Pujols

[erikbj]

I don't understand? Why does he have to be already 35? What proof do you have that he's lied about his age?

there has been "talk" for years about his real age as many other players from the D.R. Being 35 might be a stretch, but it is possible he is 32 or 33 already, they were talking about it on Baseball Tonight last week.

he's a great player, however he is showing his greed at this point. I am sure that the cards made him an offer that would ensure that his great great grandchildren would never have to work and allow the organization to build a team around him. But if he wants 30% of the payroll, let him go and destroy another organization.

[JBone84]

I don't understand? Why does he have to be already 35? What proof do you have that he's lied about his age?

It's a gut feel - no proof. I think his age is a similar situation to Miguel Tejada, and I think it's probably more common with the Latin American players than the public knows.

[JBone84]

1. One down year is not necessarily indicative of a decline, give it another year to see if he numbers continue to be below his career average.
2. Even if he's in a decline that doesn't mean he's 35, all the studies I have read have the age of peak performance vary between 26 to 29 years thus it should be natural for a guy in his 30's, even the early 30's, to begin at least something of a decline.

I'm just saying that his numbers are starting to decline, which you would expect as a person gets older.

The last three years:
BA .357 .327 .312
SLG .653 .658 .596
OPS 1.114 1.101 1.011
OPS+ 190 189 173
SO 54 64 76

They are still really good numbers, don't get me wrong! And, I think he might put up monster numbers this year since it's a contract year, but the trend is there.

I have this nagging suspicion that the guy has been using performance enhancers of some kind (not necessarily illegal ones) for quite a while and at some point, his body is going to shut down.

[pyrocyz]

I would only offer him a 10 year contract if I was a AL team. Being able to DH him at time to time early in the contract would be huge. Not to mention, when he starts pushing 40 it would be nice to have him DH all the time.


that and I want to get him out of the NL Central.

[Iastfan112]

I'm just saying that his numbers are starting to decline, which you would expect as a person gets older.

The last three years:
BA .357 .327 .312
SLG .653 .658 .596
OPS 1.114 1.101 1.011
OPS+ 190 189 173
SO 54 64 76

They are still really good numbers, don't get me wrong! And, I think he might put up monster numbers this year since it's a contract year, but the trend is there.

I have this nagging suspicion that the guy has been using performance enhancers of some kind (not necessarily illegal ones) for quite a while and at some point, his body is going to shut down.

2008 is a bad example as it clearly an outlier and a "career year" for Pujols, you isolate that year and 2004, both years boosted by a clearly unsustainable .340 BABIP. Average together the numbers he had from 04-08 aka "the heart of his career" and you see no real evidence of decline based upon his 09 numbers. Perhaps 2010 was merely a down year as 2008 was an up one?

[gocubs2118]

I'm still not convinced that any team will offer him a 10 year deal.

[Wesley]

I could just see the Cubs breaking the bank to get him and then it all goes wrong as his numbers go down or he'd be constantly injured. I mean, they are the Cubs

A line drive hitter like him would work nice in Chicago and Boston ballparks.

[BryceC]

I'd love it if he went to Chicago, because IMO he will never be as good in a few years as he has been. I think one of the reasons players have played so well into their mid-late 30s lately is PED's. I'm actually really hoping Chicago gets him, because I think it would be a year or two of complete euphoria followed by a half decade of gnashing teeth as Pujols ties up a huge percentage of the payroll and hits .280 with 20 home runs.

I might be wrong but when was the last time the Cubs brought in a guy in his 30s and had it work out really well?

[fwiw]

Don't know why everyone thinks there is going to be a huge dropoff in production when he turns 35. There are a lot of players that play well going into there late 30's. I wouldn't offer him a 10 year deal but I'd go 8 with him.

Because he has a bad back ... and bad elbow (surgery this year) ... and bum foot (chronic plantar faciitis). Anything more than a 5 or 6 year deal is very risky IMO.

