Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

Can't watch it yet.

Don't. I take back every charitable thing I said about Pujols after watching that nonsense yesterday. I hope he hits .200 and the Angels finish 40 games behind Texas.

I think there's a decent chance that Pujols completely bombs in LA, but to preempt an argument I sense coming, just because he bombs for LA doesn't mean he would have necessarily bombed had he stayed in St. Louis.

Right now I don't care about baseball. I don't care Furcal signed or Braun got caught with a needle stuck in his arse. I'm sure I'll come around by April, but seeing LeBron Pujols grinning like a Jack O'Lantern yesterday and sitting there with his son on his lap and then pulling on that #5 Angels jersey and talking about the Angels tugging at his heart and Moreno acting and being received like his was some sort of  philanthropist and everyone pretending this wasn't about anything more than money was the spark that lit the fuse to my powder keg. I'm going all Jewish mother on Pujols. I'm taking the Cardinals t-shirt with his number on it, burying it in the ground and pretending he doesn't exist.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/6baf3c37-03d7-59ef-9d98-e93cfd81a9e9.html

Bernie getting a little pissed too!

Last edited by alz (12/12/2011 8:36 am)

Max wrote:

DeWitt thanks you for buying his media campaign.  Every penny he spent on it was worth it.

You should probably just go ahead and become an Angels fan.

Also, it's pretty funny that a large, large majority of St. Louis fans are on the side of the team and are using their vitriol on Pujols, yet you're trying to show that your smarter than everyone by placing the blame on management because of something Albert Pujols said in a private conversation two years ago.

We're not suckers and we've not been bamboozled by ownership. People have accepted reality: Pujols wanted more than the Cardinals could afford, the Cardinals gave him an extremely generous offer that would've stretched their payroll in a big way and this is a team that has maximized their revenue.

"DeWitt thanks you for buying his media campaign."

Well that's a load of crap, Max. DeWitt wasn't the one who called a press conference to show off his shiny new toys.
If you want to talk about narcissism, who puts up a statue of himself outside his own restaurant?

Alot of bitterness around this morning


"His birth certificate says he is 31, but there has long been speculation that his birth certificate is not accurate. There is a history of altered records in his native Dominican Republic.

But I am not talking about chronological age. I am talking about emotional age.

Emotionally, Pujols is 12.......................Meanwhile, Pujols will be in Anaheim. Close to Disneyland. I bet he'll love the place.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/bill-mcclellan/mcclellan-another-look-at-why-pujols-really-left/article_671c05c6-7b19-57a0-8c4c-1ff631011965.html#ixzz1gKVQng46"

"Does any franchise in baseball treat its legends with more reverence than the Cardinals?"

I was thinking the same thing when I read the story yesterday that had the headline "It Was About Committment."

How many times did Pujols mingle with Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Bruce Sutter or Ozzie Smith?  How many years has Red Schoendienst pulled on a Cardinals uniform?  And Stan Musial?  Pujols has seen first hand how this community has treated Musial, right up to compiling online signatures to get him the Medal of Freedom last year.  Think any of them have a personal services contract?

Speaking of personal services contracts, I remember at least two other players who signed them.  Both signed them with the Braves.  Bruce Sutter and Al Hrabosky.  What organization do they work for today?

Then there's Didi and her "He's not a piece of property. He's a human being" nonsense.  It might be more convincing if you hadn't spent the last month shopping him around to the highest bidder.

Max, there's not a lot of complimentary Cardinal media coverage. I'm not sure what you're reading, but this is a lot like a lockout. Nobody gives a rats ass about the problems of a man with a 250 million dollar contract, and they care just as much for the person who will have a tough time affording to pay a 250 million dollar contract.

There's a world of anti-pujols coming out in the local media, and it's mostly because the man was just a dick to them. Well, he's the St. Louis icon, piss him off, and you're out of the clubhouse, and probably out of a job. Now he's gone, and they get to write the articles they have been DYING to write for 10 years. Still though, don't take it as pro-Cardinals. Bernie nailed it pretty good. They have a temporary reprieve, while fans wait for the moves they expect now that Dewitt has 21 million he's not going to pay Albert freed up.

The things that do kick me in the balls Max? His stupid ass wife talking shit. He's not a piece of property, blah blah.... Fuck you lady, the man was our icon. He literally was the avatar of St. Louis, and he walked for money (or if you want to phrase it in a different fashion, "Commitment"! 254 Million single voices of pure cold commitment). Don't insult our intelligence, and this heart tugging bullshit has to go. That's the part that's really pissing me off, is that 3 years of this nonsense, and then you run to the biggest gold pile you can get to without losing your no-trade clause, and you still want to chirp about these personal things affecting the decision, and it wasn't just about money.

