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On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Today’s conclusion includes reactions…

Local

Jeff Gordon says Bill DeWitt “sent Albert Pujols packing.” I’m not sure I’d phrase and frame it that way. Yes, DeWitt and John Mozeliak had a plan, and a ceiling they were willing to offer. But Albert packed all on his own.

Greg Leuthen covers both sides of the coin, and now what? for the Cardinals.

Various reactions from Cardinals and local figures.

BJ Rains looks ahead to where the Cardinals might spend all of their newfound payroll space.

Matthew Leach also lays out the tasks remaining for the Cardinals in the wake of being left by Pujols.

David Wilhelm reiterated what many have already said. Paraphrasing: “it sucks, but the Cards are likely better off for it.”

The Alton Telegraph had some hard hitting local reaction. From Facebook, of course.

KSDK has video of Mozeliak’s press conference after returning to St. Louis sans Pujols.

Go read everything Bernie Miklasz has written about the Pujols negotiations. Just do it.

National

There was much rejoicing in Milwaukee.

Astonishment in New York.

Pitchers sleeping better in Cincinnati.

The Red Sox never really tried to find a place for Pujols.

Cards loss of Pujols means Cubs adding Fielder would shift balance of power in division to Chicago? Um…

Lozano called the Yankees about Pujols. Of course he did.

Phillies also glad Pujols is in the American League.

Even Pirates fans are happy!

Gregg Doyel expresses what many Cardinal fans are feeling – it’s not necessarily about loyalty, deserving something, or even necessarily honesty – it’s about the legacy Pujols threw away. Personally, my thinking is very much in line with Doyel’s. Albert had his reasons for choosing Anaheim, the Cardinals had their reasons for not breaking the bank – but in the end, it was Albert’s decision to become “just another great ballplayer” rather than a near-deified legend.

More “all is not lost” from Jerry Crasnick. To be clear, I agree, not mocking the sentiment.

Cliff Corcoran expects the Cardinals to contend in 2012, without Pujols.

Can we please stop the Albert Pujols equals LeBron James nonsense? Please.

Stan McNeal thinks the Cards will come out ahead in the long run, especially without being able to DH Pujols in the later years of the deal.

Long-time Cardinal fan Will Leitch’s reactions, numbered.

How did some AL West execs react?

Blogs

A look back at Pujols by the numbers against his former NL Central foes – and that Houston Astros team that he’s following.

David Schoenfield summed the Cardinal future, and what fans should expect, up quite nicely: “The Cardinals will move on. … Because, in the end, we don’t cheer for stars. We cheer for our team. Trust me, Cardinals fans: You will recover.”

Bloguin’s The Outside Corner assessed Pujols signing impact on both the Angels and the Cards.

Dennis took a more lighthearted approach to figuring out why Pujols would bolt for the West Coast.

A great write-up from Steve Kelley at Review STL. “And when you come back to Busch Stadium for the first time, I hope the fans remember that, too. We gave Craig Biggio a standing ovation, and he was an arch-rival for years. I hope they afford the same to you. And then I hope the Cardinals beat the living $#!+ out of the Angels. We are Cardinal Nation.”

Chicago Now has a great post looking at Pujols’ decision to leave St. Louis and the decision soon facing the Indianapolis Colts over what to do with Peyton Manning. Is the team bound to the same expectations of loyalty as fans expect players to be?

From Viva El Birdos… Both Pujols and the Cardinals made mistakes. Great opinions.

—–

Finally, here, courtesy of @MattSebek, is the full-page “thank you” advertisement in today’s Post-Dispatch from Albert and Dee Dee. It’s a nice gesture, but over-played. Just take your money and go.

—–

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Thanks for following along with The Daily Pujols posts, if you have been.  This marks the end, I guess fittingly.

It’s official.  Albert Pujols has just signed a mega-contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California, USA.  Reportedly, the contract is for something like 10 years and $250-260M.  Huzzah!

Since there will be a veritable rat race to bring the factual news to the masses, I’m opting for a more subtle approach.  I’m going to give you nothing but speculation and nonsense, because that’s exactly what this occasion needs.

20 Reasons Albert Chose The Angels:

1. The cost of rebranding his restaurant, Pujols Five, to “Not Pujols Five” was far less than originally projected.
2. He has officially broken off his longtime bromance with Yadier Molina, although the two have apparently agreed to Skype one another once a week. 
3. The Marlins refused to rename their new stadium “Jurassic Park” which Pujols suggested after actually learning of the park’s dimensions.  The Angels have agreed to rename their stadium “The Can“.  Once Pujols starts playing with the Angels, his home games will simply be referred to as “Prince Albert in a Can“.
4. Dan Lozano could no longer keep a straight face when referring to a “mystery team” involved in the negotiations.  Lozano kept suggesting names like the Expos, Lakers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Generals, Manchester United, Dolphins, Buffalo Bison, and the Bad News Bears.
5. Albert felt an urgency to sign quickly after nearly getting injured trying to pass through Lozano’s entourage of courtesans. (Yes, I went THERE!)
6. Albert confided to a close friend that the offer from St. Louis seemed much more lucrative when converted to the Sao Tome Dobra currency.  (3,660,286,210,134.00 Dobras = $200,000,000 US)  Unfortunately, it turns out that Disney Dollars are far more valuable than the Dobra.
7. Team Pujols re-evaluated the cost of moving his family, their home, all of his trophies, and approximately 3,000,000 Cardinal fans to South Beach and decided the move was cost prohibitive. 
8. Marlins would not include a contract stipulation that would require Marlins fans at home games to applaud all fly balls that leave the infield.
9. Without a no trade clause, there was no guarantee that Pujols would still be in Miami to co-star in the next “Bad Boys” movie.
10. Lozano recently learned that the “Florida Keys” are not actually home to singer Alicia Keys, so all bets were off immediately.
11. As a man quickly nearing his 50′s, he decided that a timeshare in Cali sounded pretty darn good.
12. His family simply couldn’t find a 15,000 square foot mansion on the water in St. Louis County that came equipped with both an indoor batting cage and a privacy fence tall enough to prevent neighbors from seeing Albert walk around the back yard in his Superman outfit.
13. The distance between Missouri and the Dominican Republic was just too much to take, and boy were his arms tired from flying between the two.  To appease Pujols, the Angels have agreed to move the Dominican Republic to just west of Baja.
14. The Angels offered a much better hovercraft for commutes to games.
15. The Angels have also agreed to move training camp to Albert’s house for the next 5 years.
16. Pujols has decided to become a 2 sport star, and his contract includes $5M/year from the Lakers. 
17. Researchers discovered Albert’s original birth certificate, and they determined that he was actually born in Hawaii and is conveniently the same age as President Barack Obama.  He simply wanted to be closer to “his roots”.
18. Albert’s family collectively decided that the name “Miami Marlins” reminds them of “M&Ms”, and they much prefer Snickers. 
19. Albert has decided to play the next 10 seasons as a left-handed hitter in an attempt to break even more records than he already has.  The Angels are fine with this, and they have instituted a lineup position named “full-time DH, mang”.
20. The city of Anaheim has agreed to rename “October” to “Mangtober” in Albert’s honor.

