I have some advice for the about to be crowned world champion Cardinals. (Yes, I know I picked the Rangers in 6 but that’s not how it’s going to turn out. The bottom line on this series is that the Rangers can’t compete with the Cards’ pitching. Yes, Texas has a deep lineup and tons of firepower with Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nellie Cruz, Michael Young et al., but the Cards can match it with Pujols,
Berkman, Holliday (but really all you need is Albert). The difference in this series, and we all should have seen it from the start, is pitching. Now that Alexi Ogando has been conquered, Neftali Feliz has been neutralized by the lack of save situations/meaningful innings, and the World Series has conformed to the traditional model of baseball where starters throw more innings than relievers, the focus has been on each teams starters. The Cardinals, despite their best guy not throwing an inning this season (Wainwright), have a shutdown ace in Chris Carpenter, and dependable 2 starter in Jaime Garcia, as well as a pretty good 4 starter in Edwin Jackson (let’s ignore Kyle Lohse here for a minute). The Rangers, on the other hand, have a 3 starter masquerading as an ace in CJ Wilson and 2 young and unproven lefties in Matt Harrison and Derek Holland. (They also have The October Warrior Colby Lewis who has earned that nickname by being awesome in October but not very good in every other month). The bottom line in this series is that the Cards have guys they can count on and a legitimate stopper and the Rangers have guys they just have to hope can get the job done. It’s worked so far but I think they just ran into a buzz saw similar to last years’ Giants WS.) Now that you have won the Series and can focus on the offseason, it’s time to deal with the biggest issue facing your franchise going forward: figuring out a way to keep Albert Pujols in Cardinal red for the rest of his Hall of Fame career. Luckily, I’m here to help.
Albert Pujols is the best baseball player in the universe. It’s not even a question. Game 3 of this World Series was an absolute joke. 5-6, 3 HRs, 6 RBI, 14 total bases. In a World Series game. Couple that with the fact that he is the most consistent and consistently great player in history ( he is virtually guaranteed a .300+ AVG, 30+HRs, and 100+ RBI every single season, if you give him the benefit of the doubt on the .299 AVG and 99 RBI this season, (which I do) he is 11 for 11). Usually, the biggest contracts go to the best players not necessarily the best player in baseball. In the past, some of the most lucrative contracts have gone to Mike Hampton, Alex Rodriguez etc. Those guys were arguably the best at the time but there is no argument about Pujols. In addition to his incredible on field performance, Pujols is worth millions upon millions to the Cardinals organization as the face of their franchise. Although he is a former MVP (3 times over) and would be incredibly valuable to any team in the middle of the order, his value to the Cardinals is far greater than any other franchise.
Normally, in this situation, teams would just throw as much money at the player as possible and call it a day. Though that’s what is going to happen here in all likely hood, I
have a better idea. An idea that would compensate Pujols without handicapping the team’s ability to sign other players and additionally, would guarantee that Prince Albert be a Cardinal the rest of his professional days.
The St. Louis Cardinals have more than $70 million committed for next season just to Holliday, Berkman, Molina, Lohse, Jake Westbrook, Wainwright, Carpenter, and Kyle McClellan. They still need 17 more players, including a massive contract for Pujols. On top of that, the Cards are giving Matt Holliday $17 mil a year and Pujols is at the very least $10 million better than Matt. The Cards don’t really have the ability to give Albert a $300 million+ deal at $30 mill a season and still field a full (competitive) team. Instead, my proposal is that St. Louis give Albert a good base salary, say $15 mil a year, and a 20% ownership stake in the team. A full one-fifth. With a one-fifth share of the profits. That way he’ll end up making a ton more that the Cards could actually pay him and have an interest in the franchise thus ensuring that he won’t go anywhere. It’s a win-win. Albert gets his money and gets to stay in a city that adores him. He also gets to be the most powerful player in history. He’d have a say (a real say) in ownership decisions like front office personnel. The Cards would get to keep their best player without breaking the bank and without sacrificing the other spots on the roster.
They should give it some thought. And if they’re looking for a new GM, I’m available.
Stat of the Day: Todd Helton had a .323 batting average with the bases empty this year.
-Max Frankel
