Pujols Out 4-6 Weeks

[HT: mlb.com, stltoday.com]

St. Louis Cardinal fans will see just what life without Albert Pujols is like for the next 4-6 weeks.

The Cardinals announced Monday that Puljos will miss 4-6 weeks after results from a MRI and CT-scan showed a non-displaced fracture of his left radius, a bone that makes up the forearm. Pujols was placed in a splint and will likely be sidelined from 4 to 6 weeks.

According to a press release from the club Pujols' left shoulder was sore, but no structural damage was determined at this time.

Pujols injured his wrist and shoulder in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against the Kansas City Royals. K-C baserunner Wilson Betemit collided with Pujois along the first-base line.

"It's one of those weird plays that happen in the game that you just can't avoid," Pujols said on Sunday. "I wish that it didn't happen, but it does happen. It doesn't [just] happen to me. It happens to a lot of first basemen in the game."

Pujols becomes the third Cardinal star to go on the DL this season. Pitcher Adam Wainwright is out for the year who had season ending shoulder surgery and Matt Holliday who was just activated after a left quadriceps strain put Holliday on the 15 day disabled list.

Is Pujols Really Done In St. Louis...???

The deadline for Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals to reach a new contract agreement has passed with no announcement from either side on any kind of success or lack thereof.

The Cardinals scheduled a news conference for 12:30 p.m. at their spring training complex in Florida.

Pujols, a nine-time All-Star, is the only player in major league history to hit 30 or more home runs each of his first 10 seasons - all coming with the Cardinals, the franchise he has said in the past he wants to remain with for the rest of his career.

The 31-year-old ((as best we know)) will now be the topic of any and all free agent discussions between now and November. The Cardinals could trade him for prospects and ready starters by the trade deadline...

Let the speculation begin in earnest...

There is no doubt in his abilities, as he's compared to Hank Aaron in OPS through his earlier 30's. But the issue may be the years and not necessarily the dollars. The Cards, according to Sports Illustrated, were looking at 8 years and US$25-million per, but the Pujols camp is looking for 10 years at $30-million each.

And no one really wants to pay a 40-year-old $30-million...

The question posed by our friends at KSDK-TV in town...
Is Pujols worth the money...???

No contract for Pujols: Enjoy Spring Training St.Louis...

Albert Pujols/Courtesy: sportscasm.com

Oooh. This isn't going to be a lot of fun. Most of the baseball world has breathlessly awaited to see if the St.Louis Cardinals could reason "The Franchise", Albert Pujols before a self-imposed, first day of Spring Training deadline issued by his agent.

You see, Albert, or Mr. Best Hitter in Baseball will be a free agent after this season. And though he's spent his entire career in St. Louis, he's expressed no hesitation about the thought of becoming a free agent.

More than likely its because he knows no matter what happens, he's set for life...and oh...about 100 other peoples lives combined too.

Read about Albert turning down St. Louis's latest offer RIGHT HERE

The whole thing is going to make for chaos the next couple of weeks. The Cardinals are already bracing for the daily 4-letter (ESPN) daily Albert update. And hopefully his teammates are prepared too. Because they'll be asked about it over the next few weeks. A lot.

This is one of the things we truly hate about Sports. There are no winners when things like this happen. Well, actually, the player and the agent always win eventually. It's really hard for the rest of us to relate to people talking about contracts worth $100's of millions of dollars and paying guys in a week, what most of us make in a year, just to play a Sport.

Here's Albert hitting baseball's with Dennis Leary and David Letterman:

Albert Pujols negotiations with the Cardinals not going so well

Albert Pujols/Courtesy: chris lee-stltoday.com

And quite honestly, the folks in St. Louis may not have their hero after this season because of it. Pujols, whose contract is essentially up after the 2011 season could be a free agent if he and the Cardinals don't agree to a deal.

