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All Aboard the Pujols Express, From Fringe to Mainstream

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  • #61
    Hanley had a 4.6 WAR in 2010 which was his "bad" year before this one. That is a cornerstone piece. Yea its not 08-09 insanity rates, but let's not get dramatic because 2011 is a complete disaster. Hanley ain't Soriano.... (yet). Johnson certainly is when healthy. Everyone agrees its not ideal to have to rely on them, but don't sell them short because you are frustrated either. If they were healthy, the team probably wins 1-2 more games a month and is hovering .500, which is pretty much what they were expected to do. The Marlins have a nice core to build around with those two, Stanton, and a good collection of 'complimentary' guys with Nolasco, Anibal, Buck, Gaby, Bonifacio, and a really nice young bullpen. Maybe Dominguez and Coghlan. Morrison is fringe cornerstone as far as I am concerned (.274 BABIP, going to hit 20+ HR in a partial/injured season at 23/24 years old), but he fits into either category. Payroll is pretty open moving forward with no albatross Uggla contract. They are in pretty good shape despite their current W/L and lame farm system. This is far from a debbie downer situation. This is at least a .500 core when healthy and under club control for years for the most part. They can easily find rotation upgrades in free agency, in addition to a potential bonkers Pujols/Prince/Reyes type moves.

    As for in house, there is more to do besides a big Stanton deal. They aren't as big of deals, but I think it would be smart to give Anibal a reasonable 3 year contract as replacing those innings in free agency is likely more expensive based on his upside (it's hard to imagine he is 27 years old). He has been healthy for 2 years now so he's just as big of a risk of signing any pitcher these days. I would give Bonifacio a 3-4 year deal because it will be so low he'll be worth it just as a premium bench player. I would resign Dobbs and attempt to resign Infante (I don't think he should be guaranteed a starting spot and would be best served as a 400-450 PA super utility mix in with Dominguez/Bonifacio/Coghlan type). It's also probably smart to give Mujica a 2-3 year deal. He's had a sub 1.00 whip in basically his last 150 innings, and realistically could be seeing some saves in the future. As with Bonifacio, that deal would be so cheap why wouldn't you do it.

    We'll see what they do. I never said it was an either/or situation and that money is ear marked for whatever need the team has, but the point is, if they are going to do a Pujols/Prince/Reyes deal, there are obviously other holes on the team and they will have to spend at least another $15-20 million past them to shore up the rotation and depth for bench/2B/3B/CF. They can't just sign a top 3 free agent and ignore everything else and that's going to push $100. I don't know if Loria has it in him, but adding Pujols/Prince/Reyes, Ozzie Guillen, Mark Buerhle/Edwin Jackson/keeping Javy Vazquez, and signing 2-4 other 'little' guys like Betemits, Infantes, Dobbs, and Crisps, would be one hell of a statement.

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    • #62
      Let me add that when Loria gets 'involved' the results have been Delgado, Pudge and almost Roger Clemens.

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      • #63
        Wait, being a .500ish team makes for good baseball decisions?
        God would be expecting a first pitch breaking ball in the dirt because humans love to disappoint him.
        - Daft

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        • #64
          That would be a helluva sales pitch for the new stadium. Come out and see this team battle for mediocrity!


          Sent from my e-smuggin' iPhone.
          This post was brought to you by: Dat SEC Speed

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          • #65
            Originally posted by Omar View Post
            Wait, being a .500ish team makes for good baseball decisions?
            I don't know what you are referring to.
            poop

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            • #66
              He said that the core, alone, is a .500 team.

              You can add to the core and make it a good team without giving a 10 year contract so we can watch Albert Pujols play until he's ancient.

              No offense to Pujols but he's not worth what he wants; no one really is. When you're giving someone 30 million dollars a year for the next decade, it's not really a smart baseball decision.

              The new stadium will probably sell tickets with or without Pujols, imo.

              If they want to spend that kind of money, why not just sign C.J. Wilson and another pitcher to fill out the rotation? That's certainly a much bigger concern than 1B.

              If Pujols regresses sooner than expected for whatever reason, the team is screwed.
              --------------------
              Originally posted by lou View Post
              It's also probably smart to give Mujica a 2-3 year deal. He's had a sub 1.00 whip in basically his last 150 innings, and realistically could be seeing some saves in the future.
              I really think they're going to bring in a proven closer.

