three-HR game. That's the kind of thing that sticks in the mind of a fan base and makes it hard for a front office to let the player go.

[R_Webb18]

I hope he goes to the AL. I hate playing against this guy so often every year. Same for Prince Fielder. Either one will land in Chicago. Scary now that they have a competent general manager.

neither are going to the cubs

[cw0802]

The Cardinals will make a serious push for Albert. He means a lot more to the organization and the city of St. Louis than people outside of this area realize. He knows this. For the past couple seasons he's said "it's not about the biggest contract or most money, it's about playing on a competitive team." Can't get much more competitive than winning the wild card in dramatic fashion, going through two of the best teams in the league then winning the world series.

[goreds2]

The Cardinals will make a serious push for Albert. He means a lot more to the organization and the city of St. Louis than people outside of this area realize.

Look what happen to the Reds after they let Tony Perez go after the 1976 season. :(

[RedsFanIN]

I would not be shocked if the Giants are not players for him. They are in need of a strong offensive bat to go with that outstanding rotation. It would not be hard for their front office to justify an increase in payroll if the increase was for Albert. It would give their fan base that superstar player (every day player) they have been missing since Bonds.

[brad1176]

Interesting quote:
Bill DeWitt III said in a television interview with KTVI (Channel 2): "Tony should be done quick, Albert might take a little longer. (He's) come this far (regarding free agency), why not see what's out there?"

It sounds like the Cards are going to let other teams set the market for Pujols, knowing that the Yankees and Red Sox are probably not in on him. I don't think the Rangers will be in on him either because of economics. The Cubs won't get him, he wouldn't do that to himself. I think the Cards will let him look around and let him realize the best offer is back in St Louis.