5 Reasons Why Albert Should Hire A New Agent:

1. Dan Lozano’s suggestion that Albert’s new walkup music include the lyrics “Bow chicka wow wow” seems completely inappropriate and misaligned with Albert’s wholesome image.
2. Scott Boras would have made a complete 3 DVD set of Albert’s highlights and forced at least 20 general managers to watch it over and over.  He may have included the iPhone/iPod version as well.
3. Rumor has it that Jerry Maguire is available to represent baseball players now.
4. When Lozano orders a “full loaded sandwich”, he’s not referring to a turkey and swiss.
5. There are literally hundreds of literate Cubs fans who would gladly represent him. (Okay, maybe dozens.)

TIDBIT:  Yes, he went for the money, and I’m glad.  I wouldn’t want to see the Cardinals paying $25M/yr for Pujols.  Adios, Mang.  There are a lot of positives to this signing, and you just have to look for the iron lining (sorry, but AP took all the silver).

Follow me, gr33nazn, on Twitter for more utter nonsense and play-by-play of the Pujolsian media trainwreck!

I vascillate frequently between important decisions.  Paper or plastic?  Boxers or briefs?  “Heads” Carolina, “Tails” California?  10 years in Miami with hideous uniforms and a top heavy roster for a couple hundred million….or 8-10 years in the same place I’ve already won 2 WS championships (also for a couple hundred million).

Oh, sorry.  I got all confused by the media-slide of information regarding Albert Pujols and “The Decision”.  Honestly, this situation doesn’t have quite the same stylings or panache that LeBron’s move did.  This is more like “The Derision”.

If you’ve been throwing bullpen sessions the past couple weeks, then feel free to cast the first stone.  I’m not doing it.  The free agency process isn’t about “character”, and it certainly isn’t about “what is right”.  It’s about evaluating the marketplace for your specific profession and determining what job you want, and that decision is a very personal one.  Unfortunately, it’s also a decision that will immediately be made public for all to scrutinize, and you most certainly can’t make everybody happy with it.  Nor should you.

Like it or not, Albert Pujols is the new car on the showroom floor, the puppy in the window, and the latest Louboutins at Neiman Marcus.  He’s on display for the entire world to see, and it seems that everybody and their uncle’s nephew has an opinion about where he is going, why he is going there, and why he is a jerk for making whatever choice he makes.  Really?

Are any of you so different?  If you didn’t have an agreement in place with your current employer to continue working past a certain date, what would you do?  Most of us would probably just agree to a new deal involving a minimal pay increase for a lot more work.  How would that change, if other companies were standing by and counting the days until 1 or more of them could bid for your services?  Put me in that position, and I’m headed to all the free lunches and schmoozing I can handle.  It’s not that I don’t like my employer; it’s just that I want what is the best for my family.

So what if that means hanging around with circumspect people (agents) and glorified con-artists (other agents)?  I’m going to at least politely listen to other offers until I feel the time is right to make a decision, especially if that decision determines where I will work and live for the next decade.  More importantly, I want to know that the combination of factors worth considering are aligned with my financial goals.

Let’s assume for a moment that all of the potential offers are more than generous and easily enough to keep me set for life.  That doesn’t really make the decision any easier for me.  It just means that I can’t simply eliminate 1 or 2 offers that aren’t enough to pad my nest properly.  Does that say anything at all about my character as a person?

Maybe.  Maybe it just indicates that I’m concerned about making the best decision, and I’m not the least bit concerned about what total strangers think.  Is that the worst thing in the world?

By all means, go ahead and prepare yourselves to be as mean and nasty as possible.  Just keep in mind that you probably aren’t all that different from Pujols, except for the amount of money involved, the questionable people with whom he associates, and the profession in question.  I still maintain that human inertia is at work here.  A person at rest tends to stay at rest.  It usually takes a tremendous offer to lure a worker bee from one employer to another.  It’s not that we don’t like the thought of making more money, it’s just that most of us aren’t really big int0 relocating, making new fake friends, and wearing ugly professional attire. 

If Albert decides to take the money and run, then I can’t blame him one bit.  He basically said all the right things and did all the right things while in St. Louis.  He can go do and say the same things elsewhere.  The only difference is that nobody will believe him. 

TIDBIT:  Regarding $$$:  If you aren’t enough without it, then you will never be enough with it. 

MORE BITS OF TID:  I feel it necessary to address a few of the rumors floating about regarding AP5.

1. We don’t actually have a picture of him walking on water during his trip to Hawaii.
2. Dan Lozano is not the Devil.  He’s not nearly good looking enough for that.  Al Pacino was much more convincing.
3. Until Albert actually signs on the dotted line, the situation is always going to be “fluid”, “dynamic”, or “50/50″.  Sounds a lot like the way an engineer might describe regenerative braking, actually.
4. Albert has not officially announced that he is buying MLB and making everybody work for him.  Pure speculation.
5. Heard this: A potential contract with the Marlins is NOT contingent on the Marlins signing Billy Chapel, Tim Tebow, or Chris Bosh. 
6. Albert isn’t a bad guy, he’s just drawn that way.
7. Pujols will likely not declare that he is “taking his talents to South Beach, mang.”
8. Albert Pujols most definitely did not appear on “The Sing Off” last night dressed as Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men, and he most definitely did not sing “This Christmas” with NOTA.
9. NASA has confirmed that the first transmission from the moon did not include the words “One small step for mang.  One giant leap for mangkind.”
10. Albert Pujols is truly 31 years old.  We know this, because Octavio Dotel and Miguel Tejada told us so.  (No, not really.)
11. Sources tell us that Albert will probably not play multiple positions at the same time in 2012, although working 50-60 innings in a setup role is possible.
12. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Pujols will be starring in the next series of “Mayhem” commercials.  #Recalculating
13. Team Pujols is NOT looking to secure a 15 year contract that would pay him up until he can start collecting Social Security benefits.  (Just kidding.  He’s at least 18 years away.)
14. Nobody cares about your fantasy league team except for Albert.
15. Albert Pujols will not be appearing in the next Indiana Jones film as “Pujols Jones”, the previously unknown half-brother to Indiana Jones.

Follow gr33nazn on Twitter for more references to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

Image via Wikipedia

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

Matthew Leach busts a reality check on us – the Cards have other things to tend to in free agency besides Albert Pujols. C’mon, I’m not buying it. You?

The Commish recalls Winter Meetings of yesteryear and looks ahead to what we might expect out of Dallas, from the Cardinals and their division-mates.