Now. Is the hullabaloo in St.Louis right now much ado about nothing? Probably. Like most negotiations, each side has a motivation for saying what they are saying. And right now, after the Cardinals G.M John Mozeliak mentioned that Pujols's agent put a hard deadline on negotiations, Pujols is starting to look a bit like a bad guy where he's beloved.

Read more from Bernie Milkasz of Stltoday.com RIGHT HERE

Apparently, the Cardinals held their fan based "Winter Warmup" this past weekend. Pujols was there and spoke to the assembled media. He didn't say much other than he was more "Professional" than taking negotiations to the media. In fact his representative wouldn't let the topic be broached in the press conference....at all.

Again, as always, this is all posturing. It's what the modern day negotiation involves. It always is. One side leaks something to the media to put the other on the defensive. The other says we won't talk about it...and then they talk about it. Ultimately, they'll get a deal done. They have to. Pujols is St.Louis baseball. They always seem to have the money to get the players they want there, but to let Albert walk would be....the worst PR decision that they could possibly make and both sides know it. It's just a matter of who uses who to get the best deal possible for their respective side.

Here's Pujols his ownself. Thanks KSDK-TV:

Pujols & Utley Neck-&-Neck In NL All Star Votes

Some of the votes have been counted for the National League All-Star team and its a close call between Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies. Pujols has collected 1,751,945 votes while Utley has 1,749,457, a difference of 2,488 votes.

If the votes hold up their will be a lot of red caps on the National League team as 3 players from the Phillies and 2 from the Cardinals hold the lead in their positions.

For the Phils, of course Utley is tops among the 2nd baseman, Raul Ibañez leads the outfielders and Jimmy Rollins has the most votes at the shortstop position.

Pujols is running away with the race at 1st base and his Cardinal teammate Yadier Molina holds a slight lead over Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves. By the way the 80th MLB All Star Game will be in Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Here are the breakdowns.

1st Basemen:
1. Albert Pujols - Cardinals, 1,751,945 Votes
2. Ryan Howard - Phillies, 876,149
3. Prince Fielder - Brewers, 697,456
4. Adrian Gonzalez - Padres, 473,060
5. Joey Votto - Reds, 323,791

Catchers:

1. Yadier Molina - Cardinals, 874,329 Votes

2. Brian McCann - Braves, 660,523
3. Ivan Rodriguez - Astros, 625,389
4. Jason Kendall - Brewers, 619,954
5. Carlos Ruiz - Phillies, 599,167

2nd Basemen:

1. Chase Utley - Phillies, 1,749,457 Votes
2. Orlando Hudson - Dodgers, 735,973
3. Rickie Weeks - Brewers, 560,670
4. Skip Schumaker - Cardinals, 425,636

5. Brandon Phillips - Reds, 302,035

Shortstops:
1. Jimmy Rollins - Phillies, 936,377 Votes
2. Hanley Ramirez - Marlins, 871,917
3. J.J. Hardy - Brewers, 662,474
4. Jose Reyes - Mets, 526,591
5. Miguel Tejada - Astros, 462,941

3rd Basemen:

1. David Wright - Mets, 994,855 Votes
2. Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals, 747,380
3. Chipper Jones - Braves, 640,598
4. Pedro Feliz - Phillies, 598,563

5. Bill Hall - Brewers, 551,202

Outfielders:

1. Raul Ibañez - Phillies, 1,415,493 Votes

2. Ryan Braun - Brewers, 1,269,033
3. Carlos Beltran - Mets, 1,092,516
4. Alfonso Soriano - Cubs, 1,078,904

Source: Major League Baseball

Photos Courtesy: Getty Images

Pujols N.L. MVP

Your National League MVP is...... Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Even though Pujols played on a bum elbow he still put up MVP numbers batting .357, 37 home runs and 116 RBI's .

It's his 2nd NL MVP honor, Pujols won it in 2005.

Photo Courtesy: Scott Boehm/Getty Images