              I just don't see Loria going all crazy about the pen last offseason, and not correcting the closer issue this offseason now that he's going to spend more.

              Closers on this team have blown plenty of saves over the years.

              Loria/Samson being fans more than anything else...I wouldn't be surprised if they overspend on a closer for a year or two.

              There's really not much to spend on so I definitely expect them to spend money on a more legit backend of the pen arm (or just someone with a lot of closing experience, at least).
              Last edited by Erick; 09-10-2011, 09:34 PM. Reason: Doublepost Merged

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              • #67
                On Sunday, Albert Pujols saw the Cardinals win and push the wild card deficit separating St. Louis and the Braves to one game.

                Sunday also may have been the final home game of Pujols' career as a Cardinal. If reports about the Cardinals' stance in contract extensions is true, it certainly will be Pujols' last home game as a Cardinal. Pujols has a good chance to break the $200-million barrier in his next contract, something St. Louis may not be able to pay.

                "It's the era we're in,'' Cardinals chairman Bill Dewitt, Jr. told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Many times they sign back with the same club. With a legendary player like Albert, you hope he stays his whole career with the Cardinals, like Stan [Musial] did. But that process is going to take place and we're not sure how it's going to play out. I'm sure he's not sure either at this point.''

                The Cardinals only have so many funds they can allocate to Pujols, and that was reflected this past offseason when the team offered Pujols a nine-year deal around $22 million annually, which comes out to a total price of $198 million. Pujols and his agent believed that both sides were far apart and you can't blame Pujols for thinking that when Alex Rodriguez is pulling in over $30 million annually. Seven other players currently make more than $22 million annually, and Adrian Gonzalez comes in exactly at $22 million. Gonzalez is a very good player, but Pujols certainly is worth more than A-Gon.
                The Post-Dispatch reports that the club will probably stay within these previous parameters for upcoming negotiations -- if not shorten the years, which likely came about after Pujols started the season slow. It's unclear whether the Cards believe Pujols' value on the free agent market is overhyped or the team is unable to financially justify a bigger offer for Pujols. It's unlikely that Pujols' market is overhyped significantly, especially when a signing of Pujols would give a club additional national and local interest, boosting attendance. His contract will look saner than numbers that have been tossed around in certain corners, but slipping all the way to a $22 million average annual value seems a stretch, even as he's on pace to post the worst season of his career, although that's very relative as evidenced by his .302/.371/.551 line with 37 home runs.

                If St. Louis can't go much beyond $22 million and are already entertaining trimming the years in their offseason offer, then Pujols is a goner. The guess here is that this is all posturing, and once the market establishes Pujols' value, the Cardinals will be right there with a serious offer.
                http://eye-on-baseball.blogs.cbsspor...97882/32255461

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                • #68
                  For those keeping score at home, $198 million in Missouri is equivalent to $184,140,000 in Florida.

                  (wooooo federalism)
                  --------------------
                  $188,100,000 in Illinois.
                  Last edited by Party; 09-25-2011, 09:22 PM. Reason: Doublepost Merged

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                  • #69
                    DocGooden16 Dwight Gooden
                    Look for Albert Pujols to follow @ozzieguillen to Florida if the @cardinals dont resign him.... #insidescoop
                    If Dwight Gooden says it, then it must be true.

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                    • #70
                      Under oath?
                      There's No jOOj In Team.

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                      • #71
                        Under the influence

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                        • #72
                          FWIW, the media nailed the 4/16 figure exactly with Ozzie. The Pujols stuff may be coming from similar sources.....
                          God would be expecting a first pitch breaking ball in the dirt because humans love to disappoint him.
                          - Daft

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                          • #73
                            I will scream like a little girl if we get Pujols. Remember, the Marlins talked about unretiring number five earlier this year.
                            LHP Chad James-Jupiter Hammerheads-

                            5-15 3.80 ERA (27 starts) 149.1IP 173H 63ER 51BB 124K

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                            • #74
                              Los Marleen va ser como Los Heat?
                              This post was brought to you by: Dat SEC Speed

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                              • #75
                                Originally posted by Fritz View Post
                                Los Marleen va ser como Los Heat?
                                Ozzie is going to throw a Marlins party: "no cinco, no seis, no siete.."

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