The Greatest Decision the Cardinals EVER MADE...

[Root66]

Letting this piss ant go to California.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/baseballinsider/2013/04/how-much-longer-can-albert-pujols-play-first-base-ryan-howard-hobbling-big-s

Excerpt:

Earlier this month, Pujols told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that "The [plantar fasciitis] is probably caused now because of my knee...That's the only thing I can think of. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old.''

[1dog]

I can't lie when I heard that I felt a warm and fuzzy feeling

[Baseball Hog]

Pujols is a good person and philanthropist.  It's a shame so many people lose sight of things like that when someone makes a decision that they feel is best for their family.

[pigture perfect]

I thought getting Lou Brock away from the Cubs was the best.

[1dog]

Pujols is a good person and philanthropist.  It's a shame so many people lose sight of things like that when someone makes a decision that they feel is best for their family.

.  Yea your right sometimes you overlook the person and focus on your own wants.

[TomasPistola]

Pujols is a good person and philanthropist.  It's a shame so many people lose sight of things like that when someone makes a decision that they feel is best for their family.

Best for your family? C'mon man. He chased more money and a longer contract. Both are more money than even his kids would be able to spend. He was beloved in St. Louis. Could have retired there and been a legend.

I do applaud and respect his charitable deductions.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

I thought getting Lou Brock away from the Cubs was the best.

One of the top 5 lopsided trades of all time. 

[BillyHog53]

I am a life long Cardinal fan. I was named after Stan the Man. As I have said before, Pujols is dead to me. The End

[jbell96]

Pujols is a good person and philanthropist.  It's a shame so many people lose sight of things like that when someone makes a decision that they feel is best for their family.

Your first statement is 100% true. He is a good person & a philanthropist. Also, I don't enjoy the fact that he is struggling with injuries.

That said, taking care of his family? The Cardinals offered him a contract worth between 210-220 million dollars. His family couldn't have lived off that? What he did was a money grab, plain & simple.

I have no ill will towards him, and have tons of great memories of him as a Cardinal, but it's looking more & more like the Cardinals made the right decision by not matching the Angels offer.

[clutch]

Your first statement is 100% true. He is a good person & a philanthropist. Also, I don't enjoy the fact that he is struggling with injuries.

That said, taking care of his family? The Cardinals offered him a contract worth between 210-220 million dollars. His family couldn't have lived off that? What he did was a money grab, plain & simple.

I have no ill will towards him, and have tons of great memories of him as a Cardinal, but it's looking more & more like the Cardinals made the right decision by not matching the Angels offer.

I can't fault anyone for taking the money. It would be hard for anyone to turn down if they were in the situation. It's easy to say you'd pass up 30-50 mil when you aren't the one being offered the money. I know living expenses are more expensive in LA, but not $30mil more. Make what you can make, while you can still make it. Might as well set up your grandkids grandkids while you're at it.

[jbell96]

I can't fault anyone for taking the money. It would be hard for anyone to turn down if they were in the situation. It's easy to say you'd pass up 30-50 mil when you aren't the one being offered the money. I know living expenses are more expensive in LA, but not $30mil more. Make what you can make, while you can still make it. Might as well set up your grandkids grandkids while you're at it.

Like I said, there is not ill will on my part, it was just sad for me to see him leave St. Louis. Had he stayed, there would've been a statue right next to Stan the Man's. I honestly still believe that deal will work out well for both the Angels & Cardinals.

[Root66]

Pujols was a very philanthropic person...to the people back in the Dominican. Not all that much to the people of St. Louis, MO.

[pigture perfect]

You can't blame AP for being more Philanthropic in his own country. Especially with living conditions down there.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Pujols made the same decision that 99% of ballplayers today would make.  The players formed a union back in the '60s and have gone on strike more than once to obtain rights, including the right of free agency that Pujols took advantage of.  He did nothing wrong and I'm sure the union would have frowned on it if he had signed with the Cardinals for less.  So he wasn't being "selfish", he was just exercising a right he has as a major league ballpayer.

That being said, I am exercising a right I have as a fan to root against him and the Angels now.  It is nothing personal and it has nothing to do with his motives or his philanthropy or his favorite shampoo.  It is because I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and always will be.  I wish no bad luck on Albert, but since he does not play for my team any longer, he is just another talented but aging ballplayer.

