04-30-2010, 10:58 AM
Stark on Pujols:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->If there's a living human who thinks Pujols will wind up playing anywhere other than St. Louis, please raise your hand. You need to get out more. The Cardinals' entire franchise is built around Pujols. They can't possibly let the best player on our planet walk -- or even make it to the auction. Right?
"I don't even consider that a question," one GM said. "He's a god there. No way he leaves."
So the debate about Pujols isn't where he's going. It's how monstrous his checks will be. And let's just say that when we asked his agent, Jeff Borris, what effect Howard's deal might have on his client's earning power, Borris actually laughed.
"No contract has any effect on Albert," he said. "Albert is the best player in Major League Baseball. As great a superstar as Ryan Howard is, there's no comparison to Albert Pujols. He stands above all the rest."
The Cardinals, you'll be stunned to learn, have noticed that, too. So we're not sure what they're waiting for. <b>But the best guess is that they'll get that extension done during the winter. And although it's hard to comprehend where the dollars will land, you can bet that, as one baseball man put it, his annual salary "is going to start with a '3'" -- as in $30 million a year for seven or eight years (i.e., the biggest salary ever).</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->If there's a living human who thinks Pujols will wind up playing anywhere other than St. Louis, please raise your hand. You need to get out more. The Cardinals' entire franchise is built around Pujols. They can't possibly let the best player on our planet walk -- or even make it to the auction. Right?
"I don't even consider that a question," one GM said. "He's a god there. No way he leaves."
So the debate about Pujols isn't where he's going. It's how monstrous his checks will be. And let's just say that when we asked his agent, Jeff Borris, what effect Howard's deal might have on his client's earning power, Borris actually laughed.
"No contract has any effect on Albert," he said. "Albert is the best player in Major League Baseball. As great a superstar as Ryan Howard is, there's no comparison to Albert Pujols. He stands above all the rest."
The Cardinals, you'll be stunned to learn, have noticed that, too. So we're not sure what they're waiting for. <b>But the best guess is that they'll get that extension done during the winter. And although it's hard to comprehend where the dollars will land, you can bet that, as one baseball man put it, his annual salary "is going to start with a '3'" -- as in $30 million a year for seven or eight years (i.e., the biggest salary ever).</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->