At one point I made a shitty flippant comment and followed it with more "high and mighty" crap. Artie immediately lit me up, because my tone made it seem like I was certainly smarter than everyone else, and he was "clearly intelligent enough to understand my point". I see now why it lit him up like that, even though I was really just storming off and didn't mean what I said, or how I decided to throw it out there. I was just popping off, in a shitty mood. Turns out we have this in common, neither of us like feeling like someone considers us so goddamned stupid that they can just fire out whatever spin bullshit they see fit, and expect us to buy it.

I wish the jackass would just tell us the truth. Money wasn't everything to him, but this was a lot of money. Nothing deferred, nothing optioned, all guaranteed, and a no-trade clause. Southern California is a nicer area, with a huge audience, and the team in question is a serious contender. Money isn't everything, but when both teams are just as likely to win, the money and contract become EVERYTHING.

I think Pujols going to the Angles wasnt about money.  I think it was about something even more selfish, ego.  Pujols thinks he is above human.  Above ownership.  Above the fans.  Honestly we all played part in that.  When the Cardinals front office didnt worship him as he wished by offering him the moon it hurt his ego.  Then the Marlins courted him but the writing was on the wall that they were going to dump his ass at some point.  That would have cause another ego hit when he got shipped to a city he had no control over.  I am sure he was upset that he had all this god like appeal and the Cardinals pretty much had his market cornered.  Upset to the point of anger for really no other reason then he wasnt getting his way.  Then the Angels come in with there big money and Pujols jumps at the chance to get the Cardinals front office.  Will he regret leave St. Louis?  IDK.  I dont regret him leaving.  The Cardinals are in alot better shape because he is on the west coast. 

The comments about Smith, Brock, Gibson and Stan are 100% correct but Pujols doesnt deserve to stand in line with them on opening day.  He never will.  There are alot of Cardinal players like Mcgee, Coleman, Matheny, Mabry and so on that were able to go on with their career outside of St. Louis and still keep the Cardinals fans on their side.  Pujols could have done the same if he had the humility.

One point I forgot to make was that Carp really did a standup thing this year by taking a fair offer from the Cardinals.  In light of the Pujols situation he should get alittle credit.  He could have pushed his way into the market and likely made a few extra bucks.

forsberg_us wrote:

One last point.  As far as the "it should never have gotten this far," perhaps it's fair to dump some of that on DeWitt, but let's not forget that it was Pujols and his agent who imposed the January deadline on negotiating a new deal.  Plenty of players work out deals during the season without distraction.  If Pujols REALLY wanted to be here, there wasn't any reason to impose a deadline.

Doesnt it go alittle further the the January deadline?  Wasnt Pujols the one that claimed every year publicly that his contract wasnt an issue because he was signed till 2011?  For him to say that to us then be offended that the Cardinals were not knocking on his door to give him a raise is nothing short of double talk.  The there is BM comment about him being offended that Holliday made more then him.  If that is true it doesnt line up with Pujols comments about being happy with his contract.  Either Pujols is a lier or he has estrogen fueled fits.

BTW - did I tell you guys that I "Tebow'd" during all of game 6?  Especially each time we got down to one last strike!

artie_fufkin wrote:

"As far as the "it should never have gotten this far," perhaps it's fair to dump some of that on DeWitt, but let's not forget that it was Pujols and his agent who imposed the January deadline on negotiating a new deal."

My animosity toward DeWitt is fractional compared to my animosity toward LeBron.

Same. Bernie really does hit the nail on the head.

"Pujols was a free agent and could do what he wanted. I don't blame him for taking Anaheim's deal; it was a tremendous contract. Pujols did what was best for him. I've actually defended him on that count. And I was ready to move on. He's gone. Let's move forward. And if Pujols would have said he was ready for a change, he was disappointed in the St. Louis offer, and the Angels made a wonderful offer that he couldn't turn down -- well, fine. No blowback from me.

But the more Pujols talks, the more his wife talks, the more his agent talks, the sillier this gets. They're pushing the idea that The Decision was about everything except money, and that's absurd."

This is really what kills me with Pujols... I can't say it better.

Last edited by alz (12/12/2011 1:29 pm)