Pujolsapalooza: Multiple Reports - 10 Year Contract with Angels

[The_Godfather]

....This is Albert Pujols we are talking about here. Albert Pujols!!! What is this madness???? I don't understand.

[Swifty]

In all this euphoria of the offseason, this makes me sad;



- Hanley's twitter.

[Metes]

[Swifty]

Metes wins

[Metes]

Don't cash that until Friday

[Swifty]

En fuego. Locked up poster of the year.

[MiamiHomer]

Jon_Heyman Jon Heyman
Clear #marlins are putting on fullcourt press for pujols. This is no publicity stunt. Trung hard

twitter

[Namaste]

That needs to be made into a smiley, Metes

[Beef]

Trung Canidate

[Swifty]

Winter Meetings: Pujols pursuit picks up
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Post-Dispatch baseball writers Joe Strauss, Derrick Goold and Rick Hummel will provide updates throughout baseball's winter meetings:

DALLAS -- The St. Louis Cardinals are expected to circle back and meet with the agent for three-time MVP Albert Pujols this morning during the second day of the winter meetings at the Hilton Anatole.

The Cardinals on Monday did not have a conversation as planned with the agent, Dan Lozano, but there are plans to meet today and further explore the parameters and expectations that form an offer. There remains a possibility that Pujols will join the discussions with interested teams in person, though nothing has been scheduled.

The Miami Marlins remain the most aggressive team in the hunt for Pujols. After meeting twice Monday, Marlins execs are expected to reconnect again today with Pujols' representative. The Marlins improved their original nine-year offer to Pujols during a meeting on Monday.

The Marlins are allergic to no-trade clauses, according to sources here at the winter meetings. While that apparently applies to Pujols too, a source with knowledge of the team's thinking said that they've "found a way around" that team policy to offer Pujols some protection.

UPDATE: ESPN's Buster Olney reports this morning that the Marlins have offered Pujols a 10-year deal.

Some noteworthy snips from the coverage in South Florida:
Dave Hyde, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Look at that lineup with Pujols. Power. Average. Speed. Experience. Youth. Everything is there to have the best lineup in the game.
How can the Marlins afford this? The simple answer is they have a new ballpark. Of course, there's a federal investigation into the ballpark's funding. No idea where this goes. Is there a smoking-gun document that reveals impropriety -- say, bribery -- between the Marlins and public officials? At the very least, it looks like the Marlins financial records are going to go public. As they should have before the ballpark was approved."

Clark Spencer, The Miami Herald: "The Marlins used to be largely invisible at baseball's annual winter meetings, a relative pauper that left the big free agent signings to the fat cats -- the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Cubs and the like.
"Usually we sit in a room, watching the ticker on the bottom of the TV, watching the big names going here and signing there," said Jeff Conine, a Marlins front office assistant. "Now we look at the ticker and it's our name we're seeing."

One day after the Marlins agreed to terms on a franchise-record $106 million contract with shortstop Jose Reyes, and shortly before introducing Heath Bell ($27 million) as the team's new closer, owner Jeffrey Loria and other team officials flew into Dallas, quickly changed into suits and hurried through the lobby of the Hilton Anatole with purpose in their steps.

As writers gave pursuit, they brushed aside questions, hopped on an elevator and rode up to the 19th floor where, for 45 minutes they made their pitch for the biggest prize in this year's free agent class: Albert Pujols.
Don't discount their chances."

Joe Capozzi, The Palm Beach Post: "The historically frugal Marlins dominated the first day of the meetings Monday like a free-spending, big-market team. Led by owner Jeffrey Loria, they introduced new closer Heath Bell, spent 45 minutes with the agent for Albert Pujols and scheduled a physical for their new shortstop, Jose Reyes.

The Marlins still think they can afford Pujols -- the top free agent on the market -- even though they are giving Reyes a six-year, $106 million deal.
And just like baseball's highest-profile teams, the Marlins might be creating some soap opera, too, given that shortstop Hanley Ramirez is upset about moving to third base to accommodate Reyes."

The Chicago Cubs also met with Lozano on Monday to, in part, discuss Pujols. It is believed that Pujols has as least two offers on the table.
While Team Pujols does not appear to be in a rush to pick between suitors, it is possible that a deal could be struck during the winter meetings because of the nature of the offers already made. The Cardinals are not under the impression that they will get an opportunity to match or beat an offer before Pujols' accepts it, and a source with knowledge of Pujols' thinking on the subject said that he does not feel obligated to give the Cardinals a last crack at signing him before he selects another team.
-- Derrick Goold

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...#ixzz1flxNn0xU

[Beef]

Dave Hyde, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Look at that lineup with Pujols. Power. Average. Speed. Experience. Youth. Everything is there to have the best lineup in the game.

Dave Hyde had to change this twice. First because he found out the Marlins have Infante and not Vizquel and second because he realized Buck is the catcher

[MiamiHomer]

DKnobler DKnobler
Marlins sounding optimistic on Albert.

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[Big Z]

I wonder if we can get Garza for Gaby and Prospects.

[Omar]

I'm really getting the sense we'll have a lunchtime decision

[Namaste]

OMG THIS IS FREAKIN EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!