40% of their payroll will be wrapped up in two players.

Trust me, this deal doesn't happen if they think it's going to be a financial strain after extending Pujols.

Oh, he'll get paid. They'll do whatever it takes to keep him in St. Louis.

Way to jinx the damn season!! It's not opening day yet!

Always the optimist ;)

Whats the ARCH worth right now on the open market ? I'm guesisng ALbert will not hold the club hostage. He wants to win World Serie(s) in STL.
The club has an above average chance going forward with Holiday.

No chit. Dewitt and Mo didn't think about ...hey if we do this can we still give Pujols the biggest contract evah?

Albert will get his money.

Are Pujols and Holliday baseball’s best No. 3 and 4 combo?
THE WATERCOOLER QUESTION:Is there a better No. 3-No. 4 hitter combo in Major League Baseball than Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday? (Readers can vote below.)



JOE STRAUSS
Confining the question to the National League the reflexive answer may be NO, but the Milwaukee Brewers’ tandem of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder offers at least an argument. Both were 25 at the end of last season, combining for 78 home runs, 255 RBI and 161 extra-base hits. More consistent than in previous seasons, Fielder led the league in RBI and nearly ran down Pujols for the HR title. Braun was the league’s only player to finish in the top four in RBI, total bases, hits, runs, multi-hit games and extra-base hits.
Obviously, Pujols’ hits were diminished by being frequently pitched around. He ranks as the game’s most feared hitter. No question. Fielder and Braun are both deficient as defenders while Pujols is a Gold Glove winner and Holliday an above-average left fielder relative to the rest of the NL. They also strike out a ton relative to El Hombre and Holliday.
But if the discussion is confined to production, Braun and Fielder, there is at least a discussion. I’ll leave the metrics to others. Braun has averaged 38 home runs and 106 RBI his first three seasons, one of which included only 492 plate appearances. Holliday has averaged 28 home runs and 111 RBI the last three seasons while winning a batting title and an RBI crown.

DAN O’NEILL
Yes. Without need to research any further, the Yankees combination of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira is better. If you want to break it down, Rodriguez compares quite favorably with Pujols, although his numbers coming off some early health problems — 30 homers, 100 RBIS and a .532 slugging percentage in 124 games — were not equal to Pujols in 2009. In other seasons, they have been equal and then some.
Now compare Teixeira and Holliday. Teixeira had 39 homers, 122 RBIs with a .565 slugging percentage in 2009 — all three numbers were better than Holliday. What’s more, Teixeira is a switch-hitter who has had six season in which he has had 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs. The right-handed-hitting Holliday has two 30-plus homer seasons and three 100-plus RBIs.
Case closed.

JEFF GORDON
Albert is the sport’s best No. 3 hitter, of course, but it remains to be seen what Holliday will really add over the long haul. Is this a better tag team than A-Rod and Teixera? The Yankees won it all with that duo. Are Pujols and Holliday better than Chase Utley and Ryan Howard? Probably, but then again Philly has ruled the National League the last two years. Holliday slopped during the postseason and didn’t have a huge impact on Albert’s late-season numbers, so it is too early to label this combo as baseball’s best.
RICK HUMMEL

The only comparable is Mark Teixeira-Alex Rodriguez with the Yankees. That pair drove in 222 runs, 122 by Teixeira although Rodriguez missed the first month or so with injury issues. Pujols-Holliday combined for 244, counting Holliday’s 55 at Oakland.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Maybe none better but there are plenty that are right there in the team photo. Braun-Fielder in Milwaukee come to mind immediately. A-Rod-Teixeira in New York is pretty special. Don’t forget Mauer-Morneau in Minnesota. Utley-Howard in Philly is awfully good too. Wright-Beltran is pretty solid with the Mets, when they’re both healthy even though the ’09 numbers don’t show it. Kemp-Ramirez or Ethier-Ramirez in LA is nothing to sneeze at. If I were to rank the Top 3, I’d go A-Rod-Teixeira #1, Albert-Holliday #2 and Utley-Howard #3 with all the others close behind.