Bernie Miklasz is asking for a compromise – less years from Pujols, more money (AAV) from the Cardinals.

Derrick Goold reports that Team Pujols (and Lozano) is on the ground in Dallas.

Joe Strauss has more on the market developing (or not developing) for Pujols, and uncertainty on whether the Cards’ previously offered deal is still on the table.

Goold adds more from John Mozeliak – the GM has spoken with Pujols directly, on the phone.

B.J. Rains was one of many reporters who spoke with Bill DeWitt this morning. DeWitt said: “”You don’t replace an Albert Pujols.”

National

Dave Wischnowsky says the Cubs signing Pujols or Prince Fielder is only worth it if the team wins a World Series with said player on the team. I guess that makes sense? I still feel like the playoffs are too much of a crapshoot to count on winning once you’re there. Wouldn’t it be just as “worth it” for Cubs fans if they just made the playoffs every year? Every other year?

MYSTERY TEAM ALERT!!!!!

Anthony Castrovince writes the most important thing perhaps anyone has written about the Pujols negotiations to date: “Ultimately, Pujols’ loyalty can’t be measured until somebody else steps up with a serious offer…”

Craig Slater of The Regina Leader-Post breaks some news about Pujols: “Albert Pujols won’t be the next head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders…” Well, so much for that mystery team.

As rumors swirl – and one deal is reportedly already done – about the Marlins spending big bucks at this year’s Winter Meetings, Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post reminisces about the last embers going out on a Marlins fire sale in the same hotel.

Jon Morosi still says Pujols re-ups with the Redbirds, and before Fielder signs anywhere. OOOOOOOOOOH.

Scott Miller and Ken Rosenthal both say it’s time for the Marlins to focus on pitching, not Pujols.

And then there was the cat-and-mouse from Theo Epstein regarding the Cubs’ interest in Pujols: Epstein has full authority which could result in a shorter-term, bigger money deal, yet there are plenty of holes in the Cubs roster to be filled, and Epstein has continued to profess building “the right way” for “the long-term” - which means they’re talking to Dan Lozano about Rodrigo Lopez.

Blogs

Some guy named Kent Sterling (who obviously thinks very highly of himself) also thinks Pujols will stay in St. Louis.

At Fish Stripes, Michael Jong terms a Marlins offer to Pujols “ludicrous in a sort of “I can’t believe the team is going this far” sense.”

The Rangers are “not really in” on Pujols or Fielder.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Follow @PitchersHit8th on Twitter and get the Daily Pujols as soon as it’s posted!

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

Bernie Miklasz sees through the Cubs’ and Dan Lozano’s ploy to drive up the price of Albert Pujols‘ new contract.  As Bernie mentions, it’s in the best interests of both the Cubbies and Danny to get in bed together, regardless of whether it’s genuine or not.

BJ Rains follows up on what the Pujols negotiations mean for middle infield upgrades for the Cardinals.

Ken Rosenthal made an appearance on The ITD Morning After – read the transcript here.

How do the Rangers fit into this?  A team certainly with a need at first base, plenty of money to spend?  Derrick Goold explores.

Miklasz wants John Mozeliak to play the game with Lozano and the Cubs – set them on their ears by talking up Prince Fielder to the Cards.

National

Phil Rogers makes a few interesting points about a potential Pujols deal getting done sooner than later – by waiting, then eventually re-signing with the Cardinals, Pujols may well weaken the Cardinals’ chances at further improving the team with other free agents.

MLB.com Cubs reporter Carrie Muskat had a quote from Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, regarding free agents: “As I’ve stated in the past, we’re a major market team and we’re going to be involved across the spectrum,” Hoyer said. “I’m not going to address whether we’re on or off individual players other than the fact that we’re in contact with a lot of teams and a lot of agents and we’re doing everything we can to improve the team for next year and the future.”

Anna McDonald explored some financial what-ifs, including one that I hadn’t really previously considered – the dynamic pricing model for tickets actually would stand to improve their financial windfall from potential Pujols record chases later in any contract.  But how much?

Read between the lines.  Theo Epstein still is saying the Cubs need to build from within.

Rick Morrissey makes the argument FOR the Cubs and Theo Epstein signing Pujols, but can’t stop typing before arrogantly bringing up performance enhancers.  Stay classy.

Jeff Passan thinks Pujols’ own “Decision” a la LeBron James would be good for the game of baseball.  Dunno.

Blogs

Marlin Maniac recounts the bidders for Pujols’ services and is another in the camp believing that AP will remain with the Cardinals.

Rob Neyer asks if re-signing Pujols is a good idea for the Cardinals, invoking the name of Matt Adams, as so many have recently. Small nitpick: Neyer didn’t do his homework on Adams, indicating that it was a failure of some sort that Adams didn’t reach triple-A Memphis.  Adams was injured, likely preventing such a call-up.

Deadspin put up a second post on the hi-jinks of Pujols agent Dan Lozano. I wouldn’t read it at work.

Alex Fritz wrote an epic “what-if” post at SB Nation St. Louis.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Follow @PitchersHit8th on Twitter and get the Daily Pujols as soon as it’s posted!

Image by d-deee via Flickr

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

It’s been a while since the last time we visited, so I’ve pared back the sheer number of links in the interest of keeping your respective employers happy. Rest assured, we’ll be back with full force ongoing.

Local

Derrick Goold explores how the Cardinals can compete with the various free agency suitors and their presentations to Albert Pujols – I particularly like the first and last suggestions in the list near the bottom.  I also like that Derrick used “FTW” in a post.

John Mozeliak sat down with KSDK for a few minutes to discuss (or decline to specifically discuss) the Pujols negotiations.

The Cardinals offered AP arbitration.

AP is expected to decline arbitration.

Goold follows up on the Lozano/Deadspin mess with quotes from Pujols on vacation in Hawaii.

Jeff Wilson at The Southern Illinoisan plays “What If?”  Dare I say, he didn’t do it as well as Dennis did.

Goold explains the Allen Craig over Albert Pujols listing at first base for Baseball America’s 2015 projected Cardinals lineup.

The Post-Dispatch’s Round Two water cooler discussion tackles “best” offer for Pujols – will the Cardinals offer it?

Matthew Leach addresses Pujols questions in a mailbag at MLB.com.

Leach also writes that as the Winter Meetings start, so does the earnest pursuit of Pujols.

National

A BAR GRAPH!

The Centre Daily Times focuses on Matt Adams’ season and rising stock in the Cardinals’ organization and how his ascension may fit with the organization depending on Pujols’ future.

Tony Andracki at CSNChicago.com doesn’t think Pujols (or Prince Fielder) is a good fit for the Cubs. (NO WORRY, LOZANO THINKS THEY FIT JUST FINE)

Jeff Passan uses quotes like “the interest in Pujols has been surprisingly quiet” and “100 percent certain he’s going back there [to St. Louis]” – is that good or bad?

Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal indicate that the new CBA restrictions on amateur spending and a light free-agent market may be pushing the Cubs toward AP and Fielder.

Phil Rogers says no dice on the Cubs rumors. Who’s telling the truth?

Well, for one, Tom Ricketts says the decision is up to Theo.

Bernie Miklasz nails it on Theo Epstein and the Cubs – smart doesn’t always mean frugal spending. Doesn’t always mean smart either.

ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine says that the Cubs are playing it right by feigning interest in both so they can get a deal on the one they really want. Uh, ok?

Blogs

Did you hear the one about Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano? Ya know, at Deadspin? This one? (Likely NSFW)

Friend of the site Josh Bacott added his satirical touch to the Lozano story at KFNS.com.

Pip over at Fungoes polled the Bob Broeg Chapter of SABR on when they believe Pujols will sign.

An (as always) entertaining post from VEB re: Pujols’ pending departure (or not) (or yes) (maybe not?).

Getting Blanked has Albert Pujols Paper Doll Cut-Outs. Yep, it’s awesome.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Follow @PitchersHit8th on Twitter and get the Daily Pujols as soon as it’s posted!

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

Joe Strauss reported that the Cards had re-established contact with Pujols’ representatives (namely Dan Lozano), but cautioned that as expected, both sides were tight-lipped and we could be in for a drawn-out negotiation as Pujols seeks the best deal and the Cardinals wait out the market a bit.

Matthew Leach re-opened the ole mailbag at MLB.com and the first question was about the Pujols contract. In fact, the name on that question looks familiar…

Some really smart guy from Washington University in St. Louis says that Pujols will be overpaid because his salary will be based upon Alex Rodriguez‘ and A-Rod is grossly overpaid. Or something like that.

National

The Sporting News has set up a feed page of sorts for all of their Pujols coverage including a “the latest” section and links to prior articles. Might be worth a bookmark? Or, maybe just bookmark the Daily Pujols feed?

Clark Spencer asks his Miami Herald readers if the Marlins should overpay for Albert Pujols? As is the case with most newspaper comment sections, hilarity ensues.

Dan Le Betard of the Miami Herald wrote a really great article about the future of baseball in Miami and what factor Albert Pujols may play in the success or failure of the “new” baseball and business model of the Marlins.

Rehashing the possible suitors at International Business Times, the author writes (bold is mine), “We assume from his play, the way he interacts with teammates and what he has done for the St. Louis community means that he will re-sign, no matter what the value of St. Louis offer is.” We’ll assume he meant as long as it’s around $200 million.

Blogs

A really smart blogger played the “What If” game with Pujols’ contract.

SB Nation New York covered the report of Lozano meeting with Brian Cashman. More of the same expectation, that talk was about other players than Pujols.

SB Nation Tampa Bay’s Steve Slowinski lines up all the reports indicating the Marlins’ offer was lower than initially guessed at, and thinks that the Marlins may not be so serious about a Pujols deal after all.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Follow @PitchersHit8th on Twitter and get the Daily Pujols as soon as it’s posted!

Image via Wikipedia

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

Local radio show host J.C. Corcoran has announced that Albert Pujols will re-up with the Cardinals on Friday. Many are skeptical, but here are the tweets from Corcoran:

Naturally, the Cardinals have denied this rumor.

Matthew Leach at MLB.com follows up on the denial and also has a quote from a team spokesman, in addition to Mozeliak.

David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat says that the Cardinals can move on without Pujols and succeed.

National

MLB.com has opinions from Jim Duquette and Omar Minaya on where Pujols might land.

ESPN says Brian Cashman met with Dan Lozano (yes, this Dan Lozano), but presumably not about Pujols. Gotta get started on those Nick Swisher extension talks, since he won’t negotiate in-season!

Blogs

Off the Record thinks that Albert’s market is not materializing and the Marlins are playing their fans for fools.

People who can’t read

In order to clarify for those unfamiliar, rumor was rampant today that the Marlins had offered Pujols 9 years, $225 million to sign with them. This was based upon a blurb by Tim Brown from Yahoo! which ACTUALLY said that the offer was believed for 9 years, and then said IF it were for $25 million annually, it would mean a $225 million total. But the reported number was the years. The money was guessed.

From there, many ran with it as fact…

Fox News Latino said the 9 year, $225mm offer was actually reported.

St. Louis’ own Doug Vaughn bought in.

The Big Lead? More like The Big Can’t Read.

MLB Daily Dish’s updates throughout the day set the record straight – it was confirmed that the total offered was actually BELOW $200 million.  OOOOOOPS!

Brown’s own follow-up also clearly states he never had numbers, but was making a guess assuming that the Marlins had to come in high for their offer to be worth much of anything. Stupid Marlins.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

Follow @PitchersHit8th on Twitter and get the Daily Pujols as soon as it’s posted!

Let’s just dispense with the pleasantries and list them all here, shall we?

This way, Cards fans have a repository to come back to game after game, without having to continue to come up with new reasons for a lost season.

In no particular order:

1. Moths
2. Ryan Franklin
3. Takashi Saito
4. Rob Drake
5. Tony Rasmus
6. Dan Lozano
7. Corey Patterson
8. Shelby Miller’s Fists of Fury
9. The frog in Al Hrabosky’s throat
10. Matt Holliday’s (former) appendix
11. Albert Pujols
12. Colby Rasmus
13. Alex Anthopoulos’ dreamy bedroom eyes
14. Miguel Batista
15. Mitchell Boggs
16. Fernando Salas
17. Corey Patterson
18. The offense
19. The bullpen
20. The starting rotation
21. Defense
22. The roster
23. John Mozeliak
24. Adam Wainwright’s (former) elbow ligament
25. Miller Park
26. Corey Patterson
27. Milo Hamilton
28. Arthur Rhodes
29. Brandon Phillips
30. Bloggers
31. Ryan Theriot
32. Tyler Greene
33. Tony La Russa
34. Brendan Ryan
35. Jake Westbrook
36. Corey Patterson
37. Jaime Garcia (but only on the road)
38. The fact that Pete Kozma was on a big league roster
39. Lighted ribbon boards
40. Marty Brennaman
41. Keith Law
42. Bill DeWitt
43. Ballpark Village
44. Rafael Furcal
45. Shingles
46. Corey Patterson
47. Mark McGwire
48. Brian Tallet’s facial hair
49. Sock/stirrup/long pants inconsistency
50. That gosh-danged Aaron Miles
51. Rust at Busch Stadium (on the building and the field)
52. Bud Selig
53. Payroll
54. Heath Bell
55. Jon Jay, full-time starting outfielder
56. Day games after night games
57. Sabermetrics
58. Pitches up and in
59. Corey Patterson

Whew! I think I’ve covered most of them.

