Pujols signs with Angels pg 151

[TruffleShuffle]

I'll never understand this stance that people take against athlete's salaries; because if they were in the same position they would want as much as they could get. I guess it's easier to take the "playing for the fun of it" route when you don't have the talent to play either for the fun or the money.

 

Or it's just a ridiculous sum of money to those making middle-class wages. I certainly don't begrudge certain classes of people for what they make as it is what the market will bear.

 

However, I just can't empathize with someone making $10 million dollars a year wanting to make $20 million. I want my bills to get paid on time.

 

you don't really have to empathize with it as long as you understand it. you're talking about someone who lives a very wealthy lifestyle and would like to continue to do so for the remainder of their life... when you consider how much they lose to taxes, a personal trainer, nutritionist, agent, etc, they lose a pretty good chunk of that every year, and their potential to earn mega-bucks playing basically is basically done by age 40. albert pujols isn't worrying about how to pay his bills; he hasn't worried about that since his first year in the major leagues.

 

plus guys just basically want to get paid what the market determines they are worth (unless they're negotiating with jim hendry, then they want more).

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'll never understand this stance that people take against athlete's salaries; because if they were in the same position they would want as much as they could get. I guess it's easier to take the "playing for the fun of it" route when you don't have the talent to play either for the fun or the money.

 

Or it's just a ridiculous sum of money to those making middle-class wages. I certainly don't begrudge certain classes of people for what they make as it is what the market will bear.

 

However, I just can't empathize with someone making $10 million dollars a year wanting to make $20 million. I want my bills to get paid on time.

 

you don't really have to empathize with it as long as you understand it. you're talking about someone who lives a very wealthy lifestyle and would like to continue to do so for the remainder of their life... when you consider how much they lose to taxes, a personal trainer, nutritionist, agent, etc, they lose a pretty good chunk of that every year, and their potential to earn mega-bucks playing basically is basically done by age 40. albert pujols isn't worrying about how to pay his bills; he hasn't worried about that since his first year in the major leagues.

 

plus guys just basically want to get paid what the market determines they are worth (unless they're negotiating with jim hendry, then they want more).

 

Plus, each sports team is basically a company, and the company makes its money, and tons of it based on how well the company does, and how marketable it is. A guy like Pujols makes tone of money for his company, by helping the company do well, and is very marketable for not only the company but the city that thecompany is in, so in turn, the company willing to pay him the most will win his services.

[Little Slide Rooter]

OK, so say all of our wildest dreams come true and the Cubs give Pujols an A Rod like deal. Meanwhile, we waive goodbye to Aramis and Kosuke. Are we then in the same situation as the Cards were between Edmonds and Holliday giving pitcher no reason to pitch to Pujols in significant situations and find difficulty building an ofense around him?

 

Meanwhile, say the Cards take that money, and sign Prince Fielder and Mark Buerhle, and still have money left over to improve on one of the other 3 infield positions. Maybe even Aramis Ramirez. In this scenerio, whose the better team in the long run?

 

The Cubs, obviously. They clearly don't have the same financial constraints as the Cardinals, which would preclude form your scenario in the first place.

 

Not to mention we have at least some talent on the way, potentially. The Cards' system is pretty barren, so they won't be filling positions from within anytime soon. And in a few years, we ditch the Soriano contract as well.

 

We're in very different financial situations down the road.

 

And how long before we aquire or produce an Edmonds or Holliday? We have some very promising guys in the farm system, but nobody who really projects to be that guy, or even close. A lot of people seem to talk as though Pujols=World Series, but he only got the Cardinals 1, and remember, while the '06 Cards seemed unstoppable at one point, they pulled it off by the skin of their teeth. And then there was the 2004 team as well, and they had 4 guys with OPS over 1.000 in Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen and Walker. My point is that if we do sign Pujols, which I hope we do, I hope that their ready to build around him. Who knows, maybe Soto and Castro really do come into their own as stars, and Soriano can OPS in the .800s for the next few years.

 

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

[C.C.]

OK, so say all of our wildest dreams come true and the Cubs give Pujols an A Rod like deal. Meanwhile, we waive goodbye to Aramis and Kosuke. Are we then in the same situation as the Cards were between Edmonds and Holliday giving pitcher no reason to pitch to Pujols in significant situations and find difficulty building an ofense around him?

 

Meanwhile, say the Cards take that money, and sign Prince Fielder and Mark Buerhle, and still have money left over to improve on one of the other 3 infield positions. Maybe even Aramis Ramirez. In this scenerio, whose the better team in the long run?

 

The Cubs, obviously. They clearly don't have the same financial constraints as the Cardinals, which would preclude form your scenario in the first place.

 

Not to mention we have at least some talent on the way, potentially. The Cards' system is pretty barren, so they won't be filling positions from within anytime soon. And in a few years, we ditch the Soriano contract as well.

 

We're in very different financial situations down the road.

