Albert Pujols hasn’t fought many losing battles in his career. In fact, when he’s been pushed to the brink? Greatness.
But starting with full page ad in the Post-Dispatch sports section, moving to his press conference in Anaheim Saturday and continuing with his media blitz with his wife today, Albert Pujols is fighting a battle that he can’t win.
Because he’s Albert Pujols, he still thinks he can salvage this thing, but he can’t. He won’t. And it’s embarrassing to have to say:
Just stop it Albert. It’s over. Shut it up.
By ‘this thing’, I mean the public perception of how he left St. Louis. He wants you to believe that this was the Cardinals fault. They’re the ones that low balled him with a 5 year offer. They’re the ones that wouldn’t offer him a personal services contract after the 10 year deal was up. They’re the ones that were all business when the lovable superstar just wanted some TLC.
Sigh.
The Cardinals also are the ones that went 10/years 210 million (if not more, at least equal with the 10/254 in CA after taxes and cost of living) knowing that it was going to drag the team down the latter part of this decade.
And while the DeWitt’s probably didn’t go overboard on the warm and fuzzies for Albert, I think that’s pretty disingenuous. Isn’t that what the ‘Best Fans In Baseball’ do? Shower people with as close to unconditional love as there is in sports?
The person services contract? Perhaps the most brazen money grab in the history of professional sports. We’re really thinking that after 20 years and a Hall of Fame enshrinement, they wouldn’t be willing to give Albert a taste to just hang around? Bullshit.
Maybe Pujols knows he’s not winning this battle. Maybe he’s taking his PR flack’s advice and at least creating some sort of reasonable doubt and happy to leave it at that.
But something tells me that Pujols believes it when he thinks a :30 minute phone conversation with Artie Moreno was worth more than 11 years of adulation beyond reproach. That St. Louis is just going ‘through a phase’ and they’ll come around for El Hombre. After all, they always did.
It’s over, though. And no matter what happens in Los Angeles, Pujols is the guy that chose money over memories. Cash over companionship. By the way, that’s his call. More power to you brother.
Just don’t come back to my town and try to convince me otherwise. We get it… you’re gone.
You don’t have to be a dick about it.
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