St. Louis Cardinals

[dj_morton]

roids included?

 

[Woy]

roids included?

:yawn: Too predictable.

 

[SHOGUN]

The tone in the city has been pretty calm. Lots of disappointed people and most are shocked/upset because everything seemed cool last night and then Angels just snuck in and took him, but ultimately they understand it's a part of the FA game and the length for that price was too much.

 

[Woy]

Mozeliak addressing the media at 4:30 EST:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id=6350584&partnerId=aw-9115226833104963926-1043

 

[dj_morton]

:yawn: Too predictable.

May have finished his cycle long ago..he looks chubby now

 

[Mogriffjr]

The tone in the city has been pretty calm. Lots of disappointed people and most are shocked/upset because everything seemed cool last night and then Angels just snuck in and took him, but ultimately they understand it's a part of the FA game and the length for that price was too much.

Much of Cards fans didn't want him at the price they wanted to sign AP...

STL fans are pretty smart...I do think them getting a WS championship helped ease this blow.

 

[Sharkweather]

The tone in the city has been pretty calm.

You live in STL?

 

[Woy]

Really liked Mozeliak's answer to the Pujols/LeBron comparison question, although it was like WTF at first when he compared it to Wainwright.

Pretty much said that the media counted them out before when Waino was out last season and others stepped up and the same thing would happen again. I believe it.

 

[SHOGUN]

You live in STL?

:yep:

 

[mcstl25]

The tone in the city has been pretty calm. Lots of disappointed people and most are shocked/upset because everything seemed cool last night and then Angels just snuck in and took him, but ultimately they understand it's a part of the FA game and the length for that price was too much.

Agreed. The only thing I'm hearing people complain about is the way Pujols said over and over again that it wasn't about the money and that he wanted to be in St. Louis (typical media talking points). However, most people are happy that the Cardinals didn't pay him $250 million, and I completely agree. We got Pujols' best years out of him. The down side of his contract is going to be rough on the Angels.

 

[Villain]

Wainwright will be back and Carpenter will be Carpenter. The Cards will be fine and now they have some fun money they can spread around on finding good peices over the next few years. They're lucky that Berkman has been so effective.

 

[mcstl25]

Wainwright will be back and Carpenter will be Carpenter. The Cards will be fine and now they have some fun money they can spread around on finding good peices over the next few years. They're lucky that Berkman has been so effective.

Agree. Their starting rotation is in great shape, and they still have a solid core with Berkman, Freese, Holliday, Molina and even Craig. They need to spend money on a middle infielder and add a few relievers in the pen. Barring injury, they'll compete for the Central again.

 

[Woy]

Rollins and Beltran have been rumors now. I'd take the flyer on Rollins for a few years, but I also think highly of Ryan Jackson so I don't want his path blocked at SS.

 

[Woy]

 

[mcstl25]

So original, Albert.

 

[Woy]

#Cardinals and Furcal have agreed on two-year, $14 million deal, pending physical early next week, agent confirms. #STLcards

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...cle_a9984512-236a-11e1-ae9e-001a4bcf6878.html

On the day first baseman Albert Pujols makes his departure from the Cardinals official, the team he left behind has already moved on to address other needs.

The Cardinals will finalize a two-year, $14-million deal with shortstop Rafael Furcal early next week.

The deal has been agreed upon pending a physical, the shortstop's agent Paul Kinze confirmed to The Post-Dispatch on Saturday afternoon.

Furcal, 34, returns to the team that acquired him at the July non-waiver trade deadline last season. Furcal solidified the team's defense with his play at shortstop, and he took over the leadoff role until struggling at the plate in the World Series. Furcal hit .255 with a .316 on-base percetnage and a .418 slugging percentage in 50 games with the Cardinals in 2011. He added seven homers and 29 runs scored as the team's everyday shortstop.

Pujols agreed to accept a 10-year, $254-million from the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. Pujols is being introduced to the LA-area media this afternoon in Anaheim, Calif. Once Pujols had made his decision, the Cardinals shifted gears to address their middle infield openings and possibly add another outfielder. Furcal had been their chief target at shortstop since free agency opened; the two sides had discussed an extension in August before tabling the talks for the winter.