Anything missing? Post ‘em in the comments below or find me on Twitter @PitchersHit8th.

Is it unsettling that the Cardinals needed late game heroics from Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker to escape with wins on Saturday and Sunday?  This sense of disquiet actually has nothing to do with the opponent, because the Royals are not only young and talented, but they represent exactly the kind of team that the Cardinals are not built to face.  The Royals have a lot of speed at a lot of different positions, and they use it well.  No, I found the need for late-game heroics unsettling, because it seemed like the Cardinals were relying heavily on the home run.  There just seemed to be a sense that they were waiting for one of the “big guns” to hit a blast.  Maybe that’s why Skip’s walkoff was such a refreshing surprise, because it represented a change from the norm.  Admit it.  There are some fans who start doing the math to figure out how many batters have to reach until Holliday or Berkman come to the plate.  Anybody can catch lightning in a bottle, and today it was Skip’s turn.  Good for Skip. 

The two game winning streak doesn’t wipe out the memory of the 7 game losing streak, and it doesn’t erase my memory of some of the rumors that started to circulate last week.  Once the rumor mill starts to churn out e-waste, it seems that it becomes a self-perpetuating media machine.  Feel free to ignore it.  Better yet, educate yourselves about what is relevant and what makes no sense at all.  I consider myself a bit of an expert at what is irrelevant, so I’ll help with that part.

Consider the rumor that the Cardinals might be interested in JC Romero.  Romero is a lefty, and he has a pulse, so naturally the Cardinals are going to be interested.  What people should be pointing out is that Romero just happens to share an agent with one Albert Pujols.  Just sayin.

The team also kicked the tires on Scott Kazmir, but it’s been reported many times over that only the most desperate teams will be seriously interested in Kazmir.

Of course, there is ALWAYS the Aaron Miles option……..

Who they should be interested in acquiring:

• Jeremy Guthrie – The Orioles are going nowhere soon, and they have a lot of needs.  Guthrie is playing for $5.75M this season.  He has a 3.56 era and 1.176 WHIP. 
• Randy Choate – It’s unlikely that the Marlins would give up a guy with a 0.68 era and 0.825 WHIP, especially when he is only set to make $1M in 2011 and $1.5M in 2012, but it can’t hurt to ask.
• As long as you are talking to them, ask about Josh Johnson.  Maybe the $7.75M they are paying him this year is palatable, but they owe him $13.75M each for 2012 and 2013.  I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, but a 2013 rotation of Wainwright, Johnson, Miller, Lynn, and Garcia sounds both affordable and reasonable.  [/dream sequence]

 The really ginormous move:

• Call the A’s and ask about Trevor Cahill – They don’t have a regular starting position player with a batting average above .300 or OBP above .333. 
• Call about Hanley Ramirez, David Wright, or Jose Reyes just to see what the price is…..ya never know.
• CJ Wilson – Never going to happen, but just put it on a post-it note that he’s scheduled to become a free agent after this season.

TIDBIT:  This is the first year in a while that the Cardinals seem to have plenty of “pieces”, but they just don’t have all the pieces together at the right time.  Still, they’ve managed to keep everything together well enough to stay at the head of the division, but I don’t think they can pull off that trick very long without getting most of their relievers back on the right track. 

MORE BITS OF TID:  Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and all the single moms who are doing double duty.  To all of you who are missing a cherished loved one today, best wishes to you as you honor that special person.  Peace, love, and humptyness from gr33nazn.

I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong, and I don’t have an issue with changing my opinion based on new information.  Where the Albert Pujols contract extension/non-extension is concerned, there are no new facts or even decent speculation, but I’ve come to a new conclusion after some serious contemplation.  I’ll admit that I was wrong all along about my initial theory, and I’ve revised it…a lot. 

The whole circus isn’t the rabbit (Pujols) being pulled out of the hat.  It’s about the magician (Lozano) pulling the rabbit out of the hat.  Follow along for a moment, because I’m it takes a bit of time to unwind this whole thing.  Albert practically exudes old school loyalty, and it is truly one of the things fans in St. Louis appreciate about him.  That’s a double-edged sword (more on that later).  On one edge, you have his loyalty to his agent, Dan Lozano.  When Lozano left the Beveral Hills Sports Council to start his own shop, he obviously did so with Albert’s blessing/assurance that he’d have the backing of the best player in baseball.  If you have the patience to do some Google searching for AP quotes about Dan, you’ll find buried dozens of pages deep a few bits about how close the two men really are (better yet, read the @PujolsBio).  In truth, Lozano is a member of Albert’s close, inner-circle of friends, and Albert is incredibly loyal to that circle of friends. 

As a matter of fact, I believe that he’s loyal enough to Dan to want to see his good friend succeed at being one of the best agents in the baseball business.  Are you starting to see where this is going?  If you start with that singular premise, think of how you would draw up the basic design plan for making that happen.

1. Lozano starts his own shop. 
2. Lozano has conversations about an extension well before Albert’s contract expires, but those conversations yield nothing.  Both sides say and do the right things.
3. Albert says and does the right things while taking some heat for not signing a contract extension.
4. A completely arbitrary, artificial deadline is set with very strict rules about speaking in public.  Both sides adamantly adhere to the rules.
5. The deadline passes with nothing accomplished.  Albert keeps insisting that Dan is acting completely on Albert’s behalf and in his best interest while at the same time distancing himself from the negotiations.  Dan and John Mozeliak both say and do the right things.
6. The regular season starts, and the negotiating window is already closed.

Mission accomplished for Dan and Albert.  Why do I say that?  They have basically conspired to do exactly what they needed to do in order to ensure that Dan succeeds at being a super agent.  It’s pure genius in so many ways.  It’s a coin flip.  If it comes up heads, they win.  If it comes up tails, everybody else loses.  The whole point was to push this cart all the way to the free agency self-service checkout lane.  Here’s how it works.

