Albert Puljos DFAed!

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I know they can't really afford to have one. 

 

You are giving them more credit than I am.  I think the players are out for a big time set of changes after they "lost" the last round by asking for the wrong things.

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I know they can't really afford to have one. 

 

I hope the owners and players see it that way.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

His career batting average in STL was .328.

He finishes his career with a .298 batting average.  He was terrible in Anaheim.  Sad way to see his career end but the hints were there in his final season in STL.  It was a great season for 99% of other ballplayers, but not for him.  They made the right move in letting him walk.  

I've always thought Pujols lied about his age and is about 5 years older than what he claims. He looked about 25 years old when he was a 21 years old rookie. T

I'm not a truther about it, but Miguel Tejada was caught lying about his age so it's not out of the realm of possibility other players have done the same. 

Former MLB exec says Albert Pujols has been lying about his age

Tejada admits to being two years older than he had said

[Moose Milligan]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I hope the owners and players see it that way.  

Both sides should be aware that baseball is slipping into being an afterthought in this country.  The NFL is king.  And while the NBA isn't great, it does an absolutely fantastic job of promoting its players and making them cultural touchstones.  There's a reason why the NFL and the NBA dominate ESPN and their talkshows.  

Baseball has been relegated to a sport for old white people.  I mean, look at the demographics of this site (I'm willing to bet, although I don't know for sure).  Kids today aren't interested in watching it.  

We can do the whole James Earl Jones "Baseball has marked the times, America has been erased like a blackboard, blah blah blah" quote  but that's not living in reality. 

After the last labor dispute, MLB got really lucky.  They had Cal Ripken Jr breaking what was thought to be an unbreakable record.  Then Selig and the owners turned a blind eye while McGwire and Sosa and a bunch of others injected themselves with funny sounding chemicals that weren't exactly legal but also weren't ILLEGAL by MLB standards.  Balls began flying out of the ballpark at record rates and people came back.

They can't pull that trick again, it's already been done before.  And if they don't know that, then both sides are stupid and deserve what's coming to them if they have a work stoppage.  

 

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I've always thought Pujols lied about his age and is about 5 years older than what he claims. He looked about 25 years old when he was a 21 years old rookie. T

I'm not a truther about it, but Miguel Tejada was caught lying about his age so it's not out of the realm of possibility other players have done the same. 

Former MLB exec says Albert Pujols has been lying about his age

Tejada admits to being two years older than he had said

Wouldn't be surprised if that was true.  That Pujols rumor has been around for quite awhile.  

[Yossarian]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Albert Pujols has a quarter of a billion dollars in the bank, he is certainly not going to stop with any of his charity work, And he’s definitely going into the Hall of Fame. I can’t think of any reason to be upset about telling a guy who is done, and who has been done for years, that he is done.

I didn't say they were upset about it, just that it couldn't have been easy from a personal standpoint.  Maybe the noble thing would have been for Pujols to recognize his skills were fading and gone out on his own terms a year or two ago?

It can be a blessing to let a person know they are done when they don't recognize it themselves.  An anecdote:

I had a differential equations professor in college tell me he thought he was going to be a professional ball player.  He had a family friend that was a scout in the Braves organization.  This family friend got him a contract out of high school within the organization on a Rookie League level team.  He was so appreciative of the opportunity the scout had made for him.  After two years and not much progress, that same scout approached him and told him that baseball wasn't in the cards for him and he should get on with life.  My professor says he was so hurt by that and angry at the family friend.  He didn't believe it was over.  Then, within a few months, he realized the scout was right.  He hung up the cleats and went to college.  He said his feelings of resentment were soon washed away and replaced with appreciation - for both the opportunity and the frankness in telling him it wasn't going to work.

[LA2]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think that if Davis was going to walk away he'd have done so by now.  I think they are more interested in the expiring CBA.

Yes, he would have quit by now. But a work stoppage would mean the payouts to Davis just get postponed (not canceled) until seasons resume, right? And that would be in the club's interest because it lets one more year of our lowest-budget rebuilding years pass under the bridge?

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, LA2 said:

Yes, he would have quit by now. But a work stoppage would mean the payouts to Davis just get postponed (not canceled) until seasons resume, right? And that would be in the club's interest because it lets one more year of our lowest-budget rebuilding years pass under the bridge?

I'm honestly not sure how it would shake out if the players went on strike.

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

His career batting average in STL was .328.

