Does he have anything left in the tank, or is it a diversion to make folks forget about the lockout? Obv time will tell. Only costing them 2.5 million, so I get it being worth taking a flyer. They probably weren't going to make a splash DH signing to begin with. Seems like the Cards love the nostalgia and this fits the bill. Hard to believe we are going into a season making a run with Yadi, Waino, and Albert being counted on.
Albert is back
- Thread starter Pancho and Lefty
- Start date
I'd say it's equal parts going out with Yadi and Waino, selling tickets, and trying to dumpster dive to get a RH bat opposite Dickerson in the DH spot. Doesn't move the needle much outside of the nostalgia thing though, but that is a pretty cool thing. It's weird, I was glad the Birds didn't sign him when he went to the Angels. I also said on here I hoped he played out his contract in anonymity (meaning he had a sharp decline and the Angels did nothing as a team). That pretty much happened. Yet, here I am, kinda happy about the signing and hoping he's got enough left to ride off in a positive way. Age and time cure a lot sometimes.
He had a decent year in LA last year for a 40 year old. All I really remember is his first at bat as a Dodger he drilled one into the seats
He and the Angels did the Cards a huge favor. I don't mind allowing him a final ride. $2.5 is cheap. If he can hit lefties like he did last year he can provide some help. I just hope he accepts the role and doesn't become disgruntled about PT. Plus 21 dingers might be a stretch for the number of ABs he should get but 700 is within reach. It'd be cool to see him get there. Dude was on his way to Musial status. I don't know if he gets that now but he could be close.
But man when you think back, that 10 year stretch was amazing. We probably took it for granted a little in the midst of it. But there's not many who can match that. He truly is one of the best to ever play the game.
Just to add, how could the Angels have the talent and payroll they did and never have any post season success? It's baffling. I kind of feel sorry for Trout. He's also one of the best to ever play and has little to show for it. In 11 years he's played one series and went 1-12 with a dinger. But, he could have moved on by now if he really wanted to taste team success. He's chosen to stay there so some of it's on him. How good would he look standing in CF in Busch 3!!
I'm not sure I would term his signing a "huge favor" by Pujols or the Angels. What exactly have we won since Albert left in 2011?
There isn't any question the Cardinals got the best 10 years of his career, but St. Louis also missed out some great milestones of his career like his 500th and 600th career homers, along with his 3,000th hit.
Players like Pujols are rare and he deserved to be a Redbird his entire career.
Agreed that we prob took it a bit for granted. When you look at his comparison stats year by year and you see DiMaggio, Mays, Aaron, Musial, Bonds. Wow. 10 years in a row of over .300, over 30 HR and 100 RBI, wow again.
as a DH and PH against lefties I think the 2.5 is worth it if he can replicate what he has been doing. .290-.300 with 10-15 HR and 30+ RBI in limited ab's. Maybe he gets some confidence and can hit better than .200 against righties, but I don't know if that's possible.
It ain't confidence giving him fits against righties. He's aged. His eyes are worse. His hands are slower. Feet are worthless, and they feed the legs. Legs power those softly hit balls off of righties into the OF and turn them into hits. That said, his hands are still capable enough to serve a purpose. People just can't bank on him catching lightening in a bottle. It's far more likely for The Mang to be unusable than for him to become a regular.
He could have been a Redbird his entire career. It was his choice to leave. The Cards made him a pretty good offer. He would have been richer beyond most of our wildest dreams. Reaching those milestones in a Cardinal uniform would have pushed him past Stan as the greatest Cardinal ever. But he didn't see any value in that stuff. So he took the money and ran. He didn't win anything either. The Cards did make the playoffs 7 of the 11 years without him. Albert played in exactly one playoff series with the Angels, in 10 years. Do you think he looked over here all those years and wished he was still a part of it?
The Cards were pretty accurate on their offer. He was OK for 4-5 years. Then he wasn't worth being one of the highest paid players in the league. They would have kept him as long as he wanted, but not for maximum money. Waino and Yadi show what could have happened with Albert. Him coming back now makes me think he might wish he'd never left. Do you think he'll look back at his time in LA and think how great it was? I doubt it. No one cared about him there. It wasn't the Cards who cheated us out of seeing those milestones, it was Albert. I'm glad to see him back. But as great as he was I won't be able to put him above some other Cardinal greats who chose to stay here instead of chasing maximum money.
Go Cards.
He also holds the all time major league record for hitting into double plays (and by a wide margin over #2 on the all time list)
With Molina being #20 on the all time list Cardinals may set a team record this year
Those guys are slow
Good lord, this is nothing but pure truth. Used to drive me nuts. Which is insane, given his numbers as a Bird. But I'm telling you, if he's slashing 240/285/340 and rolling over on 6-4-3s...well, the truth is I won't see it because I don't really watch games anymore...but man, it'll still nauseate me when I see it in the box score.He also holds the all time major league record for hitting into double plays (and by a wide margin over #2 on the all time list)
With Molina being #20 on the all time list Cardinals may set a team record this year
Those guys are slow
How could it not have been? The Birds have at least been competitive. 10 years of THAT Mang would've done nothing but hamstring the organization for a long, long time. If you don't believe me, just look at the Angels.
Milestones don't win games. The first 10 years of the Mang wins games. It sucks, all of it. But his decline occurring almost immediately not in a Birds uni doesn't suck. I honestly think the nerds (and make no mistake, the Birds had REALLY GOOD nerds back then) saw the decline coming, They offered a contract they knew he couldn't accept to save face.
They are rare, but he didn't deserve anything of the sort. He turned down the contract offered. And I can see why. But that was completely on him, not the Birds. And I really, really dislike you for making me defend Mo.
1. Stan the man. 1A. Gibby. 1B. Albert
In my eyes, 3 of the top 20 players of all time (to this point). At their best, they were statistically amazing and a joy to watch.
In my eyes, 3 of the top 20 players of all time (to this point). At their best, they were statistically amazing and a joy to watch.
Yes and at one time Lou Brock had the most Ks in MLB history, then it was Reggie Jackson. What do all three of those dudes have in common? H.O.F.He also holds the all time major league record for hitting into double plays (and by a wide margin over #2 on the all time list)
With Molina being #20 on the all time list Cardinals may set a team record this year
Those guys are slow
Good thing for The Mang, humans don’t have rings like trees. I’d ship the over on whatever is on the back of his baseball card. Ain’t no way that dude is a day under 45.
As long as they stick with him vs lefties and don’t get greedy, he will be fine. But tonight they are playing him and Yadi vs a tough righty because it’s their last trip to Miami. That’s not a good decision.
If he does that over the whole season, then I will definitely my words. At the moment he has 18 at bats, that has nothing to tell me he is going to do it over the whole season.
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