Albert Pujols to Angels

[Ehwmatt]

And the Sox should be embarassed that it happened considering how many more resources they have.

Last I checked the Twins won 63 games last year. One bad contract.

The Red Sox and others will always be able to afford to eat those.

And last I checked, the Red Sox finished in third place the last two seasons! While I'm not a fan of the current system in baseball, claiming the team with the number one payroll automatically wins is a dopey argument in all sports, because the reality is that it almost NEVER happens that way!

Dopey? Hardly. Simple logic.

Give the GM in Minnesota a huge payroll and see what happens. Big market teams can be lazy and bloated and spend there way out of anything. Sure the Sox finished 3rd, but they will always be in contention simply because of resources.

I will say this, not only would I like to see a salary cap, but almost more importantly a salary floor. As much as I argue about mid market teams at a competitive disadvantage, there are greedy owners like in Pittsburgh and Baltimore who don't even try. For them it's more profitable to lose.

Good debate between you and John. I sympathize with your side of the argument, obviously. The Sox and Yanks may not win the WS every single year, but you can almost always count on them competing.

You can't do the same in small markets once you make one or two bad moves. For instance, the Indians: we were a game away from the World Series in 2007 and everything blew up in our faces. The Travis Hafner contract became an albatross that plagues us still today. To a lesser extent, Sizemore was killing us too. Enter the Cliff Lee/Sabathia infamous back-to-back Cy Young trades to ease our cheap ownership's pain. And like you said, THAT's the problem. It's basically a vicious cycle for MOST small/mid market teams: you somehow get lucky, develop some players who get really good on your dime, you have a window of competitiveness, and then they're all gone to the big markets. The Twins are an outlier.

A salary floor's a good idea. Our ownership in Cleveland is absurdly cheap. They run it like a regular business, which as a pro sports owner you just can't do. They also are simply not wealthy enough to own a pro sports team, especially in the MLB. Yeah, they're rich, but not THAT rich.

[Enigma869]

I will say this, not only would I like to see a salary cap, but almost more importantly a salary floor. As much as I argue about mid market teams at a competitive disadvantage, there are greedy owners like in Pittsburgh and Baltimore who don't even try. For them it's more profitable to lose.

I've been saying this for years. It's completely fucking embarrassing that some of these owners are raping and pillaging their fans, and laughing all the way to the bank.

[Ehwmatt]

I will say this, not only would I like to see a salary cap, but almost more importantly a salary floor. As much as I argue about mid market teams at a competitive disadvantage, there are greedy owners like in Pittsburgh and Baltimore who don't even try. For them it's more profitable to lose.

I've been saying this for years. It's completely fucking embarrassing that some of these owners are raping and pillaging their fans, and laughing all the way to the bank.

The league needs to do more due diligence when a team is transferred to new owners. Our owners in Cleveland are cheap by nature, but they also simply cannot afford to be playing in the big leagues as owners. They don't have the scratch. I'd get laughed out of the bank if I tried to buy a $1 million home, so why should someone who can't financially run a baseball team in good faith be allowed to purchase one?

[Ehwmatt]

Listen to this sob story from Deidre Pujols, Albert's wife, explaining why they left St. Louis:

Deidre Pujols, speaking with interviewer Sandi Brown, who is her friend, said the couple initially had no plans to ever leave St. Louis or the Cardinals, the only team the first baseman had ever played for.

"When it all came down, I was mad. I was mad at God because I felt like all the signs that had been played out through the baseball field, our foundation, our restaurant, the Down Syndrome Center, my relationships, my home, my family close," Deidre Pujols told the station. "I mean, we had no reason, not one reason, to want to leave. People were deceived by the numbers."

She indicated the key moment was the Cardinals' initial offer of five years and $130 million.

"When you have somebody say 'We want you to be a Cardinal for life' and only offer you a five-year deal, it kind of confused us," Deidre Pujols said. "Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community ... we didn't want to go through this again."

Oh poor you you fucking crusty cu nt. I'm sure God took his vengeance out on poor you by "only" giving you an offer of $130 million. What an insult! Fucking c un t. Keep riding your husband's (likely juiced) coattails to millions you fuckin pathetic cluck.

I really wish I had more balls than to watch and root for pro athletes that are so out of touch with reality in the year 2011. You guys all know I'm no bleeding heart, but even a conservative's eyebrows are raised at remarks like this in a time when people can't put food on the table.

[conversationpc]

Listen to this sob story from Deidre Pujols, Albert's wife, explaining why they left St. Louis:

Deidre Pujols, speaking with interviewer Sandi Brown, who is her friend, said the couple initially had no plans to ever leave St. Louis or the Cardinals, the only team the first baseman had ever played for.

"When it all came down, I was mad. I was mad at God because I felt like all the signs that had been played out through the baseball field, our foundation, our restaurant, the Down Syndrome Center, my relationships, my home, my family close," Deidre Pujols told the station. "I mean, we had no reason, not one reason, to want to leave. People were deceived by the numbers."

She indicated the key moment was the Cardinals' initial offer of five years and $130 million.

"When you have somebody say 'We want you to be a Cardinal for life' and only offer you a five-year deal, it kind of confused us," Deidre Pujols said. "Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community ... we didn't want to go through this again."