The Cardinals will continue to shop the free agent market for another bat and lefthanded reliever. Outfielder Carlos Beltran has been discussed as a possible fit for the team.

 

[Woy]

"I don't want to talk about negotations. But to tell you the truth, it wasn't about money. I'm going to die saying that, because it wasn't about the money."

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...1-aeec-0019bb30f31a.html#.TuQHZLyERJk.twitter

:facepalm:

 

[strahanfan92]

Albert Pujols' wife Diedre, in an interview with a radio station with ties to the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger, said the couple was prepared to take less money to stay in St. Louis, but were greatly disappointed when the team initially offered him a five-year deal.

Thursday, Albert Pujols signed a 10-year, $254 million offer with the Los Angeles Angels that contained no deferred money, as well as a 10-year personal services contract following that deal. The Cardinals' last offer to Pujols was for 10 years and $210 million, with $30 million deferred.

"The offer that people have seen on television I want to tell you what, listeners especially, had that offer been given to us with a guarantee, we would have the (Cardinals) bird on our back," Diedre Pujols told 99.1 Joy FM, a St. Louis-area Christian station that received some of its initial funding from Albert Pujols.

Diedre 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 being played out through the baseball field, our foundation, our restaurant, the Down Syndrome Center, my relationships, my home, my family close," Diedre 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," Diedre 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."

Diedre Pujols told the station the negative reaction in St. Louis over her husband's decision to sign with the Angels has been striking.

"Albert has never lied. People are like 'Oh, we thought we knew who he was.' Well, we thought we knew who they were," she told the station.

"The city of St. Louis has absolutely been deceived and I have never seen hatred spread so fast and I understand why," she added. "Let me say that Albert and I never, not one time, ever made plans to leave this city."

Diedre Pujols also said she had no ill will toward the Cardinals or owner Bill DeWitt and that she understands the fans' frustration with her husband's decision.

"It's just like God," she said at the end of the interview, "to put us on a team called the Angels."

 

[ThomasTomasz]

My response to the wife probably would have been along the lines of "can you guarantee me that he isn't 35?"

With the record cable deal that Moreno now has, he's paid for Pujols many times over. As a matter of fact, he could be in on just about every major free agent each year, and he still pours money into his player development system. It isn't out of the question to consider an Angels dynasty over the coming years.

As for the Cardinals, a name I thought would be intriguing for you guys is Luke Scott. He played injured last season, but as a LF/1B he fills a need on a low risk deal. The Orioles non-tendered him, so he will be looking for other teams (as well as negotiating with the Orioles.) In 2010, Scott was in the top 10 for OPS amongst outfielders, and can certainly perform well if he is healthy.

 

[Woy]

Everyone knows that Beltran signed here for 2 years already, so I don't have to update the thread on that. Like the signing and think he'll replace some of Pujols's production next season.

Found this on VEB the other day, just sharing it now.

Rejected songs from this year's Cardinals' Christmas song collection:

Rasmus the Red-Nosed Reindeer
I Saw Mommy Kissing Tony LaRussa
All I Want For Christmas Is A Two-Year Contract by Skip Schumaker
Do You Hear What I Hear by The Guy That Answered the Bullpen Phone in Game 5
Let It Snow LOOGys by Tony LaRussa
Rockin' Around the MVP Trophy by David Freese
Carlos Beltran is Coming to Town
The Little Skipper Boy
It's The Most Holliday Time of the Year
Angels We Have Heard Bid High by Albert & Deidre Pujols
It Came Upon the Everclear by Dan McLaughlin ft. David Freese and Tony LaRussa
Berk Gonna Berk (sung to the tune of Feliz Navidad) by Lance Berkman
We Three Homeruns (Of World Series Game 3) by Albert Pujols
Have Yourself a McClellan Little Christmas
Mother F*ckin Silent Night by Chris Carpenter
The First Gold Glove by Yadier Molina
Redneck 12 Days of Christmas by Colby Rasmus
Nuttin' for Christmas by Matt Holliday (A Reprise of the 2009 version)
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer Which I Then Shot and Butchered by the Bullpen
O Little Town of Anaheim by Albert & Deidre Pujols