The truth

The truth is, I don't care where AP plays.  Past performance is not indicative of future results and he wanted us to buy that he could repeat the performance.  He will undoubtedly have a few more good years but not many.  I'd say the Cardinals were good investors and maybe they went through the motions knowing it was time for AP to move on or accept their terms.  I would not have given him more than a 5 year deal, and that probably would have made him a Cardinal for life.    
 
Next year, the Cardinals will boast a starting rotation as good as any.  A defense that came into its own, and should continue to improve.  An offense just as potent. And finally a CLOSER for the entire season.  The regular season only gets you to the post season.  That is about all it is worth.  Finish the season strong and go on a run.  

Winter does a lot of crazy things with the prognosticators.  After the Tigers signed Fielder, a good signing because he is only 28 and comes with papers that can actually prove his age, they became the team to beat.  It was previously the Angels, and ... in the end, they could both become the Mets who also pretended they could win The Series on paper a few years ago, and they were followed by several other teams who found themselves watching the playoffs from a distance. 

There has been some controversy about Albert's true date of birth.  One thing I've studied is when the offensive greats start to decline.  If you look at Harmon Killebrew, as an example, he turned 34 during the 1970 season, and that was his last really top notch year, in terms of runs created (116).  At age 35 he created 93 runs, at age 36, 73 runs, and never created more than 39 thereafter.

Look through the stats, and you will see the same, over and over.  It is called "the aging process".   

TheDonald15,


I have no doubt about Pujols commitment to fund raising for people with Downs Syndrome and admire his efforts.  I just find it distasteful that he is so unwilling to sign autographs for other charities, especially since all it costs him is his time.  If someone is blessed enough to make hundreds of millions of dollars playing a game, he should have the decency to sign a autographs to help those who made his salary possible.  

Incidently, my firm did not make any money from this event.   We all volunteered our time and space in support of the event which helped raise a lot of money.  We gladly do this every year and simply were hoping that someone of Albert's stature could have signed a couple of autographs.   We never asked Albert for anything other than a simple autograph which was requested through his agent and denied.  What type of *sshole**** needs an agent to shield himself from charities seeking autographs anyway?  Wainwright, LaRussa, Molina, Freese, Berkman, Carpenter and Holiday didn't.  

So you can "not buy" the autograph comment all you want.  You can also ignore how Albert treated the employees of the Cardinals.  It's your right to drink the Albert Cool Aid.  I know better from personal experience.