SocraticGadfly: So, is it Pujols greed or #stlcards ineptitude?

December 12, 2011

So, is it Pujols greed or #stlcards ineptitude?

Albert Pujols' wife says the Cards made a per-year offer that was higher than their final one, coming in at 5/$130, or $26M per. So, in essence, Mozeliak/DeWitt would do either a long-term deal or a high-dollar one, but not both. Well, why didn't they offer that not one, but two years ago, replacing not just the option year but the final year of the old contract? Albert, at 33, then could have gone for another 5 years at that point, and probably looked like he was worth the same amount.

Seems like management still kind of screwed this up. (Not that Pujols is a saint, unless "success gospel" is part of his K-JOY hymnal.)

I think that, had this offer been made 2 years ago, right when the Phillies gave Ryan Howard his new deal, Pujols might have done it. But, either a year ago or this year? Nope.

Add to this the fact that the Angels' offer includes a 10-year post-retirement personal services deal, and the Cards just whiffed.

1 comment:

Red Bird said...

According to the Cardinals, they did approach Pujols about a contract extension two years ago (before signing Holliday), and were told that Pujols wouldn't take anything less than a ten-year, 275-million-dollar deal.

So, it seems unlikely Pujols would have accepted a 5-year 130-million dollar extension.