Image via Wikipedia
On the morning of January 19th, I started collecting links – as many as I can find with minimal effort – that discuss the Albert Pujols contract discussions. Why? Who knows, yet here they are. Oh, and to serve you all, our three loyal readers! The Daily Pujols certainly won’t be a comprehensive list, but between local, national, and blog coverage, maybe you’ll find something here you otherwise wouldn’t. Without further delay, here is today’s Daily Pujols…
Today’s conclusion includes reactions…
Local
Jeff Gordon says Bill DeWitt “sent Albert Pujols packing.” I’m not sure I’d phrase and frame it that way. Yes, DeWitt and John Mozeliak had a plan, and a ceiling they were willing to offer. But Albert packed all on his own.
Greg Leuthen covers both sides of the coin, and now what? for the Cardinals.
Various reactions from Cardinals and local figures.
BJ Rains looks ahead to where the Cardinals might spend all of their newfound payroll space.
Matthew Leach also lays out the tasks remaining for the Cardinals in the wake of being left by Pujols.
David Wilhelm reiterated what many have already said. Paraphrasing: “it sucks, but the Cards are likely better off for it.”
The Alton Telegraph had some hard hitting local reaction. From Facebook, of course.
KSDK has video of Mozeliak’s press conference after returning to St. Louis sans Pujols.
Go read everything Bernie Miklasz has written about the Pujols negotiations. Just do it.
National
There was much rejoicing in Milwaukee.
Pitchers sleeping better in Cincinnati.
The Red Sox never really tried to find a place for Pujols.
Cards loss of Pujols means Cubs adding Fielder would shift balance of power in division to Chicago? Um…
Lozano called the Yankees about Pujols. Of course he did.
Phillies also glad Pujols is in the American League.
Gregg Doyel expresses what many Cardinal fans are feeling – it’s not necessarily about loyalty, deserving something, or even necessarily honesty – it’s about the legacy Pujols threw away. Personally, my thinking is very much in line with Doyel’s. Albert had his reasons for choosing Anaheim, the Cardinals had their reasons for not breaking the bank – but in the end, it was Albert’s decision to become “just another great ballplayer” rather than a near-deified legend.
More “all is not lost” from Jerry Crasnick. To be clear, I agree, not mocking the sentiment.
Cliff Corcoran expects the Cardinals to contend in 2012, without Pujols.
Can we please stop the Albert Pujols equals LeBron James nonsense? Please.
Stan McNeal thinks the Cards will come out ahead in the long run, especially without being able to DH Pujols in the later years of the deal.
Long-time Cardinal fan Will Leitch’s reactions, numbered.
How did some AL West execs react?
Blogs
A look back at Pujols by the numbers against his former NL Central foes – and that Houston Astros team that he’s following.
David Schoenfield summed the Cardinal future, and what fans should expect, up quite nicely: “The Cardinals will move on. … Because, in the end, we don’t cheer for stars. We cheer for our team. Trust me, Cardinals fans: You will recover.”
Bloguin’s The Outside Corner assessed Pujols signing impact on both the Angels and the Cards.
Dennis took a more lighthearted approach to figuring out why Pujols would bolt for the West Coast.
A great write-up from Steve Kelley at Review STL. “And when you come back to Busch Stadium for the first time, I hope the fans remember that, too. We gave Craig Biggio a standing ovation, and he was an arch-rival for years. I hope they afford the same to you. And then I hope the Cardinals beat the living $#!+ out of the Angels. We are Cardinal Nation.”
Chicago Now has a great post looking at Pujols’ decision to leave St. Louis and the decision soon facing the Indianapolis Colts over what to do with Peyton Manning. Is the team bound to the same expectations of loyalty as fans expect players to be?
From Viva El Birdos… Both Pujols and the Cardinals made mistakes. Great opinions.
—–
Finally, here, courtesy of @MattSebek, is the full-page “thank you” advertisement in today’s Post-Dispatch from Albert and Dee Dee. It’s a nice gesture, but over-played. Just take your money and go.
—–
Want to read the previous Dailies? You can find them all here.
Thanks for following along with The Daily Pujols posts, if you have been. This marks the end, I guess fittingly.
