The Cardinals will most certainly lock up Pujols for the sum of $10-12M for a LONG-term deal. I absolutely love the guy, but I'm not sure how wise that is. He apparently digs St. Louis, being a Show-Me State boy, he's very active locally and is a big presence in Christian efforts through the ballclub. Why lock him down and take the risk when you can be pretty sure he's not going to leave even after a shorter, 3-year deal? I can see this both ways... Now, you want to talk funny: Pujols has his first endorsement deal, and it's for some bug-killing device or spray. That's embarrassing enough, but what's even funnier is his wife, Debbie, who must be from southern Missouri. It's awfully damn hard to understand Albert with his thick Dominican accent, but Debbie's bootheel drawl is a scream, bless her heart.
If I was a GM, there's no way I'd take on A-Rod's contract. Sure, last year he hit 57 home runs, but even if he does that every year, for $25M you can pick up two guys to hit 60-80 home runs and 200 RBI, something A-Rod can't do. He's only one player, regardless of how good he is, he's got limitations. If I was Hicks, I'd tell him to go fuck himself. To accept that kind of money and then criticize the organization for not winning without offering to help them out financially is absurd. He's probably worth almost as much as the owner! Give a little back, you greedy bastard, or accept the fact that you, yourself, crippled the franchise. On the other hand, Hicks is an idiot to offer anyone a quarter of a billion dollars to swing a piece of wood at a piece of leather. In conclusion, everyone sucks and they all should just shut their pie holes and accept the fact that they are all failures in the eyes of baseball fans. Thanks for sending the game to hell, jerks. I hope the road is paved with 100 loss seasons and empty stadiums. Doodieheads.
Pujols - in all lieklyhood will be the next benchmark contract What about Vlad's? Isn't he a free agent in about two months? That'll be a good test of the market.
You know, therev, I'm sick of you mincing words. Out with it, man! I couldn't agree more. Anyone who signs a contract for $252 million has GOT to understand that he's basically shackling the franchise to his own wallet. I don't fault ARod for signing the deal anyone who turns down that kind of cash is a dope but he can't come back now and whine about the competitveness (or lack thereof) of the Rangers. God bless you, Billy Beane.
I don't think the Rangers are suffering under the weight of his contract. They suck because none of their other moves have worked and their farm system has declined rapidly since the days it was churning out one or two future stars like Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez each year. Hicks has major bucks. The Ballpark is a sweetheart deal for the team and Dallas-Fort Worth is a big TV market.
Rcade, I guess it's a matter of looking at how Hicks should spend his money. Yes, the guy's loaded, and Texas does have a great deal at The Ballpark (god, I hate that name). But the Rangers already have the fifth-highest payroll in the game, and ARod constitutes better than one-fifth of it. It's not like Hicks isn't paying other guys well. It's not like he hasn't brought it talent. But Rodriguez is by far the biggest chunk on the payroll, and his contract completely prevents him from being moved somewhere. That's a pretty major limitation for the parent club. I don't think you can expect the owner to just keep spending when that's what he's already done. Yes, it's his own damn fault for signing the contract, but if ARod really wanting to move, he's going to have to pony up himself.
I just reread the article and got a laugh out of the fact that it's worded "is open to a trade if it helps the team". Which is basically saying "get me out of this hellhole" but trying to spin it to sound like he's helping the team. Of COURSE shedding 252 million is going to help the team. If he was at all interested in helping the team, he'd try to remain a part of it and defer some money so that they could put some pitchers around him. In Hicks's defense, that was one murderous lineup on paper this year and last - stuff just didn't pan out, someone always hurt or underperforming. Offensively, they should have been amazing.
Texas is not a baseball state...go 'Boys!!
KJH - this is what weedy was referring to with "poo holes". Make sure to check out their home page, here.
Are there really people on Earth getting amusement from the pronounciation of Pujols? I'm not above that, but it's not exactly the second coming of Dick Trickle.
Vlad's contract will be interesting too. Poo-holes. heh. Still amuses me.
Dick Trickle. hmmm. . . . bwa ha ha ha! I agree with therev's summary of the situation. doodieheads. Pujeads.
You guys are worse than my kids. I throw out Pujols' name and half of you turn into Beavis and Butthead. Reminds me of the time I was trying to explain to my five year old who Howdy Doody was...
Ummm, now A-Rod is feeling patient.
but it's not exactly the second coming of Dick Trickle Ha! The "second coming" of Dick Trickle!? That's genius! While I'm enjoying the schadenfreude of A-Rod's frustration, saying he's the reason Texas can't compete is bunk: what Texas spends minus A-Rod's contract is still enough money to fit in almost any other team's entire payroll but for the top 10 or so. Heck, dump Carlos Guillen, replace him with A-Rod, and Seattle's payroll would be what Texas' is, and inarguably the team would be even better than it is now (I'm not one of those believers in "clubhouse" guys who stink on the field but magically make their teams better by being stand-up, swell fellers). Likewise the Giants, Cardinals, A's, Houston, etc. Barry Bonds makes $15m, and the Giants' payroll is $82m. If Bonds made $25m, and the payroll was $92m, but otherwise the team was identical- are people really believing that their record would be vastly worse? Or that the Giants would be better off without Bonds and his albatross $15m contract? And don't get me started on the Yankees and Jeter- whose $15.6m salary doesn't seem to be dinging the Yankees too badly, even though he's become a pretty awful shortstop to have. Somehow, the Yankees have survived the poor GM decision to keep paying Jeter.
