It is the cloud that will hang over the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2011 season. Losing Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery was painful. But that just dents the hopes of one season. If St. Louis loses star first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency, far more than one season will be lost.
Pujols and the team couldn’t agree on contract terms before his self-imposed deadline prior to spring training. Now the Cardinals have to hope they didn’t end up costing themselves money in the long run.
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“It has the potential of getting really ugly,” said Joe Buck, the former St. Louis broadcaster and current Fox play-by-play man. “The Cardinals should’ve taken care of it two years ago before Ryan Howard signed a $25 [million] a year contract. Howard’s deal changed everything.”
Indeed, it’s hard to argue that Pujols shouldn’t make anywhere near Howard’s inflated salary. His all-around talent, after all, brings far more to a team than the Phillies’ one-dimensional slugger. But it also might be folly for the Cardinals to pay Pujols more than Alex Rodriguez (27.5 million) makes with the Yankees. That kind of contract could cripple a medium-market franchise.
“If Albert Pujols is steadfast on wanting a contract anywhere close to 10 years in length, I don’t see the Cardinals being able to do it, and they shouldn’t do it,” Buck argued. “If they can overpay him for a shorter duration, that would make more sense to me. … At the end of this process, it comes down to how bad he wants to be a St. Louis Cardinal. If the answer is ‘kind of,’ then I think he’s gone.”
Pujols was off to a slow start — just 4-for-22 with a homer and three RBI through six games. You have to wonder whether Pujols’ eyes would begin to wander if St. Louis’ season goes off the rails — more of a possibility without Wainwright.
“I think Albert Pujols will have a ‘normal,’ which means ‘great,’ season in 2011,” ESPN analyst Aaron Boone said. “But he’ll end up back in St. Louis in 2012 — unless he goes to Washington.”