 

And how long before we aquire or produce an Edmonds or Holliday? We have some very promising guys in the farm system, but nobody who really projects to be that guy, or even close. A lot of people seem to talk as though Pujols=World Series, but he only got the Cardinals 1, and remember, while the '06 Cards seemed unstoppable at one point, they pulled it off by the skin of their teeth. And then there was the 2004 team as well, and they had 4 guys with OPS over 1.000 in Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen and Walker. My point is that if we do sign Pujols, which I hope we do, I hope that their ready to build around him. Who knows, maybe Soto and Castro really do come into their own as stars, and Soriano can OPS in the .800s for the next few years.

 

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

 

huh? why wouldn't they build around him? they aren't going to spend mega bucks on one player and call it a night.

[XZero771679666304]

 

And how long before we aquire or produce an Edmonds or Holliday? We have some very promising guys in the farm system, but nobody who really projects to be that guy, or even close. A lot of people seem to talk as though Pujols=World Series, but he only got the Cardinals 1, and remember, while the '06 Cards seemed unstoppable at one point, they pulled it off by the skin of their teeth. And then there was the 2004 team as well, and they had 4 guys with OPS over 1.000 in Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen and Walker. My point is that if we do sign Pujols, which I hope we do, I hope that their ready to build around him. Who knows, maybe Soto and Castro really do come into their own as stars, and Soriano can OPS in the .800s for the next few years.

 

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

 

huh? why wouldn't they build around him? they aren't going to spend mega bucks on one player and call it a night.

 

Of course they would build around him. The point was that we can fill a number of positions with low cost guys like Castro, Colvin, Brett Jackson, Soto, Cashner, etc., which would allow for Pujols salary, as well has a few other high salary players.

 

We don't need to develop an Edmonds or Holliday in a scenario where we sign Pujols, we just need to produce a few players who can contribute enough to complement a few expensive players well. I think we can get a few of those out of our current crop.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Maybe this can hold us over until next winter

 

http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/gallery_images/5389_106435.jpg

[Sammy Sofa]

huh? why wouldn't they build around him? they aren't going to spend mega bucks on one player and call it a night.

 

Lord only knows what goes through WSR's mind. This is the guy who just said the '06 Cardinals seemed "unstoppable."

[Little Slide Rooter]

huh? why wouldn't they build around him? they aren't going to spend mega bucks on one player and call it a night.

 

Lord only knows what goes through WSR's mind. This is the guy who just said the '06 Cardinals seemed "unstoppable."

 

Lord knows why N&G doesnt understand the concept of exaggertion. The Cards seemed to be running away with the divison at one point, and at one point ran out of gas, however, ended up winning it all in the end. To be honest, Ive done my best to block out the 2006 season, but thats how I remember it. And Im not saying that they wouldnt try their best to build around him, but the question is, can they get the guys to do so. Off the top of my head, I cant think of what free agents will be avaialble to fill the holes in the next few years, but I do know that as always, multiple teams will be after them, especially once our fellow underachieving big market teams, the Mets and Dodgers are ready to spend again.

[Sammy Sofa]

The '06 Cardinals were a barely above average team that won a horrendous division and got hot at the right time in the postseason. It's not like we're peering through the mists of time here to remember this.

 

Plus, like C.C. said, why would you possibly think they would have no plans to build a team around Pujols?

[Guest]

OK, so say all of our wildest dreams come true and the Cubs give Pujols an A Rod like deal. Meanwhile, we waive goodbye to Aramis and Kosuke. Are we then in the same situation as the Cards were between Edmonds and Holliday giving pitcher no reason to pitch to Pujols in significant situations and find difficulty building an ofense around him?

 

Meanwhile, say the Cards take that money, and sign Prince Fielder and Mark Buerhle, and still have money left over to improve on one of the other 3 infield positions. Maybe even Aramis Ramirez. In this scenerio, whose the better team in the long run?

We'd still have Soto, Castro, Soriano, Colvin/Jackson and Byrd in the lineup. Second base will likely be weak, but we've got some options there coming up in the system. Third base could be a problem, but I've got more faith than most that Vitters will eventually be an above league average option there. For '12, we might be able to get a year out of Marquez Smith if we assume Vitters won't take the big step forward this season.

 

I don't think we'll be in the same position at all.

[NCCubFan]

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

Not when there's a 700+-page politics thread and a 900+-page movie thread in Social. I do think it could become the longest thread actually related to baseball, though.

[SouthSideRyan]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

[Halman]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

 

I guess if Buerhle signs takes the ultimate hometown discount "League minimum" and Aramis signs for 3 or so mill it could happen

[UMFan83]

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

Not when there's a 700+-page politics thread and a 900+-page movie thread in Social. I do think it could become the longest thread actually related to baseball, though.

 

Well the 2 big ones in terms of baseball threads to aim for are of course...