I think he probably stays in STL, but it'll be interesting to see how things work out. As an STL fan I think that's a lot of jack you could put toward your middle infield and a closer, while still landing someone like Fielder.

But if you're a GM who breaks the bank for Albert and he ends up on the DL in year 2 years, you're going to be on the hot seat.

[tejasclone]

he's a great player, however he is showing his greed at this point. I am sure that the cards made him an offer that would ensure that his great great grandchildren would never have to work and allow the organization to build a team around him. But if he wants 30% of the payroll, let him go and destroy another organization.

I think he probably stays in STL, but it'll be interesting to see how things work out. As an STL fan I think that's a lot of jack you could put toward your middle infield and a closer, while still landing someone like Fielder.

The combination of Albert showing his greed and his progressively failing body has got me more interested in seeing what the Cards could otherwise do with that money. The team needs more than a warm body in the middle infield and I'm not convinced that Ryan Franklin can continue his charade as closer for much longer. I love watching Albert play, but I'm starting to feel like it would be best if he goes elsewhere.

Although, watching him play in a Cubs uniform would hurt more than passing 10 kidney stones.

[CYdTracked]

I'm just saying that his numbers are starting to decline, which you would expect as a person stops using steriods.

The last three years:
BA .357 .327 .312
SLG .653 .658 .596
OPS 1.114 1.101 1.011
OPS+ 190 189 173
SO 54 64 76

Fixed it for ya

Cardinals are in a no-win situation here. Overpay for a guy they can't afford to lose and be strapped for payroll to improve the roster for the next 7-10 years or let him walk and deal with the PR nightmare that would come from letting your franchise player leave. I think Pujols knows the Cards hands are tied and they are his best bet to get the most years and money because I don't think he's going to get more than 7 years on the open market without some performance-based options for option years after that.

[mramseyISU]

I think right here, right now he's worth $30mil a year but signing him to anything more than a 7 year deal is insane. He should be able to produce at a high level until he's 35 or so but then it's going to crash hard.

[JBone84]

I think right here, right now he's worth $30mil a year but signing him to anything more than a 7 year deal is insane. He should be able to produce at a high level until he's 35 or so but then it's going to crash hard.

I hope the Cardinals sign him at $30M per year, and get it over with. I just don't want Jim Hendry (Cubs GM) to have the option to sign this guy for too many years and too much money.

[swiacy]

I asked my son's college baseball coach why he did not recruit Pujols out of High School in KC. (He played JC BB in KC before going pro) He said that everybody knew when he came out of high school that he was older than presented. I would suspect that he is one or two years older than reported. Incidentally, the coach recruited the Caribbean extensively and the team usually had about 1/3 of the roster from that area, primarily pitchers, so he knew of what he spoke.

As a Cards fan, initially, I thought the organization was in a no win situation. But with the way the negotiations or lack there of have transpired it appears that Pujols will damage himself PR wise with the Cardinal faithful. He appears greedy unless when the offer the Cards made is made public proves otherwise. Albert does not want the contract situation to carry into the season and is dropping talks, supposedly, soon. But if nothing happens, the press will dog him all season and it will really get tiring for him and the club.

If the Cards made a legit offer and he turned it down, he may find that free agency will not improve the offers elsewhere, particularly if 10 years is the key point. What happens if he finally blows out his elbow that he has been dealing with for three years during the season? Lots of intrigue, maybe the Cards made an offer they knew he would refuse, want to see what he attracts in free agency and then match that offer? I bet they come to terms before the season ends, unless they fall to pieces and he thinks he needs to go elsewhere to get to a World Series again. This year is very pivotal for the Cards. They are not set at 3rd, 2nd or SS. You also wonder when they signed Lance Berkman this Winter if another signal was shot over the Pujols negotiating team.

[CTTB78]

Pujols will be a Cardinal. There is about a 1% chance of him ever being a Cub. He would end up on either coast before we would see him in Chicago.