Quote:
Originally Posted by whoman69
Short term there is no doubt this hurts the Cardinals. I think the last two years were off years as he was pushing, not the old Albert. I expect him to come back and be that dominant player for a few more years. That said, not signing him opens the Cardinals to be able to afford another pitcher and outfielder. It probably allows them to re-sign Furcal at a lower price than the $12million they did not excercise on him.
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Losing Albert (unless they sign someone like Fielder) gives the Cardinals the ability to get Allen Craig's bat in the lineup every day, either at first or in right field if Berkman plays first. While he wouldn't put up typical Pujols numbers, if he picks up from last year's postseason, they won't be too far off, especially given Craig basically makes minimum wage. And he hopefully won't ground into 3,925 double plays like Albert did.