Oh poor you you fucking crusty cu nt. I'm sure God took his vengeance out on poor you by "only" giving you an offer of $130 million. What an insult! Fucking c un t. Keep riding your husband's (likely juiced) coattails to millions you fuckin pathetic cluck.

I really wish I had more balls than to watch and root for pro athletes that are so out of touch with reality in the year 2011. You guys all know I'm no bleeding heart, but even a conservative's eyebrows are raised at remarks like this in a time when people can't put food on the table.

Unbelievable how greedy someone can be. For a guy in his early 30s, a 5-year contract is exactly what should be offered.

[Ehwmatt]

Listen to this sob story from Deidre Pujols, Albert's wife, explaining why they left St. Louis:

Deidre Pujols, speaking with interviewer Sandi Brown, who is her friend, said the couple initially had no plans to ever leave St. Louis or the Cardinals, the only team the first baseman had ever played for.

"When it all came down, I was mad. I was mad at God because I felt like all the signs that had been played out through the baseball field, our foundation, our restaurant, the Down Syndrome Center, my relationships, my home, my family close," Deidre Pujols told the station. "I mean, we had no reason, not one reason, to want to leave. People were deceived by the numbers."

She indicated the key moment was the Cardinals' initial offer of five years and $130 million.

"When you have somebody say 'We want you to be a Cardinal for life' and only offer you a five-year deal, it kind of confused us," Deidre Pujols said. "Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community ... we didn't want to go through this again."

Oh poor you you fucking crusty cu nt. I'm sure God took his vengeance out on poor you by "only" giving you an offer of $130 million. What an insult! Fucking c un t. Keep riding your husband's (likely juiced) coattails to millions you fuckin pathetic cluck.

I really wish I had more balls than to watch and root for pro athletes that are so out of touch with reality in the year 2011. You guys all know I'm no bleeding heart, but even a conservative's eyebrows are raised at remarks like this in a time when people can't put food on the table.

Unbelievable how greedy someone can be. For a guy in his early 30s, a 5-year contract is exactly what should be offered.

You know, I understand how this could be "insulting" in the ridiculous parallel universe these athletes live in. I get it. Maybe I'd even be similarly "insulted" in the same situation. Sadly for me, I'll never get to experiment with that possibility.

But to not have the basic intellect and tact to realize that vocalizing these things to the public as some kind of justification for your actions is just beyond the pale.

[conversationpc]

Listen to this sob story from Deidre Pujols, Albert's wife, explaining why they left St. Louis:

Deidre Pujols, speaking with interviewer Sandi Brown, who is her friend, said the couple initially had no plans to ever leave St. Louis or the Cardinals, the only team the first baseman had ever played for.

"When it all came down, I was mad. I was mad at God because I felt like all the signs that had been played out through the baseball field, our foundation, our restaurant, the Down Syndrome Center, my relationships, my home, my family close," Deidre Pujols told the station. "I mean, we had no reason, not one reason, to want to leave. People were deceived by the numbers."

She indicated the key moment was the Cardinals' initial offer of five years and $130 million.

"When you have somebody say 'We want you to be a Cardinal for life' and only offer you a five-year deal, it kind of confused us," Deidre Pujols said. "Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community ... we didn't want to go through this again."

Oh poor you you fucking crusty cu nt. I'm sure God took his vengeance out on poor you by "only" giving you an offer of $130 million. What an insult! Fucking c un t. Keep riding your husband's (likely juiced) coattails to millions you fuckin pathetic cluck.

I really wish I had more balls than to watch and root for pro athletes that are so out of touch with reality in the year 2011. You guys all know I'm no bleeding heart, but even a conservative's eyebrows are raised at remarks like this in a time when people can't put food on the table.

Unbelievable how greedy someone can be. For a guy in his early 30s, a 5-year contract is exactly what should be offered.

You know, I understand how this could be "insulting" in the ridiculous parallel universe these athletes live in. I get it. Maybe I'd even be similarly "insulted" in the same situation. Sadly for me, I'll never get to experiment with that possibility.

But to not have the basic intellect and tact to realize that vocalizing these things to the public as some kind of justification for your actions is just beyond the pale.

It's really just common sense, as far as I'm concerned. Most players, including superstars, begin pretty rapidly declining around their mid 30s, which is where Pujols would be at the end of a 5-year contract.

[Uno_up]

Wow, owners never learn. A-Rod has the worst contract in baseball right now and Pujols' will be similar in five years when the contract becomes an albatross and he's DHing[edit...Mauer has the worst]...Paying him $25 million when he is 40 & 41?...hmmm. Incredible player, and they might get a World Series title out of it, but this will eventually become painful. I still don't believe he's only 32 years old today. The world is just a gigantic prostitution ring. I am disgusted.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "The Los Angeles Yankees of Anaheim"!

[Enigma869]

Wow, owners never learn. A-Rod has the worst contract in baseball right now and Pujols' will be similar in five years when the contract becomes an albatross and he's DHing[edit...Mauer has the worst]...Paying him $25 million when he is 40 & 41?...hmmm. Incredible player, and they might get a World Series title out of it, but this will eventually become painful. I still don't believe he's only 32 years old today.

No Dominican players are the age they claim they are. If a player is Dominican, the rule is to add 10% to the age they claim. I still can't believe this fucker doesn't have a dirty piss test out there somewhere. Only a matter of time.