1. If Albert reaches free agency, he’s bound to receive offers from other teams.  At the very least, he’s going to receive interest from 28 other MLB teams plus the Nationals.  If the Cardinals bid the highest, then Dan looks like a winner, because he’s managed to finagle the most money from the home team.  Albert is a winner in that situation, because Dan is the target of most of the vitriol of most of the hometown fans, and Albert returns as the conquering hero and likely remains a Cardinal for life.  As a bonus, he gets to keep building more restaurants with crappy ceiling tiles that may or may not appear to be falling down on patrons. 
2. Let’s say that Albert reaches free agency, and he receives interest/offers, and 1 or more teams offers a substantial amount that is really worth considering.  Albert can take the money and run, and we’re talking about amounts of money that I like to measure in terms of that mathematical term “truckloads”.  Alternatively, he can spurn the money, and take less money to stay in St. Louis.  He will then become an even greater icon in the city, and people will be even more willing to overlook the ceiling tiles that may or may not appear to be falling down on patrons.  Dan will still look like a winner, because he will have managed to procure huge offers for his client AND make his client a hometown hero for life (and who doesn’t want to be a rich, good guy?)
3. Of course, there is always the chance that a coin will lands on its side.  That wouldn’t be a complete disaster for Dan and AP, either.  Would an “off” season really scare people away or force them to scuttle the plan?  I don’t think so.  Keep in mind that this plan has been in motion for quite a while now.  In many ways, it has already succeeded, because Dan has already picked up several high profile clients.  Just recently he added some guy named Alex Rodriguez.  Heard of him?  It probably won’t matter, because A-Rod is likely playing out his last contract, but just being able to put the name out there when selling his services probably doesn’t hurt much, either.  What about Jimmy Rollins?  No, a sub-par season wouldn’t be devastating to Albert or Dan.  At worst, the backup plan is probably for Albert to simply return to the Cardinals which is probably where he wants to be anyway.  Dan still wins, because he’s already gone toe-to-toe with the Cardinals over a contract extension for AP.  It takes nerve not to take the quick money and run.  Everybody in baseball is watching, and it can’t be easy to pass up the quick payday.  Aces and eights.

Yes, I’m making a big assumption about where Albert wants to be, but that’s the other edge of the double-edge sword of loyalty I mentioned earlier.  As much as Albert has tried to talk about being neutral about the negotiations, it’s really hard to believe that he wants to be somewhere other than St. Louis.  His personal branding is tied to St. Louis.  If he goes to one of few other cities than can afford a big, long-term contract, he would become just another star player.  He’d no longer be the same guy, and the cocoon of privacy he enjoys in St. Louis wouldn’t be the same, and he knows it.  Listen closely to him talk some time.  Does he sound like a guy ready to leave his friends, church family, and neighbors behind for the next 6-8 years to play baseball somewhere else?  I don’t think so.  I don’t know Albert, but I do know people, and most people don’t relish the idea of uprooting their families for a job move that they don’t absolutely have to make. 

Could the Cardinals force his hand by making a stupid, low-ball offer?  Sure.  Are they collectively that dumb?  I don’t think so.  There is an institutional memory there that probably prevents such things from happening.  If not, then I imagine that Red, Whitey, Lou, Stan, and a few other guys would probably show up at 700 Clark Street carrying baseball bats to have a “chat” with the management team.  You know….just to make sure something like the Khalil Green incident never happens again. 

Maybe I’m completely wrong about this.  Maybe.  We’ll all know eventually, but I’m fairly confident that this is still more about Dan than it is about Albert.  Albert is going to get paid.  This is more about how much Dan is going to get paid over the long haul.  I actually think that the Cardinals had this figured out and were going through the motions all along.  There probably was a magic number, but it was probably a number that they figured no team in baseball was willing/able to hit.  I’m good with that.  If ever there was an argument for front-loading a contract, maybe this is it.  Then again, I’m glad I’m not the guy who has to make that call, because I probably wouldn’t be very popular in St. Louis, but that’s a whole other blog topic.

Follow gr33nazn on Twitter for more ideas so crazy that they might just be right…..or completely senseless.

“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”  ~Bob Marley (Three Little Birds)

Leave it to Bob Marley to put it so eloquently.  I’m not the official spokesperson for Cardinal Nation, but I think I speak for at least a small group of fans when I say “Kindly leave us the alone for the rest of the season, please mon.”  Go back to writing about Ponzi schemes, parity, and how the Phillies and/or Giants rotation will take their respective teams to 120+ wins.  Until the Pujols contract situation arose, the Cardinals were barely a blip on the national baseball radar.  That’s not to say that the team wasn’t given its due.  It was.  It’s just that it wasn’t the intense focus of 24/7 coverage, and we liked it that way.  When the national media did finally decide to devote serious attention to St. Louis, it failed miserably.  Kthxbai.  (That’s “okay + thanks + bye” for anybody in need of a translation.)

Yesterday was a landmark day in Cardinal baseball history.  One of the classiest men in all of baseball history, Stan “The Man” Musial, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Maybe it’s just me, but at least 90% of all baseball coverage related to the Cardinals should have been devoted to the White House award ceremony and Stan’s career/accomplishments.  Instead, I saw about this much of Stan (spreads fingers about 2 inches apart) and about this much Albert coverage (spreads arms across dining room table).  In baseball terms, the national media “dropped the ball”. 

Fortunately for the national media folks, the local media guys in the Gateway City were backing you up on the play.  They limited the damage.  Maybe that’s because they’ve got their ears to the ground and their fingers on the collective pulse of the Cardinal Nation.  We don’t need to be told to “back away from the ledge”.  We’re not sheep or lemmings.  Sure, some people are going to overreact a bit.  Maybe a couple dozen will swear off watching games for the season.  Perhaps 20-30 will write letters to editors or even the team management declaring their lifelong contempt for this, that, or the other.  They are probably the same people who get overly excited when the Cardinals are down by 2-3 runs after the 1st inning.  Those same people may even turn off their televisions and go for a walk………only to come back 20 minutes later to find out what the score is.  Give us some credit, folks. 

Realize this.  We know that Pujols is here for the 2011 season, and we’ll make the most of it.  Maybe there will be a smattering of boos directed at Albert during the home opener.  The number of people booing might strongly correlate to the number of people who have managed to down a six pack prior to first pitch, but we’ll never be sure, will we?  The cheering will drown out the boos.  That’s just how things work around here.  We may not be happy with the way things are going, but we’ll still be cheering for the name on the front of the jersey.  We’ve worked hard to earn that “best fans in baseball” reputation, and we’re not going to lose it over a contract issue, even if it does involve #5.  Players come and go.  Owners and ownership groups may come and go.  The fans?  We’re still here.  We’ll be here all season long.  Believe that.

We still believe that a deal can get done during or after the season.  If it doesn’t happen, then we’ll move on.  Between now and then, spare us the ridiculous speculation based on nothing more than hearsay.  If it’s more than hearsay, then it’s probably tampering, and we’d love to hear about tampering.  Yes, any number of teams may try to clear enough payroll to make an offer to Pujols.  Sure, the Cubs, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and a few other teams “make sense” as potential suitors.  So do the Cardinals.  Go figure.  Also, Albert already lives fairly close to Busch Stadium, and he’s rooted himself deeply into the community.  If he really wanted to be gone, he could just say “I’m gone.”  Haven’t heard that one yet, have you?  Didn’t think so. 

