"The Hug" Between Hendry and Pujols

**Clones21** · 05-12-2011, 01:57 PM

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry hug - ESPN

What do you make out of this? They say Albert came up and hugged Hendry first. Whatever it was, i like what i see as a Cubs fan.

**waynemorgan** · 05-12-2011, 02:01 PM

Means absolutely nothing

**cyhiphopp** · 05-12-2011, 02:02 PM

Sounds like Hendy will either overpay to get him in Chicago or help him hike up the price tag for wherever he ends up (inculding STL).

Theoretically I like the idea of Pujols slugging for the Cubs, but realistically, I see multiple DL trips and another huge bloated salary that they wont be able to move like Soriano.

Hendry's big FA signings have been, on the whole, horrible.

**Clones21** · 05-12-2011, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by cyhiphopp

Sounds like Hendy will either overpay to get him in Chicago or help him hike up the price tag for wherever he ends up (inculding STL).

Theoretically I like the idea of Pujols slugging for the Cubs, but realistically, I see multiple DL trips and another huge bloated salary that they wotn be able to move like Soriano.

Hendry's big FA signings have been, on the whole, horrible.

He's due for a good one then, right?

**ca4cy** · 05-12-2011, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Clones21

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry hug - ESPN

What do you make out of this? They say Albert came up and hugged Hendry first. Whatever it was, i like what i see as a Cubs fan.

Non-event. Everybody knows everybody in baseball now and the days when you couldn't fraternize with reps from a rival team are long gone.

**cyhiphopp** · 05-12-2011, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Clones21

He's due for a good one then, right?

We can hope. At least Pujols isn't a complete headcase like Milton Bradley. He also is an incredible solid player when healthy unlike Soriano. My main worry is that Pujols wants max years and that his skills would decline well before the contract is up.

Also, call me a conspiracy theorist, but there is still a lot of speculation as to how old Pujols really is. Probably not a real issue, but scary nonetheless.

All that said, I would love to steal a hall of fame player away from the Cards and get HOF production from him for most of his remaining career.

**Cyclonestate78** · 05-12-2011, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by ca4cy

Non-event. Everybody knows everybody in baseball now and the days when you couldn't fraternize with reps from a rival team are long gone.

Yeah... tell me the next time you see a Red Sox or Yankees player hugging the GM from the other side. It won't happen.

**chuckd4735** · 05-12-2011, 02:24 PM

With the contract that Pujlos is demanding, I want the Cubs to have no part of it.

Learn from the Soriano contract; signing older players to a multi-year contract will only benefit the player...

**pyrocyz** · 05-12-2011, 02:37 PM

Hendry and Pujols have a bromance going on right now.

**enisthemenace** · 05-12-2011, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by cyhiphopp

Sounds like Hendy will either overpay to get him in Chicago or help him hike up the price tag for wherever he ends up (inculding STL).

Theoretically I like the idea of Pujols slugging for the Cubs, but realistically, I see multiple DL trips and another huge bloated salary that they wont be able to move like Soriano.

Hendry's big FA signings have been, on the whole, horrible.

I like the way you think. As a Cub fan, when I heard the Cubs would be making a move at Pujols, I thought of only two scenarios I would truly be happy with. I hope he is either a Cub or a Cardinal next year. If he's a Cub, I hope enough research has been done to know when enough is enough and bail, while driving the price up to a point that will absolutely cripple the Cards financialy.

I think there is too much emotion in St. Louis for the latter option to not be extremely realistic.

**Hawkeye11en1** · 05-12-2011, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by enisthemenace

I like the way you think. As a Cub fan, when I heard the Cubs would be making a move at Pujols, I thought of only two scenarios I would truly be happy with. I hope he is either a Cub or a Cardinal next year. If he's a Cub, I hope enough research has been done to know when enough is enough and bail, while driving the price up to a point that will absolutely cripple the Cards financialy.

I think there is too much emotion in St. Louis for the latter option to not be extremely realistic.

The Cardinals just proved this year that they will not overpay him. I picture him getting in the range of 230 mil over 10 years. Fair price, IMO, for what he has done for the franchise. But then again, I thought he would have signed this past season. There aren't too many teams that are going to bid for Pujol's big contract, so it should keep the price "relatively" low. If the Cubs get him, you know he will be on the DL in 6 months.

**Wesley** · 05-12-2011, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by Clones21

He's due for a good one then, right?

Maybe.

**chuckd4735** · 05-12-2011, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye11en1

The Cardinals just proved this year that they will not overpay him. I picture him getting in the range of 230 mil over 10 years. Fair price, IMO, for what he has done for the franchise. But then again, I thought he would have signed this past season. There aren't too many teams that are going to bid for Pujol's big contract, so it should keep the price "relatively" low. If the Cubs get him, you know he will be on the DL in 6 months.

No 31 year old deserves a 10 year contract.

**erikbj** · 05-12-2011, 03:56 PM

Who knows if he really is 31? Supposedly that is the main reason the Birds didn't give him a blank check in the off-season.

If the Cubs want to give him $280MM next winter, great. i say give him 5 years, $125MM.........Albert can still feed his family (barely) and the Birds can have some money left over to buy some pitching.

AP is great and my favorite player, but his next contract maybe a franchise killer for whoever signs him.

**Neckbeard** · 05-12-2011, 03:57 PM

Hendry is gregarious and lovable. He's the guy everyone wants to have a beer with. It's why he's still employed as a GM. He worked over the Ricketts too. The fact he and Pujols are hugging means nothing.

The Cubs are desperate though and will be active for Pujols if only to satisfy the bored/disengaged/restless fanbase. Attendance is down, the secondary ticket market has collapsed and the team is 5th out of 5 in terms of relevance in Chicago. People would rather complain about the Sox than talk about the Cubs. The last time this happened was 2006 and they responded with Soriano's deal the following winter. Don't let our big signing be Prince Fielder. Please God.

I'm not at all convinced that Pujols really wants to leave STL. He's jockeying for more years.