Pujols - It is My Turn Albert

For fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, their rapid descent down a mountain began a mere three days following their peak, which was an unlikely World Championship following an epic journey from twenty-five games out with the announcement that their manager of seventeen years, Tony LaRussa would be hanging it up. After the emotional departure, the Cardinals were swept into a whirlwind of rumor and conjecture over who would take the helm. Managers as illustrious as former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, to Chicago Cubs icon Ryan Sandberg were in the mix. In the end however, the St. Louis front office did something that baffled the entire baseball world by electing to go with a first time manager in Mike Matheny.

If that wasn't enough drama for an off-season, the Cardinals were just ramping up what would sure to be a busy few months. As the 2011 Winter Meetings loomed, Matheny was busy trying to figure out who would be his first baseman on opening day. The first time he would attend Winter Meetings as a manager, would undoubtedly be one of the biggest in recent history.

The front office failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension for Albert Pujols, causing him to cut off all negotiations with the reasoning that he didn't want contract talks to distract him or the team from their job, to win. For many Cardinal fans, this was the moment that the city of St. Louis lost it's most revered player, for as soon as he hit the open market, the Cardinals would be outdone by the big guns in the East. But come the winter meetings, it wasn't the expected New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, or Philadelphia Phillies that made a run for the face of the franchise. Instead, unexpected big spenders the Miami Marlins and the sleeper Los Angeles Angels swept in and courted, with the latter being the big winners, offering him a 10 year 254 million dollar payday. The second largest contract in history to Alex Rodriguez's 10 year 275 million dollar deal.

Many people, myself included, expected a huge back lash from the city of St. Louis, remnant of the city of Cleveland when their beloved LeBron James left for the payday in Miami. But I was surprised to hear reactions from fans that bordered on resolve, and in some cases, relief.

The question wasn't whether or not Albert Pujols was worth the big money that he was asking, but more whether or not the team was willing and able to make the deal. I heard many fans say things like, "I am sad to see him go, but glad we didn't pay him that much." It reminded me of why the fans in St. Louis are considered the best in baseball, they are smart, baseball people. They realized that while keeping the icon here in St. Louis was desired, it also would come at a price, and a price that they, nor the front office was willing to pay.

The general consensus is, the deal makes sense.

Would Albert Pujols be worth $254 million over ten years? The short answer. In the right place. In St. Louis he would be worth it for the first four, or at best six years of his contract. Then, due to the fact that he would hit his mid-thirties, he would begin to decline and the team would overpay someone who wasn't producing. So what made sense for everyone was for him to go get the big payday for an American League team. It is easy to see the advantage for the Angels. They get the sexy sign that tells their fans that they are the team to cheer for in Southern California. The advantage for Albert Pujols is even easier to see. He gets to play in good weather, on a contending team, and let's not forget that 254 million dollars will buy a relatively livable existence in sunny So-Cal. But, the advantage for the city of St. Louis is harder to see. Once you let the grief and emotion melt away, when the mourning period ends, what is left is something of a shock in St. Louis.

Hope.

With the departure of Pujols, there is a void that needs to be filled in the line-up, but also a void in the payroll that John Mozeliak is waiting to use. The team has a few holes that need to be addressed, as pinpointed on MLB Network, outfield depth, middle infield, and a left-handed reliever. With what is left on the free agent market, the Cardinals could replace his numbers, fill in all the holes with newer and younger players, and best of all, come in way under the price that Albert Pujols demanded.

For instance... (keep in mind this is purely hypothetical. I simply used last year's salary for players still on the market that could be a good fit in St. Louis. There are no deals to my knowledge in the works, with the exception of Rafael Furcal.)

Josh Willingham - $6 Million
Casey Blake - $6 Million
Rafael Furcal - $7 Million
Nick Punto - $750,000
J.C. Romero - $1.3 Million.

Josh Willingham gives the Cardinals outfield depth, allowing for John Jay and Allen Craig to continue performing in their platoon role, where both have found comfort. He also will take a small step in replacing some of the power lost when Pujols left.

Casey Blake is a good bat off the bench who can play the two corner infield spots plus corner outfield positions. With the proposed starters being the injury prone David Freese and Lance Berkman, a good backup is needed for both.

Rafael Furcal has been signed for two seasons at $14 Million and already is set in St. Louis. He is a solid shortstop and true leadoff hitter, something St. Louis hasn't had in quite a long time.

Nick Punto seems to be able to play every position except the front office and at less than a million a year he is a bargain. When you can play good defense at six positions anything you do offensively is a bonus.

J.C. Romero isn't an outstanding left-handed reliever but he is consistent and when you can get a consistent pitcher in front of Dave Duncan he has the ability to make them great.

Total annual cost = $21,050,00.00

Sure, it is easy to find replacements for him financially, but will these players fill the statistical gap? Can they make up the numbers? I looked at the 162 game average for each player and combined them, compared them to The Machine, and this is what I came up with.

Player	AVG	HR	RBI
Josh Willingham	.262	27	88
Casey Blake	.264	21	79
Rafael Furcal	.282	12	59
Nick Punto	.249	3	40
Cumulative	.264	63	266
Albert Pujols	.328	42	126

With the exception of the batting average, the multiple guys that St. Louis can get with the money saved by his departure is more than enough to make up for his absence. Obviously this model has a few flaws but it is a hypothetical scenario that is meant to do nothing but show why Cardinal Nation has more to be excited about than to be mournful about. "The Gateway to the West," the city of St. Louis was exactly that for Albert Pujols, a Gateway to sunny So-Cal and the big payday, but for them... at least they saved some money on the bronze for his proposed statue next to Stan the Man.