Money and Fame

Albert Pujols is walking away from the only team he's ever known. The name in the picture above seems to be the only one that matters to him. More than ten years of success, ten years of being competitive, ten years of praise from the games greatest fans and it all means nothing.

Pujols always said that the name on the front of the jersey was more important than the one on the back. He's mentioned taking a "home discount" in order to keep the team competitive in the past. Apparently, that's changed recently.

The Cardinals would have been ready to easily pay him more than his teammate Matt Holliday, but Albert simply wanted more. He's let his own legacy take over everything he had ever said before about the game or the team.

It started when talks ended before spring training. You could understand some gap between club and player, but it seemed more like a chasm. However, that only adds to the reason that it would have been great to see both sides come together. If taking those leaps weren't daring and impressive, why would we even care who Evel Knievel was?

Either side could have taken a leap, but neither did. Both sides have rights to blame, but most of it is on Albert because he only has to worry about his own money. The Cardinals have to look out for the organization as a whole, while trying to stay competitive year in and year out. However, something seems to have changed in Albert.

Character

Albert has always been regarded as a player of character. He's been respectful and often humble in the way he went about his business. However, last spring seemed to subtly hint at something we didn't want to believe. The subtleties continued during the season while he was struggling. He would call out reporters that questioned his abilities and was quick to point out his body of work in the past. That doesn't seem to be all that humble.

We all know what he's done, and quite frankly shouldn't have worried about him this season, but when he's almost becoming his biggest promoter it once again points to something that fans don't want to believe.

Could Albert Pujols be a sellout? It's possible. We have yet to hear from Albert since his signing, and he did supposedly turn down a $275 million deal from the Marlins, but we can't exactly say it was for chump change either.

Even Stan "The Man" wanted Albert to stay.

It's not just the money that is going to hit fans the hardest, because, let's face it, that's a LOT of money. But the other problem is how different Albert has behavedthe past year .

Spring training and his performance during the year were mild indicators, but his signing has put Albert Pujols in a terrible light.

He has talked for so long about wanting to finish his career in St. Louis, about wanting to try and be like Stan "The Man" Musial. When did that pure and goodhearted wish become overrun by a greed for money and his own fame?

He's always talked about how great the Cardinal fan base in St. Louis and beyond has been. Does he think that Angels' fans will be better?

What has changed Albert thoughts on these things? Or have they not changed at all, and Cards fans have simply been strung around for years?

Business
From a business standpoint, the only ones who completely foolish are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They're putting a ridiculous amount of money into a player that won't be worth that much come the second half of the contract. They're dollar amount only makes sense in the mind of Albert Pujols, who's the biggest winner of them all.

The Cards stood their ground. They knew how much would be too much to compromise the TEAM. They understood how much was too much, in fact they were probably the only side that did.

For Albert, he got what he wanted; a monster contract that would assure his playing into his 40's.

It's easy to call out Albert in this whole state of things, partly because the only thing to defend him is the sheer amount of money, but how he responds to the criticisms could determine who he is in the eyes of Cardinal Nation.

Many will be able to get past this day, and I'm sure many will join me as I give him his well deserved applause if he makes it to St. Louis. He's done so much good for the city and the team that he deserves at least that much, but how he handles things going forward will determine how much of that respect he'll keep.