 

Jake Peavy Thread (208 pages)

Brian Roberts Thread (309 pages)

[Little Slide Rooter]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

 

I guess if Buerhle signs takes the ultimate hometown discount "League minimum" and Aramis signs for 3 or so mill it could happen

 

OK, Ramirez would be going overboard unless he really tanks this year, but Fielder and Buerhle are not at all unrealistic. Also, Lohses contract, which would have made '06-'09 Jim Hendry cringe has to be coming off the books in the next year or 2 as well.

[mul21]

The '06 Cardinals were a barely above average team that won a horrendous division and got hot at the right time in the postseason. It's not like we're peering through the mists of time here to remember this.

 

Plus, like C.C. said, why would you possibly think they would have no plans to build a team around Pujols?

 

That's actually not accurate. They were a pretty good team (probably 90-92 wins good) who was really injured most of the year and got healthy the last 2-3 weeks of the season. They did get inexplicably hot, but the biggest factor by far was the fact that they had all their "horses" for pretty much the first time all year.

[SouthSideRyan]

The '06 Cardinals were a barely above average team that won a horrendous division and got hot at the right time in the postseason. It's not like we're peering through the mists of time here to remember this.

 

Plus, like C.C. said, why would you possibly think they would have no plans to build a team around Pujols?

 

That's actually not accurate. They were a pretty good team (probably 90-92 wins good) who was really injured most of the year and got healthy the last 2-3 weeks of the season. They did get inexplicably hot, but the biggest factor by far was the fact that they had all their "horses" for pretty much the first time all year.

 

I don't think that's accurate at all. Edmonds was the only one to miss significant time. They were just a mediocre team that got lucky.

[Little Slide Rooter]

On a side note, when all is said and done, is there a good chanc that this becomes the longest thread in NSBB history?

Not when there's a 700+-page politics thread and a 900+-page movie thread in Social. I do think it could become the longest thread actually related to baseball, though.

 

Well the 2 big ones in terms of baseball threads to aim for are of course...

 

Jake Peavy Thread (208 pages)

Brian Roberts Thread (309 pages)

 

True, but each of those threads lasted for about an offseason, give or take before being locked. This one will likely last this offseason, through the regular season, and well into next offseason unless it degenerates into a bunch of random personal attacks and such.

[Sammy Sofa]

The '06 Cardinals were a barely above average team that won a horrendous division and got hot at the right time in the postseason. It's not like we're peering through the mists of time here to remember this.

 

Plus, like C.C. said, why would you possibly think they would have no plans to build a team around Pujols?

 

That's actually not accurate. They were a pretty good team (probably 90-92 wins good) who was really injured most of the year and got healthy the last 2-3 weeks of the season. They did get inexplicably hot, but the biggest factor by far was the fact that they had all their "horses" for pretty much the first time all year.

 

I don't think that's accurate at all. Edmonds was the only one to miss significant time. They were just a mediocre team that got lucky.

 

Yup. That was nowhere near being a good team that year. They weren't really hampered by any major injuries outside of Edmonds. Call it underperforming during the regular season or whatever; in 2006 the Cardinals were indeed barely above average and somehow managed to fart out a World Series win.

[Backtobanks]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

 

Together they're making over $44 million this year, so $30 million in 2012 is a reasonable estimate. :-k

[Guest]

Ricketts basically told Bruce Miles "it's not the dollars per year but the length of the contract". If that's the case I wonder if Pujols would accept a 4 year 130 million dollar contract? I wonder if the Cubs could afford something like that. Maybe they could do deferred payments at interest.

 

However, I don't really see how they can top the Angels or Red Sox when they can have Al DH when he's older and pay for the extra years

[Sammy Sofa]

There is absolutely no way Pujols takes anything less than a 6-year deal, and even that is pretty unlikely.

[OleMissCub]

Hell, I don't care how long his contract is as long as we can get 5-6 more great seasons and a championship. Pay him 3m a year for 10 years after he retires. Just get the dude!

[Magnetic Curses]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

 

Together they're making over $44 million this year, so $30 million in 2012 is a reasonable estimate. :-k

 

except buehrle and fielder will probably make 44 mil between them next year, unless ramirez wants to pay the cards 14 mil to play for them, it's probably going to cost over 50 mil. throw in matt holliday and it's costing probably around 70 mil for 4 players.

[Guest]

My favorite part of the last 2 pages of insanity is that Prince Fielder, Mark Buehrle, and Aramis Ramirez are only going to cost 30M total

 

Together they're making over $44 million this year, so $30 million in 2012 is a reasonable estimate. :-k

 

except buehrle and fielder will probably make 44 mil between them next year, unless ramirez wants to pay the cards 14 mil to play for them, it's probably going to cost over 50 mil. throw in matt holliday and it's costing probably around 70 mil for 4 players.

 

Yeah, if you include Fielder as one player, they probably wouldn't be able to get two of those threeefor $30M unless Ramirez puts up another .745 OPS season.