Pujols turns down contract

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   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   As you all know albert pujols is in talks with the cardinals on an extention that will allow to spend the rest of his career with the cardinals. He want 300 mil for 10 years the cards contered with 150 for 5years and he turned it down. What do you guys think about this??????

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   I am DB Cooperposted 13 years ago

   I can see why the Cardinals wouldn't want to go 10 years. Sure, he's a great player and when compared to other players is worth $30 million this year, but will he be worth $30 million a year in 2020? He's already had some hip issues, and that's only going to get worse with age.
   
   Pujols thinks he deserves a $300 million/10 year contract because the Cardinals have been getting a discount for his services for his entire career so far. This is true, but that's not the Cardinals fault. His agent, Dan Lozano, either sucks at his job or had no faith in Pujols when he got him to sign a 7-year, $100 million extension in 2004.
   
   Pujols was coming off back-to-back seasons with .359 and .331 batting averages and 95 and 99 extra-base hits. His agent should have had him looking for at least $20 million/year at that point (which would have still been way under A-Rod money), and if he couldn't get it he should have gone for a short deal so Pujols could rack up a few more seasons and go for the big money. Locking in Pujols to a long-term deal at well-below market value (even in 2003) showed a lack of faith in Pujol's ability. Maybe he thought he was making a good faith agreement with the Cardinals that they would repay when he was up for a new contract. If that's the case, Lozano's a sucker and probably shouldn't be a sports agent.

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   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   I can see standing your ground but during the season hes gunna be 32 sign the contract 5yrs 150mil then retire when the contract is up. Hes a great player but this is the type of thing that can quickly hurt a players legacy!

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      I am DB Cooperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think the only way his salary will tie in to his legacy is that people will remember that he earned far less in his career than he could have. He's going to go down as one of the greatest ballplayers in history, yet if he doesn't get the 10-year mega deal he's looking for he'll earn less in his career than Derek Jeter, a Hall of Fame player, but by no means an "all time great" statistically.
      
      Last year, Albert Pujols made less money than Hiroki Kuroda. It's common for great players to make less money early in their careers than established but less-talented veterans, but Pujols has been playing for a decade! He's making less money than two of his teammates (Holliday and Carpenter), despite clearly being the most valuable player on the team.
      
      It's not like Pujols is one of those inconsistent players who signed right before showing he's got skills either. The first decade of his career might be the most consistently great start to a baseball career in history. Every season he bats well above .300, hits 30+ home runs, 30+ doubles, drives in 100 runs, scores 100+ runs (with 1 year @ 99 runs), etc.
      
      In the 6 years that's he's played so far on his 7 year extension, Pujols has been MVP in 3 of those years. He's probably deserved the MVP in two of the other years (2006 and 2010). That means there's only been 1 season of the 6 years on his current contract extension where he didn't deserve an MVP award. The most he's made in a season so far is $14.6 million. How does his agent still have a job?

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   Is he worth giving a 10 year contract at age 32? No.
   
   Is he worth giving $30 Million a year? No.
   
   Is he worth giving $25 Million a year? Sure. He happens to be one of the better power hitters in the game presently.
   
   Is he worth giving a 5-7 contract? This should be an automatic Yes. I would make most of the money on the front end and less per year on the back end, as he get up in age.

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   10aeinhornposted 13 years ago

   its a tough time for pujols and the cardinals ogranization. but at this point..ive got to side with Pujols. we all know the stats, one of the biggest isssues is infact injurie yes. but he avgs 157 games a season, can that really be argued with?

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      I am DB Cooperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The greatest leverage Pujols will have, beside the fact that he's a superstar player, is any offer the Cubs give him when he enters free agency. If I were the GM of the Cubs right now, I'd be arranging my team just so I could offer Pujols a blockbuster deal come next November. The Cardinals know how devastating it could be to lose one of the best players in their organization's history (right up there with Stan the Man and Rogers Hornsby) to their bitter rivals, and they'll have to try to match any offer from the Cubs.

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   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   wtf the cubs cant afford him and Why would be want to go to such a bewildered franchise???

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      I am DB Cooperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I haven't looked at the numbers lately, but I'm pretty sure the Cubs have a lot of money coming off the books this season, which should drop them from a top 5 payroll team to maybe top 15. $30 million+ per year for a player like Pujols could be worth it, especially if it sticks it to the Cardinals. Either way, they have to make the offer just to pressure the Cardinals to spend at least market value for Pujols.
      
      Right now it seems as if the Cardinals think they deserve a hometown discount, even though Pujols has been giving them that for the past 10 years. I mean, the guy has put together one of the best decades in baseball history and he hasn't made $100 million in his career. To put that in perspective, Kevin Brown made $5 million more from 2000 through 2005 than Albert Pujols has made in his entire career so far. The difference: Brown was represented by Scott Boras.
      
      Wikipedia has a list of the top career earnings among baseball players, and it's a who's who of Scott Boras clients. Players should just threaten to switch to Boras as their agent to gain leverage in contract negotiations. Baseball is a business as well as a game, and the fans sometimes forget this.
      
      The whole idea of a hometown discount is really just one corporation ripping off it's more valuable property. Did Derek Jeter ever give the Yankees a hometown discount? Of course not. In fact, the Yankees pay a premium because "Jeter the brand" is more valuable than "Jeter the player". Pujols is the same way. If the Cardinals lost Pujols, they'd not only lose their best player, they'd lose the face of their franchise. They can't allow that to happen, and the Cubs (and other teams in the NL Central) need to make it as costly for the Cards as possible.

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   timorousposted 13 years ago

   Can you say Pujols without giggling?

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      I am DB Cooperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Copied from his player page on espn.com:
      Pronounced    POO-holes
      
      Haha

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   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   i know all about browns deal, im a dodgers fan!

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