We got a 2 year window thats pretty much locked up and we can only get better in that time.

From STL Today:

Including all of the options that are out there, the Cardinals have 10 players signed through 2011. The actual number — when you consider options likely to be exercised — is nine, as the $9-million vesting option that Julio Lugo brings the table likely won’t trigger. Those eight players, from Trever Miller to Holliday and every Kyle Lohse inbetween, total a guaranteed $79.825 million already in place for 2011. (That number does include the $2 million deferred from Holliday’s salary and other deferments in place because that’s how the Cardinals calculate payroll.) Onto that $80 million the Cardinals then may have to add an arbitration-eligible Brendan Ryan, an arbitration-eligible Kyle McClellan (starter?) and a third-year arbitration Ryan Ludwick. The last of whom, mind you, brings a $5.45 million salary to the discussion.

It’s better to show than tell, so here is what the 25-man roster, complete with salaries or status, already looks like for 2011:

PITCHERS (12): Chris Carpenter, $15 million … Adam Wainwright, $6.5 million … Kyle Lohse, $11.875 million … Starter 4, TBD … Starter 5, TBD … Ryan Franklin, $3.5 million … Mitchell Boggs, pre-arb … Trever Miller, $2 million … Lefty, TBD … Kyle McClellan, 1st-ARB … Jason Motte, pre-arb … Blake Hawksworth, pre-arb/Josh Kinney, ARB.
PLAYERS (13): C Yadier Molina, $5.25 million … 1B Albert Pujols, $16 million (option) … 2B Skip Schumaker, $2.7 million … 3B David Freese, pre-arb … SS Brendan Ryan, 1st-ARB … LF Matt Holliday, $17 million … CF Colby Rasmus, pre-arb … RF Ryan Ludwick, 3rd-ARB … Bench Allen Craig, pre-arb … Bench Julio Lugo, $9 million (vesting option) … Bench Tyler Greene, pre-arb … Bench Jon Jay, pre-arb … Backup Catcher, TBD.

The words used most often last night when describing the deal with Schumaker was security — he got it with a two-year deal — and stability — the Cardinals got it at second. Another one is already play: continuity. The Cardinals are in place to have plenty of it. That was true before yesterday’s deal with Schumaker. All eight of the potential starting position players for the Cardinals in 2010 are under control for 2011. Four are signed. Two are pre-arbitration youngsters. Two are poised for arbitration. Read into it what you will.
Clearly the Cardinals have high expectations for 2010.
They’ve all but booked an encore.

Pretty cool video. Waino throwing batting practice to Pujols and others from the prespective of the camera on Molina's helmet.
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzon...s-perspective/

This year is going to be fun. It's always a blast when the Cubs and Cards both are competitive. Good luck this season redbird fans. I can't wait for April.

How was your off season? You guys spend your boatload of money wiser this off season?

We didn't do much. We had a really good team in place last year they just had an injury prone year. Also we dropped Milton Bradley so that's a step in the right direction.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...C?OpenDocument

Camp puts smile on Albert Pujols' face

On his contract, which is up after 2011:

"People in St. Louis and our fans around the country know where I want to be. And that's St. Louis. There's no city like St. Louis to play baseball. And the way the city has embraced me, and my family and our charitable foundation has been unbelievable. I am blessed. So why would I want to go anywhere else?

"I appreciate being a Cardinal. I appreciate wearing this uniform. I appreciate being part of the legacy over the last nine years and I want to continue to do that. I appreciate being around the Hall of Famers. I don't think there's many organizations who have that. I think we have the most (living) Hall of Famers, and they come around. You see Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Red Schoendienst all the time. They spend time with us. You appreciate talking baseball with all of those guys. So why would I want to go anywhere?

"Do I want to do this right now and take care of this so we don't need to worry about it? Of course. If it happens, it happens. But there are some things I am able to control and there are other things that are out of my hands that I can't control. And that's the truth

Makes me feel better about the chances of him staying. I just hope they get it done soon.

I have to wonder if strouds chicken is going to include a plateful of pujols homerun balls.