It seems not long ago that Pujols entered the league and we all got a chance to giggle at another amusing athlete name, but those giggles turned to gawking as he quickly asserted himself to become the most dominant player in the game for the last decade.
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| Were he not so talented, Pujols still would have belonged to a rich history of hilariously-named athletes. |
Now an icon in St. Louis and the most valuable player in baseball, Pujols plans on seeing, pecuniarily speaking, what his body of work means to his team and league.
One thing that teams will count against him though is that he's basically the opposite of that dude from Memento. Sure, long-term we see all the great things you've done, Albert, but maybe you're forgetting that recent disaster known as "The Decision?"
- (St. Louis - Nelly) x (rock n' roll/blues) = Cleveland
- The Cardinals without Albert would be, at best, a .500 team when you deduct his average Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 8. That's triple the WAR of his Cardinal teammates at 2B, SS, and 3B combined.
The major difference with LeBron is that Pujols already has a World Series ring, so he could be shipping out of St. Louis solely for the Benjamins. At least LeBron had winning on his mind, and he wasn't going to win in Cleveland. (Of course, the Heat need to figure out how to beat the Celtics before THAT team has a chance, but that's a blog-slam for another day.)
Whatever his motivations, it's time for Nostradanger to prognosticate his future whereabouts:
New York Yankees - If any team were to spend $300 million on a player, it would be the Bronx Bombers. Unfortunately they have already committed to Mark Teixeira at 1B, a star player in his own right. But in Veruca Salt fashion, they typically get whatever they want (e.g. an over-priced DH).
New York Mets - Always the Stephen Baldwin to the Yankee's Alec, the Mets brass could see Albert as a prime opportunity to emerge from the shadow of their city counterpart. The contract of Carlos Beltran will be done by next year; the only problem is that chronic-overspender Omar Minaya is no longer the GM. New head honcho Sandy Alderson could be looking to make a splash with his new club, though, so keep the Mets on your radar.
Baltimore Orioles - I've heard this team thrown out as a possibility, and indeed they do sign big name players sometimes (e.g. Albert Belle). Not going to happen. Going to Baltimore is like leaving a good job for a sports management degree: you get there with high expectations, do your work, and then you realize you're back at square one and just hope to get back to another team (/industry). At least that's what I've heard....
Washington Nationals - Pujols's arrival would likely coincide with the return of young phenom Stephen Strasburg and the debut of uber-prospect Bryce Harper, plus the "Natinals" haven't been shy about bidding on free agents lately. I rate Chocolate City as just a hair more likely than B-more.
Atlanta Braves - The Braves's payroll has declined in recent years, and if any organization has enough prospects to trade for Pujols and get an extension done, it's this one. Their GM, John Schuerholtz, however, is basically the Oscar Martinez of league executives: he forgoes grand, risky options and is content with keeping what he's got.
Chicago Cubs - Oh, how the Cubbies would love to pluck Albert from their long-standing rivals! With Carlos Pena as a rental at 1B, and the almost-legendary-funny-name-club-member Kosuke Fukudome coming off the books next year, the Cubs should factor heavily in the mix.
St. Louis Cardinals - I was pulling your chain all along, he's probably going back to St. Louis. The Cardinals brand is tied to Pujols, and they have the greatest need for him. Is $300 million in the offing? Probably not, but stranger things have happened. They're playing the 2022 World Cup in the desert, anything's possible!
*TRIVIA CONTEST RESULTS*
Dennis Rodman actually won 5 NBA Finals trophies to Shaq's 4, making Nicholas Reisman the winner of this week's trivia! His reward was a sport management slam in this very column.
As for the prior week, Diocletian was the emperor who set up a tetrarchy over the Roman Empire. Best of luck with this week's question!
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