Baseball Talk

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols gave his team until Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. to come up with a new contract offer.

According to ESPN.com, the Cardinals failed to meet that deadline.

The news that a new contract was not reached, gives most people reason to believe that the All-Star first basemen will test the free-agent market after this upcoming season, and will most likely seek to become one of baseball’s highest paid players.

The story says:

“A source close to the negotiations told ESPN’s Karl Ravech the biggest issue is not the number of years, but the amount of money the Cardinals offered. St. Louis’ offer would place Pujols in baseball’s top 10 in salary, but not in the top five in average annual salary, the source said.

The two sides have not exchanged contract proposals in about four days, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney, who first reported that talks had broken off.

“We felt very good about the offer we made,” general manager John Mozeliak said.

Sources have previously told Olney that Pujols, who has the right to veto any trade, will not accept any trade going forward.”

Albert Pujols at the plate. (Photo by: www.torontoupdate.com)

Pujols, a nine-time All-star and three-time National League Most Valuable Player, has been a star in baseball since breaking into the league 10 years ago.

He is the only play in major league history to hit 30 or more home runs in each of his first 10 seasons.

The article goes on to clarify the fact that just because the contract negotiations have been halted for now, doesn’t mean that Pujols will not re-sign with the Cardinals the upcoming offseason.

Pujols gave the Cardinals 12:00 p.m. deadline so that his contract negotiations do not cause a distraction to him or his teammates this season.

A quote from Pujols’ agent Dan Lozano confirms this:

“The expiration of today’s deadline does not eliminate the possibility of Albert returning to the Cardinals in 2012, but simply delays negotiations until the conclusion of the Cardinals’ season,” Lozano said.”

According to a story on Espn.com, the Texas Rangers and outfielder Josh Hamilton have agreed to a two-year deal that is worth $24 million. The deal allows the two parties to avoid an arbitration hearing and covers Hamilton’s final two years of arbitration eligibility.

The story says:

“He (Hamilton) gets a $3 million signing bonus, a $7.25 million salary this year and $13.75 million in 2012.

“Hamilton made $3.25 million last season, when the Rangers went to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. When the sides exchange proposed arbitration salaries last month, Hamilton had asked for $12 million, $3.3 million more than Texas had offered. But after more discussions, they were able to bridge the gap before a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.”

Josh Hamilton after making contact. Photo courtesy of: http://theskrilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/josh-hamilton.jpg

Hamilton was voted as the American League’s Most Valuable Player for the 2010 season even though he missed nearly all of September due to injury. He batted an AL best .359 and hit 32 home runs while driving in 100 runs. Hamilton also led the league in on-base percentage at .411 and slugging percentage at .633.

With Hamilton’s numbers last season, it turned out to be arguable his best season in his once highly-publicized career.

In addition to being named AL MVP, Hamilton was elected to be a starter for the AL All-Star team for the third consecutive season, he won his second Silver Slugger Award, and he was named The Sporting News Player of the Year. He was also the MVP for the American League Championship Series before advancing to the World Series for the first time in club history.

Now that Hamilton is 29 years of age, he is beginning to be in the news for all the right reasons, unlike the early days of his career.

As most now know his story, Hamilton was once the most highly-touted prospects coming out of high school. Not knowing whether he would be drafted as a pitcher, because he could throw the ball upwards of 95 miles per hour, or an outfielder because he could hit the ball further than anyone in recent memory, Hamilton was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 Major League Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Once 2001 rolled around Hamilton had become a drug addict and was eventually suspended from by Major League Baseball multiple times.

Having played in only 15 minor league games between the years of 2004-2006, Hamilton landed in Cincinnati for the 2007 season and finally made his major league debut on April 2.

After a solid rookie season that was cut short by injuries, Hamilton was traded to the Texas Rangers. Once in Texas he made his presence known by becoming one of baseball’s most feared hitters like everybody always thought he would be.

Now, after having three consecutive seasons in which he was at or near the top three major batting categories (batting average, home runs, and runs batted in), we refer to him as three-time all-star and AL MVP Josh Hamilton.

According to an article on ESPN.com, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that longtime manager Lou Piniella is back at work once again. This time Piniella joins the defending World Series champions, the San Francisco Giants, in a special assistance role with the club. The 67-year-old former manager stepped down as manager of the Chicago Cubs in the middle of last season to care for his sick mother. Now that she is “hanging in there,” Piniella will report to Giants general manager Brian Sabean. Part of Piniella’s duties will include scouting the American League teams during spring training and attending Tampa Bay Rays games, which is convenient considering the fact that Piniella’s home is located in Tampa, Fla. He says that he may meet the Giants on some East Coast road games if his schedule permits.

Lou Piniella will join the SF Giants as a special assistant for the 2011 season. Photo Courtesy of: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Lou-Piniella-Chicago-Cubs-manager-retiring-072010

In the article, Piniella says:

“It gives me a chance to stay involved in baseball and not have to travel,” Piniella said. “I worked with Brian a lot of years in New York. He’s a good man. They have several former Yankees [working for the club]. They won a world championship — we won a world championship. I’m joining a world-class organization.”

Piniella is 14th on Major League Baseball’s regular season wins list. During his career he managed the New York Yankees, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and most recently the Chicago Cubs.

The new assistance role for Piniella, as of now, is a one-year deal. But according the the article, it could become a “longer-term agreement.”