Pujols (6 Thoughts)

After a night's sleep and a little more perspective, here's what I think:

1. Albert Pujols is a grown man with remarkable talents and is entitled to apply for a job wherever he chooses.  Maybe it was money.  Maybe it was location.  Maybe he just felt like it.

2. Anyone demonizing him for taking more money needs to chill.  Who here, when faced with the question: "Would you like to do the same job for less money?" would answer yes?  Those attacking him for his supposed beliefs... you think more money in his pockets doesn't mean more money for his charities, organizations, churches, etc?

3. If it was in fact a higher power that led to this decision, thank you God for the mercy you have shown toward the other teams in the NL Central.

4. Despite my comments thus far, all along I thought it would be a sad day when Albert Pujols was no longer a Cardinal.  I say this not for the sake of the Cardinals, but for the sake of baseball and its fans.  Though it wasn't always pretty toward the end (from a business standpoint), Barry Larkin was a Red for his entire career.  I know how it would have felt if he had played for the Mets, even during his twilight years.  There is something about a player playing with one team and adds to the mystique of it all.  And yesterday, that was lost.  I'm not naive regarding the state of the game, or bitter about what free agency has done, but I still think it's worth celebrating when all of that fails to tear down the relationship between player and team.

5. It's still a business, and congrats to the Angels.  Certain aspects of baseball economics are a mystery to me, but I guess the Angels have a lot of money.  Something tells me, though, they'll come to regret this.  It's funny because it seems so ludicrous when a team is paying a 38-year-old three or four times what he's worth, but we still can't help ourselves.  I guess if they win a championship in the next several years it'll be worth it.

6. Thanks Albert for casting a dark cloud over what was a miracle season for the team I hate most.  Things feel a little more right.