Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Last spring they offered him 10/$198. He turned it down and his agent repeated the "A-Rod" money crap.
They didn't 'low-ball' a 5 year deal; they responded to his agent's insistence that he wanted an AAV that put him above Howard's; that's exactly what they gave him. They didn't offer it to him over 10 because that would've been foolish. I don't care if other teams are lining up to be idiots; the Cardinals can't do that and expect to compete.
After he again declined, they evidently moved to 10/$210; other reports say they went to 10/$220. The Cardinals refused to big against themselves, I think that's more than fair. Besides, all of this was before the Angels even made an offer. Were the Angels being insulting by sitting it out? Afterall, had the Marlins offered a no-trade clause, the deal would've been signed/stamped before the Angels even made an offer. Evidently he was so important to them that they made sure to wait a bit to make an offer.
From there it was just a petty temper-tantrum on Albert's part. The Cardinals made him several offers that were all plenty reasonable in light of the ROI that an NL team is going to get on a 1b in this late 30s. If that's not good enough for him, then he wanted the Cardinals to pay a premium for past-services rendered.
And their refusal to do so was evidently 'insulting' to him. His 'pride' sent him elsewhere. And if your pride is permanently damaged by the offers that the Cardinals made, then you're really not a 'proud' person; you're a petty narcissist.
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So it sounds like we pretty much agree. He didn't take the money because he needed more money to buy "Yachts" or whatever else is sprewed. He just wanted to be rewareded to be recognized as the best player in the game and probably rewarded for playing out his contract in a respectable way. He felt slighted by the Cards offer and lack of desperation to get him signed and when someone came along that "rewarded him" he jumped on it. It wasn't really about "dollars" it was about the dollars providing him status and justification for his accomplishments.