This would be fantastic. I don't know good the team is going to be with Holliday and Pujols commanding almost half of the payroll, but at least we (might still) have him.

alz wrote:

Man sometimes I'm a blithering idiot... I would not make a successful GM, but this time, I was right. After the Howard deal, I estimated 30 million a season is what it would take to keep AP around. Sad though, they could have signed him for a 10/250 before howard got that deal.

Actually Alz, Pujols told Chad last season that during the offseason (between 09-10) Pujols' agents proposed a 5/125 (the same deal Howard signed, but before Howard signed it) and the Cardinals didn't act because they thought the market was regressing.  If that's the case, their effort to low-ball Pujols may have cost them anywhere from $55-85M in guaranteed money.

alz wrote:

Well I seriously hope you're right, because it seems all quiet on the cardinal front... I don't like "all quiet" when I have the best baseball player ever without a contract.

Fingers crossed.

Chad's take was that "all quiet" was a good sign.  They'd be scrambling to get a deal done if there wasn't already a framework for a deal and the media would know.  This may be a situation where no news really is good news.  At least for a little while.

Last edited by forsberg_us (12/23/2010 11:27 am)

Great news, Fors. I may have an extra egg nog tomorrow night to celebrate.
Thanks for passing it along.

forsberg_us wrote:

he heard there were two sets of figures being discussed.  One was a straight 7 year, $210M deal.  The other was a 6 year, $180M deal with vesting options that could take it to an 8 year deal based upon plate appearances and performance.

Those numbers sound about right.  Let's hope.

And FWIW, stating a Plan B move to Wrigleyville was brilliant, regardless of the inspiration.

Just trying to build tension, or is the deal not as done as we have been led to believe?

Spring Training deadline in Pujols talks
Albert Pujols has no interest in continuing contract negotiations once Spring Training starts, general manager John Mozeliak told reporters on Saturday.

Mozeliak said that he had been told by Danny Lozano, Pujols' agent, that there is a deadline for getting a new deal done.

"We have been notified that Spring Training would be the deadline," Mozeliak said.

The GM declined to give any further specifics regarding negotiations. Pujols is entering the final year of a contract that will end up paying him $111 million over eight seasons.

--Matthew Leach

http://mlb.mlblogs.com/

Last edited by Max (1/15/2011 3:29 pm)

It certainly doesn't appear the information was any good.  Don't think you have to put a deadline on a "done deal".

"Talks have gained momentum in the last week, according to sources familiar with the process; however, no deal is believed imminent despite suggestions that the club might attempt to time an announcement for its annual fan fest."

I wouldnt stop being a Card fan just because of a failed Pujols deal.  I still 100% believe this deal gets done.  However I understand the Cardinals taking their time to committ to doubling Pujols' yearly contract.  If Pujols gets maket value he will get getting a 11-14 million dollar raise.

I hope this doesnt become like the Holliday talks.  By the time he signed I was so sick of hearing about it I didnt even care much.

Max wrote:

You never know how things could work out.  Pujols has been so much head and shoulders above the average baseball players in everything he does, including these talks.  He is in the driver's seat now, but he knows it's a business.  The last card DeWitt can play is the 'let him play out this season, try not get hurt, and test the market' card.  I don't think Pujols would be so petty as to fault DeWitt for playing that card.  But I do think that we wouldn't have much of a chance in the open market.  So, magnanimous or not, Pujols would almost surely be gone.

I would think on the open market we would have as good or better chance as any team.  Like you said, Pujols is handling these talks like a true pro.  I dont think he would turn down a fair offer from the Cardinals no matter what.  One thing that is real respectible about Berkman is how loyal he was to the Astros.  Even after being traded he wanted to come go back.  I think him and Berkman have that in common.  There loyalty lies more with the fans, teammates and the city then it does with ownership.

Max wrote:

APRTW wrote:

Max wrote:

You never know how things could work out.  Pujols has been so much head and shoulders above the average baseball players in everything he does, including these talks.  He is in the driver's seat now, but he knows it's a business.  The last card DeWitt can play is the 'let him play out this season, try not get hurt, and test the market' card.  I don't think Pujols would be so petty as to fault DeWitt for playing that card.  But I do think that we wouldn't have much of a chance in the open market.  So, magnanimous or not, Pujols would almost surely be gone.

I would think on the open market we would have as good or better chance as any team.  Like you said, Pujols is handling these talks like a true pro.  I dont think he would turn down a fair offer from the Cardinals no matter what.  One thing that is real respectible about Berkman is how loyal he was to the Astros.  Even after being traded he wanted to come go back.  I think him and Berkman have that in common.  There loyalty lies more with the fans, teammates and the city then it does with ownership.

I think on the open market we are dead meat.  I think plenty of teams have the cash and desire to give him the largest contract in baseball history in terms of AAV and total value, and I think DeWitt has already decided he is not going to do that.  Otherwise he already would have.

I could see years having as much to do with the contract as money.  I dont think Pujols enjoys this free agent/contract talks.

Max wrote:

I think another team would offer $300 million for 10 years in a heartbeat.

As much as I enjoy watching Pujols play, I wouldn't offer him a 10 year deal.