As I sit at my desk and type this, it is Monday morning, the 14th day of February. About 1,200 miles southeast of here, a number of St. Louis Cardinal pitchers and catchers are having their first day of workouts under the watchful eyes of Manager Tony LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan.
The first day of spring training in a symbolic way, signifies that winter is just about over, that the days are getting warmer and longer, and that flowers, and trees will soon be blooming. It is one of my favorite days on the calendar.
In my younger days, when I was working for TWA, and could fly for nothing, I would head to Florida a couple of times each spring to watch spring training baseball. During the three years I lived in South Florida, heading up to Ft. Myers and catching an afternoon game was my favorite off-day activity.
As spring training begins for my favorite team, there is a dark cloud hovering over the activities in Jupiter, Fla. It is a dark cloud that a year ago, shoot, even six weeks ago, I never thought would happen. But it has, and many members of Cardinal Nation are afraid this spring is the last one that Albert Pujols, the team’s mega-star will be wearing the “Birds-on-the-Bat.”
Albert Pujols is entering the last year of an eight-year, $111 million contract he signed in 2004. For the past decade he has been the game’s greatest player, and as incredible as it sounds, he has been a bargain for the Cardinals the past eight years.
He never complained, never asked to renegotiate, just played baseball, knowing he would have a chance at another big contract down the road.
In a perfect world, the Cardinals would have signed him to an extension last winter. But the club spent a good portion of the winter of 2009-10 trying to resign outfielder Matt Holliday, thus contract negotiations were put on the back burner. Pujols and his agent Don Lozano, told the Cardinal front office, specifically General Manager John Mozeliak, and owner Bill DeWitt, they had no intention of negotiating a new contract during the season, as Pujols did not want the distraction of negotiating while the season was going on.
While there were some negotiations, no agreement was reached, meaning it would be this past off-season before negotiations began again. This was a dangerous gamble for the Cardinals. Sure they knew Pujols would be due a raise, but they were banking salaries would not take a huge jump, and that Pujols would give the Cardinals some sort of “hometown” discount, meaning he would sign for less to stay in St. Louis, than for what he could get elsewhere.
The Cardinals gamble blew up in their face early in the 2010 season, when the Phillies gave a five-year, $125 contract extension to their first baseman, Ryan Howard, who ironically grew up in St. Louis. Make no mistake, Howard is a great player, but he is not in Pujols class, and he would be the first to admit it. But with the Phillies signing Howard to a deal worth an average $25 million a year, it significantly raised the bar on what it was going to take for the Cardinals to re-sign Pujols.
To top it off, the Washington Nationals this off-season sign free agent outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $128 million contract. Werth has never hit .300, never driven in 100 runs in a season, and only hit at least 30 home runs in a season once. Pujols has done each of those things 10 times. So if Werth is worth the contract he received, how much more is Pujols worth?
So here we are with spring training having started. Pitchers and catchers have reported, and position players will have reported by the time you read this column. Once again, Pujols has said, once I report to spring training, no more negotiating.
The cost is going to be steep, somewhere between $25 and $30 million per year. Amazingly that does not appear to be the stumbling block in the negotiations. From everything I have read, what is causing the problem is the length of the contract.
Pujols will be 31 this coming season. For most major league players, their production begins to decline once they reach their mid-thirties.
It is believed, Pujols is seeking a ten-year contract extension, which would pay him top-dollar through the age of 41. Rumor has it the Cardinals are balking at that, preferring a six or seven-year deal for Albert, preferring to pay him for what they feel are the productive years he has left.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, the many members of Cardinal Nation are taking sides. Some say the ownership should just give Pujols what he wants, since after all, he is Albert Pujols. While others, are saying Pujols has become a greedy athlete, trying to get the last dollar he can.
Sunday afternoon, LaRussa said this had potential to be a major distraction. You think?
Up until the last day or so I thought the Cardinals and Pujols would work things out. In fact, I still hope they do, though my confidence in such an agreement-taking place is waning. Pujols has embraced Cardinal history; he respects and idolizes Stan Musial, and is entrenched in the St. Louis community. It is hard to imagine all of that not meaning something to him. Does he really want every last dollar he can get? After all, no matter what contract he signs, he is going to be rich or richer.
I hope the two sides get it resolved. There is no doubt this is going to be an interesting week.
(Originally published in the Feb. 17, 2011 Pocahontas Star Herald
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