Pujols to the Cubs?
Come on Cardinal Nation.You know better.
2012 is a Presidential election year, and if you’re in Missouri, pretty much everything other than 1 senate seat is up for grabs. Over the next 10 months you’re going to see things you don’t want to see. 9/11 first responders being denied health care coverage by Democrats! Tax breaks for the super 1 percenters by the Republicans! Mexico repossessed by Rick Perry! Females run out of America by Herman Cain!!
All of it’s a bunch of bullshit that’s trying to scare you into doing something. In the case of politicos, it’s to vote for the other guy.
Baseball isn’t any different.
Dan Lozano knows that we’re heading into December. In less than 2 weeks, the Winter Meetings will begin in Dallas and the Winter Meetings are traditionally where the big ticket free agents start locking in on serious contract talks and actually signing deals. Makes sense that the PR game would begin about right now, then. Right?
So leaking a story to the STL media that the Cubs had serious interest in Pujols seems like a pretty shrewd move. Cardinal fans are, predictably, going ape over the possibility of their hero heading to the North Side of Chicago. And the Pujols camp figures it can’t hurt to have the Cardinals feel that heat before they really sit down to negotiate.
But what about Theo? He said the Cubs have ‘serious interest’ in Pujols?
Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. But if Theo doesn’t get the job done and sign Pujols, then he call fall back on the “it was too expensive, I’m building for the future’ line that he’s been using since being hired as the Cubs GM. Plus, he’s driving up the final sale price for the Cardinals, handicapping them for other free agents.
If he does sign Pujols to the Cubs, well, then he’s just signed Pujols. So it’s a pretty win/win situation for the Cubs to show interest.
The point is, that until something is signed, sealed and delivered for Albert Pujols, you can pretty much take any news story you see with his name attached and know that the source probably has an agenda. It’s a fun way to think about baseball in the winter and, at times, will be quite dramatic, but it’s all part of the mega free-agent dance.
We went through this two years ago with Holliday. And now we’re doing it now in the age of Twitter and instant information and JC Corcoran… so just know that.
And enjoy the ride.
Unless he really does go to the Cubs. Then we’ll need to really evaluate many things in life. Like if we just all don’t pull a LaRussa and call it a day on baseball.
++ Image via Bleacher Nation
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