Of course, both Albert and the Cardinals are taking a significant risk by going into the 2011 season with all this uncertainty, but I’d estimate that Albert is taking the bigger risk of the two.  He’s basically still sitting on an unredeemed lotto ticket worth something north of $200M.  All it takes is a minor, nagging injury to bring his numbers down to earth, and teams will be less likely to commit $250-300M over the next 8-10 years.  A major injury would pretty much turn his unredeemed lotto ticket into confetti.  I’d also guess that Albert isn’t exactly winning over fans by the thousands at the moment.  Declining millions of dollars in hopes of getting millions more doesn’t usually cast a person in the best light.  Actually, it makes a person look greedy (see also Latrell Sprewell).  It doesn’t really matter what you do for a living, though.  If you go to your boss and ask for double your current salary/wage, the first reaction probably won’t be “Absolutely!  What a great idea!”

Fortunately for Albert Pujols and Dan Lozano, we’re not talking about ABC Corporation, and Cardinal Nation is pretty much hunkered down in “sit and wait” mode already.  We’ve done a quick pass of all the nearby bridges, and nobody appeared ready to leap.  The local grocery stores seem to be well stocked with all the basic necessities – rations like bread, milk, eggs, frozen pizzas, Hot Pockets, croissants, brie, salsa, tortilla chips, and pitas.  We’ve got plenty of batteries for flashlights…and Wii remotes.  We’ll still pack Busch Stadium full of red and white, and we’ll keep buying jerseys and hats.  Of course, we’ll still do those things, even if Albert makes an Exodus out of St. Louis.  No Pujols, no cry.

TIDBIT:  Yes, I capitalized “Exodus” on purpose.  “Exodus” is the title of the album on which the song “Three Little Birds” originally appeared.  Ya heard me?

Like it?  Wanna throw on some Bob Marley and get…….some takeout?  Follow gr33nazn on Twitter and we’ll all look for the rising sun!

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

The Riverfront Times breaks down the “salary per” rates for Albert Pujols‘ current contract versus his reported desired new salary.

Everyone reported on the negotiation deadline being pushed back to Wednesday in deference to Stan Musial‘s Presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony on Tuesday:

BJ Rains, Joe Strauss, Rotoworld, Washington Post, Fox News, LA Times, The Oakland Tribune, Bloomberg, San Francisco Examiner, The Tacoma News-Tribune, Yahoo!,

A fourth grader in the St. Louis area calculated Pujols’ worth using his own system and came up with $32 million per.

Former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog is hopeful that a deal can be reached with Pujols.

Charlie Marlow’s “The Pujols Manifesto” outlines why he thinks the deadlines and negotiating tactics are all bluster.

National

Bob Nightengale says that the Cardinals have waited too long to try to get Pujols to extend his deal.

Bob Dutton at the KC Star has word from Royals owner David Glass that they don’t have any plans on signing Pujols, at least not to a 10 year, $300 million deal.

Rob Neyer says that a $300 million dollar deal could cripple the Cardinals.

Mark Kriegel argues that “the market” isn’t there for a record-setting deal for Pujols.  Kreigel says that conditions do not favor Albert currently, given other factors with the teams who could well pay what Pujols is seeking.

Paul Daugherty believes that Pujols signing anywhere but St. Louis could signal the end of MLB’s prized parity.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune says that the Cubs should write Pujols a blank check.  Pay him whatever he wants to bring an icon to the north side.

Blogs

Big League Stew runs down the scenario after reports of Pujols rejecting an offer two weeks ago.

GCOBB.com reports that Charlie Manuel won’t negotiate a contract extension with the Phillies after the season starts.  He doesn’t want the negotiations to become a distraction.  Where have I heard this before?

More rampant speculation on possible Pujols bidders from Business Insider.

Crunch Sports draws comparisons between the Pujols and Carmelo Anthony situations.  Weird.

Waiting for Next Year makes a better comparison to Anthony, throwing LeBron James into the mix as well.  WFNY suggests that perhaps free agency has gone too far.

Craig Calcaterra ran down an appearance by Scott Boras on Sirius/XM radio, with Boras tearing down Tony La Russa‘s earlier comments about the MLBPA putting pressure on Pujols to get the biggest deal he can.

I don’t have to tell you how great everything Joe Posnanski writes is.  This bit on Pujols and his worth – to St. Louis, to other teams, and even to himself and his desire to prove people wrong – is no different.  Read it.

Dave Cameron says at Fangraphs that a published idea to trade Pujols for (well, pretty much anyone else) is downright silly. Additionally, check this graph out.

—–

Have more Pujols links to share?  Post them in the comments below!

Want to read the previous Dailies?  You can find them all here.

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Somewhere hidden beneath the sticks of  dynamite, giant rubber bands, and huge boulders in Dan Lozano’s car trunk there is probably an ACME brand “Sports Agent In-A-Box” kit.  He probably has the at-home version as well.  Judging by recent events, he’s probably dog-eared several pages in the chapter on “Conquering the Baseball World One Firstbaseman At-A-Time”.  Maybe he’s simply memorized it.  Although I haven’t ordered the kit for myself, I’ve been making uneducated guesses about the contents for some time now.  With the help of an unnamed source who is close to a person who happens to work with a woman who lives next to the cousin of a neighbor of the guy who works the evening shift at a restaurant where Lozano frequently doesn’t eat lunch, I have some insight into the ACME “Sports Agent In-A-Box” kit contents. 

1. Detailed instructions on how to abandon leave your employer of 22 years behind just in time to set up shop on your own right before some of your biggest clients are due for HUGE paydays.  Yep, he took Pujols, Michael Young, Jimmy Rollins, Dallas Braden, Joey Votto, Orlando Cabrera, J. C. Romero, and a good bit of the Beverly Hills Sports Council staff right along with him.  Clever and subtle. [/sarcasm font]
2. Package of “Hello My Name is NOT Scott Boras” name tags (quantity 100).
3. Bluetooth handsfree headsets of various shapes and sizes that are programmed to blink even when you are not actually receiving a call in order to make you appear busier than you really are.
4. Spare cell phones pre-programmed with contact lists for clients, major league front office points of contact, legal teams, bail bondsmen in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, 911, and the nearest Jimmy Johns.
5. Index cards and cheat sheets with prepackaged quotes and one-liners for moments when quick thinking may be necessary, yet difficult.  Examples include favorites like “Nobody puts Votto in a corner!”, “I’m only one mang.”, “We win as a team, and lose as team, except when my supporting cast just doesn’t support my cast.”, and “There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is one in ‘WIN’ but not in ‘GOAT’”.  The index cards are specially designed not to chafe the inside pockets of really expensive suits.
6. Exquisitely fine pens specially designed to be carried in the pocket of very expensive dress shirts without staining the pocket.  Actually, the pens don’t even work, and they carry nothing of use.  Come to think of it, they have a lot in common with some agents.
7. Pamphlets that explain how to collect additional players when possible.  Lozano just added Nick Swisher to his “stable”.  After all, it’s not collusion if they all have the same agent, right?