[Root66]

Pujols made the same decision that 99% of ballplayers today would make.  The players formed a union back in the '60s and have gone on strike more than once to obtain rights, including the right of free agency that Pujols took advantage of.  He did nothing wrong and I'm sure the union would have frowned on it if he had signed with the Cardinals for less.  So he wasn't being "selfish", he was just exercising a right he has as a major league ballpayer.

That being said, I am exercising a right I have as a fan to root against him and the Angels now.  It is nothing personal and it has nothing to do with his motives or his philanthropy or his favorite shampoo.  It is because I am a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and always will be.  I wish no bad luck on Albert, but since he does not play for my team any longer, he is just another talented but aging ballplayer.

He also lied thru his teeth about "not being about the money". It WAS about the money. And may Curt Flood burn in hell...<<< JOKE.

[TomasPistola]

He also lied thru his teeth about "not being about the money". It WAS about the money. And may Curt Flood burn in hell...<<< JOKE.

I think it had more to do with the 10 year contract than the actual dollar amount. Considering the way he appears to be breaking down I guess that was a smart move. Still think he would have been made for life it he'd stayed at St Louis.

[Root66]

But he can DH now, when he couldn't in St. Louis.

I've been hearing some really bad rumors about the N.L. possibly going to the DH in the next couple of years. Geez, I hope not. That's why LaRussa enjoyed the N.L. so much and so did Herzog. The DH dumbs down the managers role.

[jbell96]

I've been hearing some really bad rumors about the N.L. possibly going to the DH in the next couple of years. Geez, I hope not. That's why LaRussa enjoyed the N.L. so much and so did Herzog. The DH dumbs down the managers role.

The irony in that is the Cardinals would benefit greatly from the DH this year with Matt Adams on the roster. That said, DH is garbage, and definitely takes the strategic element out of managing.

[Veritas Arkansas]

The irony in that is the Cardinals would benefit greatly from the DH this year with Matt Adams on the roster. That said, DH is garbage, and definitely takes the strategic element out of managing.

"It's the AL - they got the DH, how hard can it be?"

[jbell96]

"It's the AL - they got the DH, how hard can it be?"

+1 for the Little Big League reference.

[clutch]

I've been hearing some really bad rumors about the N.L. possibly going to the DH in the next couple of years. Geez, I hope not. That's why LaRussa enjoyed the N.L. so much and so did Herzog. The DH dumbs down the managers role.

I read one of LaRussa's books not long ago. Seems like I remember there being a part in there about how he almost took the Whitesox job again after Oakland because there were very few jobs in the NL that he would actually consider taking. Just turned out that St. Louis was one of them. I wonder if that was because earlier in his career he actually liked having a DH.

[pigture perfect]

The amount was not the issue as much as length and then the initial offer by the Cards insulted the Pujols's.

[clutch]

The amount was not the issue as much as length and then the initial offer by the Cards insulted the Pujols's.

Wasn't Pujols also wanting the chance to work in the front office after he retired? Seems like I remember hearing that.

[pigture perfect]

I'm not sure.

[TomasPistola]

I think it had more to do with the 10 year contract than the actual dollar amount. Considering the way he appears to be breaking down I guess that was a smart move. Still think he would have been made for life it he'd stayed at St Louis.

Wasn't Pujols also wanting the chance to work in the front office after he retired? Seems like I remember hearing that.

Just sayin...

[DeltaBoy]

Albert can rot in Callie!

[McKdaddy]

Bernie usually makes good sense....

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-pujols-still-winning-games-for-cards/article_dde00774-3fdb-58a0-966a-2e030aca5659.html

[Root66]

Bernie usually makes good sense....

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-pujols-still-winning-games-for-cards/article_dde00774-3fdb-58a0-966a-2e030aca5659.html

Which is the sense I made nearly a month ago...and I can't believe the Cardinals offered him $200mil over 10 years either. But, that was just to KEEP HIM A CARDINAL. THANK YOU ALBERT PUJOLS for not hamstringing my team for for the next 8 years.

[McKdaddy]

Which is the sense I made nearly a month ago...and I can't believe the Cardinals offered him $200mil over 10 years either. But, that was just to KEEP HIM A CARDINAL. THANK YOU ALBERT PUJOLS for not hamstringing my team for for the next 8 years.

I hear you Root...a lot of Cards fans have been making this sense for the last 8-12 months, but it's good to get a refresher to the masses.