He finishes his career with a .298 batting average.  He was terrible in Anaheim.  Sad way to see his career end but the hints were there in his final season in STL.  It was a great season for 99% of other ballplayers, but not for him.  They made the right move in letting him walk.  

Letting him walk is why the Cardinals are a very good organization year in and year out and have been to the playoffs six times since letting him go after they won the World Series in 2011. 

Meanwhile the Angels spent $240 million for Pujols to slash .256/.311/.447/.758 (108 OPS+), 12.8 WAR going to the playoffs once and never winning a game with Pujols on the team.

Basically the Angels made the ultimate mistake of paying a guy for who he was, not who he was going to be when they signed the 32-year old Pujols to that 10-year contract.

The Angels are a perfect example of a team with a lot of money to spend who can't put it all together around the best player in the game Mike Trout.

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I've always thought Pujols lied about his age and is about 5 years older than what he claims. He looked about 25 years old when he was a 21 years old rookie. T

I'm not a truther about it, but Miguel Tejada was caught lying about his age so it's not out of the realm of possibility other players have done the same. 

Former MLB exec says Albert Pujols has been lying about his age

Tejada admits to being two years older than he had said

Reading that 1st piece, I think there is very little doubt Pujols is older than his listed 41. 

Does this look like the arms of a 21-year old? 

This was a picture taken in July of 2001 when Pujols was supposed to be 21 yeas old. 

[NCRaven]

36 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm honestly not sure how it would shake out if the players went on strike.

If there is no contract (CBA) and no games are played, the players are not paid.  However, when a settlement is ultimately reach, there would likely be a provision for making up some or all of the games missed, depending on the length of the work stoppage.  No idea how owners and players will ultimately settle that issue.  So, we can't know now, it will be determined in the negotiations.

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Letting him walk is why the Cardinals are a very good organization year in and year out and have been to the playoffs six times since letting him go after they won the World Series in 2011. 

Meanwhile the Angels spent $240 million for Pujols to slash .256/.311/.447/.758 (108 OPS+), 12.8 WAR going to the playoffs once and never winning a game with Pujols on the team.

Basically the Angels made the ultimate mistake of paying a guy for who he was, not who he was going to be when they signed the 32-year old Pujols to that 10-year contract.

The Angels are a perfect example of a team with a lot of money to spend who can't put it all together around the best player in the game Mike Trout.

While I don’t disagree with you, the Cards were willing to fork over 10/$220 mm for Pujols.  They got outbid, but 10/$220 mm still would have been a disaster.  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinals-boost-offer-to-pujols/article_968bf333-74e8-5b87-b245-ae4ae5b33301.amp.html 

I suspect Pujols would have put up better raw numbers if he’d stayed in St. Louis.   Anaheim and the AL West are a tough place to hit.   

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Reading that 1st piece, I think there is very little doubt Pujols is older than his listed 41. 

Does this look like the arms of a 21-year old? 

This was a picture taken in July of 2001 when Pujols was supposed to be 21 yeas old. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger was Mr. Universe at age 21.   OK, so he had a little help...Still, there are plenty of guys who are pretty built at that age.   Just look around college football.  

[Moose Milligan]

19 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Letting him walk is why the Cardinals are a very good organization year in and year out and have been to the playoffs six times since letting him go after they won the World Series in 2011. 

Meanwhile the Angels spent $240 million for Pujols to slash .256/.311/.447/.758 (108 OPS+), 12.8 WAR going to the playoffs once and never winning a game with Pujols on the team.

Basically the Angels made the ultimate mistake of paying a guy for who he was, not who he was going to be when they signed the 32-year old Pujols to that 10-year contract.

The Angels are a perfect example of a team with a lot of money to spend who can't put it all together around the best player in the game Mike Trout.

The Cardinals obviously knew that it was wiser to let Pujols walk maybe a few years early rather than do what the Angels did.  You're right, thats what a good organization does.

That, and I suspect that they might have known that he really isn't his listed age.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

Reading that 1st piece, I think there is very little doubt Pujols is older than his listed 41. 

Does this look like the arms of a 21-year old? 

This was a picture taken in July of 2001 when Pujols was supposed to be 21 yeas old. 

That was one of the early tells to me that something was up with Pujols' stated age. Looking at other players who come up in their early 20's they almost always fill out their bodies once as they age. Manny was skinny when he first came up compared to him today. Adam Jones was another player who gained muscle as he got older

Pujols always looked big, but I know it's not definitive proof of him lying about his age.