With the departure of Albert Pujols and long time manager Tony LaRussa, the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to have a gaping whole of leadership and productivity. The leadership problem was answered on November 14th whenever the Cardinals hired new manager, Mike Matheny. However the Cardinals now had another huge hole to fill.
The saga of Albert Pujols started in 2010 when Cardinal brass couldn’t lock the 9 time NL All Star and 3 time MLB MVP up with a long term deal. It was thought by many that Pujols and his agent Dan Lozano were shooting for Alex Rodriguez’s record $275 million dollar deal, Pujols remained adamant that it wasn’t about the money and that he and his family wanted to remain in St. Louis. In mid-November the Pujols negotiations started to pick up, and he drew offers from at least 4 teams. The Florida Marlins were the first team to offer Pujols a contract. Pujols declined, many citing the fact that Marlins management would not give Albert a full no-trade clause. Pujols remained on the open market. The Cardinals, soon after the Marlins dropped out, looked to be closing in on the superstar. As both sides continued to talk it looked inevitable that the Cardinals would sign the slugger. Then out of nowhere, BAM!. Pujols out of nowhere signed with the Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim, sending shock waves throughout the “Gateway City”. Fans started to rebel, burning jerseys and Pujols paraphernalia. All you cold here on radio shows for weeks was the same, overused question. “What were the Cardinals going to do without Pujols?”
In the months following “The Mang” leaving St. Louis, the Cardinals had to make a statement and a big signing to tame the angry Sea of Red. The Cardinals did just that with the signing of the 6 time all star outfielder, Carlos Beltran. Beltran had just gotten off another year of hitting around .300 and hit around 20 home runs. With the edition of Beltran that allows 2011 Lance Berkman an opportunity to move to first base where he can limit wear and tear on aging knees and ankles. Another huge addition to the Cardinals this offseason is the return of Adam Wainwright. Wainwright missed all of 2011 with a torn right elbow tendon.
Many assume the departure of Pujols dug the Cardinals a hole, however, in the long run, they will be a stronger ball club. Resigning Pujols may look good at first but by the 5th or 6th year of his bloated contract, there is almost no doubt that he won’t live up to the money. The Cardinals, not locking him up, made signing other free agents a possibility in the future and short term, while sacrificing very little. Cardinal fans should expect a World Series win in the future. The near future.