[Baseball Hog]

"God has given me ability and talent, but the day I feel like I can't compete any more on this level, I'm not going to embarrass myself," Pujols said. "I'm going to walk off. Whether that's next year, two years from now, only God knows."

Keep trashing the guy.  I don't have a horse in either race but I can say that people don't get a lot better than Albert Pujols.

[dhornjr1]

People don't get a lot better than Pujols?

Jeff Pearlman, a veteran writer with Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, Newsday, and SI.com has a different opinion. And this was written when Pujols was still with the Cardinals.

http://www.jeffpearlman.com/albert-pujols-and-the-treatment-of-people/

The line stretches halfway around Roger Dean Stadium here in Jupiter, Florida, an elastic red-and-white snake of hope and dreams and nostalgia and, well, more than a smidge of anger.

The 617 people are, technically, here for St. Louis Cardinals Autograph Day.

The 617 people are, factually, here for Albert Pujols.

Do not take the last sentence to mean that they, the Redbird fans gathered at the team's spring training facility this past Saturday, love Albert Pujols. Oh, they love the way he plays. The Ruthian home runs deep into the stands. The doubles laced into the gaps. The intensity with which he runs the bases; the steeliness he brings to the plate in a clutch situation.

Genuine love, however, is more than mere admiration. Genuine love, especially in sports, means forming a bond; a relationship; a connection. St. Louis fans love Stan Musial because, for 70 years, he has been loving them back. The same passion can be applied to Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith and even Mark McGwire. They are St. Louis icons not merely for their talents, but for their dispositions.

In this department, Albert Pujols falls far short.

Because we in the sports media tend to make certain allowances for superstars, Pujols has been repeatedly praised for his soft heart and charitable deeds. If one were to audaciously suggest that Pujols leans toward unfriendly and rude, he would inevitably be reminded that the St. Louis slugger is heavily involved in his own charitable foundation, which does great work in areas related to Down syndrome. And that the St. Louis slugger is very religious. And that the St. Louis slugger is charitable and religious. Really, his charity is amazing! And he's religious! Very religious! So, so, so religious. Loves God! Really!*

Which would all be swell and dandy were Pujols not, ahem, treating Cardinals fans like garbage. Which he does.

Regularly.

To watch Pujols interact with the St. Louis diehards is to watch a prototypical spoiled, arrogant 21st century sports star at his absolute worst. During spring training, it is common for players to wave or smile or nod or (gasp!) talk to fans as they trot from one field to the next during otherwise monotonous drill sessions. Lance Berkman is the king of this practice. Gerald Laird isn't far behind. Pujols, on the other hand, does nothing. When people call his name, he almost never gazes up. When people ask for an autograph, he doesn't even bother with a "Not now" or "Try me later." Instead, he resorts to tactics men like Barry Bonds and Albert Belle perfected in the recent decades—the steel-faced, Why-are-you-even-talking-to-me? ignore-the-world two-step.

It's not that Pujols doesn't say much—neither does Derek Jeter. It's not that Pujols is intense—Josh Hamilton is certainly right there with him. No, what rubs an increasing number of people wrongly is his galling frostiness. Or, as one longtime Cardinals usher said to me the other day, "How about looking up at people when they talk to you? How about acknowledging that they exist?"

Said another: "He's probably a nice man. But he never shows it."

Pujols' supporters (and there are many) will cry blasphemy; will cite the myriad pressures of being a superstar jock; will evoke the foundation and the spirituality and 42 home runs and 118 RBIs from 2010. And, to a certain degree, they'll have a case. But as I comb through the 617 people waiting to enter Roger Dean—many of who slept out through the night to be assured their seven seconds with Pujols—I am struck by the oddness of it all. Save for the handful of professional memorabilia collectors (who really do ruin these things for everyone), the people here simply want to be touched by Albert Pujols; to see that, come day's end, he's a wonderful man.

And yet ...

• "We want Albert to be a Cardinal for life, and he's an amazing player," says Jan, a Belleville, Illinois native who slept outside the stadium. "I understand that it's hard signing every autograph. I get that. But he doesn't seem to sign any."

• "I want to love Albert," says Deron, a Shiloh, Illinois native who also slept out. "But he makes it hard sometimes."

• "I don't understand Albert, because the fans would give anything to like and support him," says Chris, an engineer and lifelong Cardinals fan. "But he doesn't sign autographs, and when he does sign he makes it illegible slop and he's never polite."