It’s a fairly large box, so I’m sure that there is a lot more to the kit than what I’ve listed, but I’ll add more details as more information comes available from my trustworthy sources.  The important thing is that another unnamed source who is “close to the situation” and is “familiar with some of the relevant details” tipped me off about one of the really subtle negotiating tactics in use from the beginning of this mess.  This one actually dates back to at least last year.

Lozano wanted to send a message to the other 29 MLB teams that Albert would become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2011 season (technically 5 days after the World Series or something like that).  Anyhoo, he needed a vehicle for delivering that message, and it’s considered bad form (and against league rules) to announce something like that to the world.  So, how did he manage to send his message?  Smoke signals?  Tin cans with string?  Nope.  He convinced Albert that it would be a good idea to set some nonsensical, arbitrary deadline for concluding negotiations for prior to the beginning of the season.  Better yet, the reason cited is that Albert doesn’t want the contract talk to become distracting.  Right.  That’s good, because his impending free agency won’t hang over the Cardinals like a little black rain cloud hanging over Winnie the Pooh.  Good plan……if you’re also investing in oceanfront property in Arizona as well.  If you aren’t and happen to have a shred of common sense, you know that the contract extension talk will be like a fog that will cover the team like a blanket all year.  It’s a dirty feeling that cannot be washed off…kind of like that feeling you get after eating something with a spork.

Why set the deadline at the beginning of spring training?  Why not?  That gives the other 29 MLB teams as much time as possible to put together contingency plans for bidding on Albert.  Remember, it only takes 2 teams to create a bidding war, and Lozano knew the demand would be there.  He just had to make sure that the marketplace was aware that the supply would be there.  To do that, he simply had to alert the potential buyers with a clever ploy.  Voila!  “Nonsensical Deadline, Transparent Posturing, Can’t Wait for Free Agent Bonanza, Wonder Twin Powers Activate” plan is a go! 

His job is made even easier by the fact that the negotiations with the Cardinals are being kept quiet.  If they are still in the bidding at the end of the year, he’s got a really good fallback plan and a baseline offer that a competing club would probably have to top by a reasonable amount to secure AP’s services.  Not bad.  So, let’s recap this whole thing.

• Lozano and Mozeliak sit down for a brief chat after the 2010 season – Dan has Mo at “10 year extension”
• Lozano orders kit from ACME
• Lozano hatches plan to take over the world.  Plan looks similar to Gaga in her egg at Grammy awards, but the plan is far less scary.
• Lozano convinces Albert that negotiations cloud mind, make slugger weak.  Focus, Albertson.  Wipe on, wipe off.
• Much posturing ensues
• A deadline is set, although nobody really knows the actual date of the deadline at first.  “Spring training” could mean lots of things. 
• Clarification is made regarding deadline
• Some national media people with deadlines proclaim the end of the world.
• Nostradamus followers find lost quatrain and connect it to APocalypse2011, Albertageddon, or whatever it’s called now.
• More posturing and non-talk about nothing

It’s interesting to note that when Lozano talks, he actually talks about saying nothing.  He’s really very good about talking about nothing and making talking about saying nothing seem very, very important.  Likewise, John Mozeliak has followed the same path and has made an art of saying little about talking about saying nothing.  He actually does say a little more about saying nothing, but he’s saying even less when he’s saying nothing about nothing.  It’s frightfully amazing how much both can say without saying anything about what they are asked to talk about. 

In the end, it seems that this whole thing is simply headed where it was really headed all along.  Free agency.  Perhaps the spectacle is best suited for prime time television or maybe Christie’s famous auction house.  Better yet, MLB, ESPN, FoxSports, and OWN can simulcast from all the various MLB “war rooms” while each team prepares to submit offers.  If that’s the case, then I can only hope that it’s not about the highest bid but about the best one.  Maybe other teams can offer a few more dollars, lower state income taxes, or a better propaganda department bigger marketing budget, but St. Louis offers continuity, icon status, and brand loyalty. 

TIDBITS:  For the record, I think it’s shortsighted and silly to avoid negotiations during the season.  If you can’t work while discussing a change in your employment status or compensation, then you need lessons in compartmentalizing or multitasking.

Like it?  Wish you had ordered something like a falling piano from ACME?  Follow gr33nazn on Twitter, and maybe we can get a group discount!

On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…

Local

Joe Walljasper of the Columbia (MO)  Daily Tribune has one of the better paragraphs I’ve read about the Albert Pujols saga:

No, let’s call the deadline what it is, a negotiating tactic. The only distracted people are the fretting members of Cardinal Nation, calling talk radio on company time, reading the latest Internet rumors instead of finishing those spread sheets. If Wednesday comes and goes with no new deal, it’s going to be a long, unproductive summer for them.

Joe Strauss with more at the Post-Dispatch about the offer that was rejected two weeks ago, even though as of ten days ago no offer had been made.  Apparently John Mozeliak and Dan Lozano are witches or time-shifters of some sort.  Or maybe these national guys with anonymous sources are being played like fools.  Hrmm.

Matt Holliday would defer more money if it meant the Cards could get a Pujols deal done.  Somewhere, a little piece of Scott Boras just died.

Matthew Leach says that there remains uncertainty about when the deadline for negotiations actually expires.

Dennis is thinking creatively – like, outside the CBA creative.  It’s still magnificent in it’s sensibility.

Joe Ostermeier makes a factually incorrect statement by the second sentence of this article.

B.J. Rains reports that Tony La Russa says things will be business as usual at Cards camp.  La Russa apparently isn’t aware that Pujols even gets paid to play ball, much less that there is a dispute over how much.  La Russa then stuck his head in the sand and yelled “LA LA LA LA LA CAN’T HEAR YOU”.

National

Paul Daugherty writes about Pujols, one-team players, and the impact on the Cincinnati Reds.

The Baltimore Sun had a write-up of comments from Orioles GM Andy MacPhail with comments on Pujols, and how the Orioles might find themselves hard-pressed to enter the fray.

Joel Sherman includes a quote from an AL exec that says signing Pujols: “would be to the Cubs what [Barry] Bonds was to the Giants, but with a nicer face and nine games a year at Busch Stadium.”

Tom Haudricourt from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is keeping tabs on the Pujols negotiations with an eye on what it could mean for Prince Fielder.

Bob Nightengale incites riots across downtown St. Louis with this piece.  Wait, what?  There’s no one in downtown St. Louis?  Well, someone should check on Brentwood then.

Blogs

More unnamed sources think a deal will eventually get done.  Drew Silva passed said unattributed information along.  TICK TOCK MANG.

Craig Brown from Royals Authority addresses the “Pujols to Kansas City” thing (it’s not really a rumor, is it?  just kind of something that found it’s way out there?  no one believes this is possible, right?  ok.) at ESPN.com’s SweetSpot.  Says it’s a no-go.

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