Now, however, on Autograph Day, Pujols must sign. The Cardinals have told their players that they are required to wear their jerseys, sit and accept items for one full hour. Hence, the 617.

Pujols is placed at the end of a white table, alongside pitcher Adam Reifer. When the fans are finally herded into Roger Dean, roughly 75 percent head straight to Pujols' line.

Here is a direct, play-by-play transcript from the opening minutes:

Fan: "Albert, great to meet you! You're my favorite player in the world!"

Pujols (not looking up): "Thanks."

Fan 2: "Albert, do you sign jerseys?"

Pujols: (not looking up): "No."

Fan 2: "Helmets?"

Pujols (not looking up): "No."

Fan 3: "Good luck this year, Albert. You deserve everything you get."

Pujols (not looking up): "Uh-huh. Thanks."

Fan 4: "Albert, my daughter loves you."

Pujols (not looking up): No response.

Pujols does not look up—ever. He does not show emotion—ever. The fan can be a grandmother; the fan can be a 6-year-old boy. It matters not. Like 98 percent of his teammates, he'd rather be shaving wild emus than sitting here. The rest of the Cardinals, however, attempt to hide it. For a full hour, Pujols doesn't. Because of his endorsement deal with Upper Deck, he signs only pictures and baseballs (every other player signs whatever's presented to him). He rarely smiles, concealing any emotions (and his face) behind a pair of sunglasses.

Within the Cardinals' organization, this has been a well-kept secret for years—that the Albert Pujols everyone wants to love isn't all that loveable. Many familiar with Pujols aren't surprised by his rumored contract demands—the 10 years, the $30 million annually—because the numbers meet the ego.

Yet now, with free agency approaching, the real Albert Pujols might have to step up. Thirty million dollar ballplayers can't just be ballplayers. They can't just talk foundations and God. They have to be ambassadors. They have to be representatives. They have to smile and greet and symbolize and acknowledge that what fans want most isn't aloofness, but access.

They have to look up.

* PS: Fact: We in the sports media far too often judge an athlete's goodness based on his charitable foundation. I'd say 50 percent of top-tier athletes have some sort of foundation, and while I don't doubt Pujols' intentions in this area, it's not the best manner (in my opinion) for judging a person.

And I don't want to hear that he's shy. Or bashful. He's not. And, in my book, there's never an excuse to treat people this way. Ever.

[pigture perfect]

OK, I'm an apopolgist. I just believe that's his personality around crowds. Around family and friends he's probably much more comfortable.

[Baseball Hog]

People don't get a lot better than Pujols?

Jeff Pearlman, a veteran writer with Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, Newsday, and SI.com has a different opinion. And this was written when Pujols was still with the Cardinals.

http://www.jeffpearlman.com/albert-pujols-and-the-treatment-of-people/

Sounds like a butt-hurt writer.

I could easily, within 10 minutes, post a dozen articles talking about how great of a guy he is.

Let me guess, Cardinals fan?  Very few truly unbiased people think bad of Pujols. 

[Root66]

Keep trashing the guy.  I don't have a horse in either race but I can say that people don't get a lot better than Albert Pujols.

If you think most people are pricks...you are correct.

[dhornjr1]

Sounds like a butt-hurt writer.

I could easily, within 10 minutes, post a dozen articles talking about how great of a guy he is.

Let me guess, Cardinals fan?  Very few truly unbiased people think bad of Pujols. 

Why don't you go ahead and post some of those articles. I'll go ahead and post a few more from legitimate media. I guess they're all butthurt, right?

And please spare us the Pujols foundation stories and the God-fearing stories. If you can, within 10 minutes, post a dozen of those kinds of articles, I can post a dozen in the same amount of time about other sports figures who love God and have foundations helping underprivileged people and who haven't had stories written about how big of an a$$hole they are.

Gregg Doyel CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist

An October stage like this one doesn't come for everybody -- and for Albert Pujols, it might not come again. This is his chance. His last chance? Could be. And so far, Albert Pujols is blowing it.

This isn't about baseball, because Pujols has already answered all the relevant baseball questions. Six seasons into his remarkable major league career, assuming he doesn't get sidetracked by injuries or scandal, he is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. That's obvious.

But what kind of person is Albert Pujols? That has started to become obvious during these 2006 playoffs, and not to Pujols' advantage.

Already he has insulted two pitchers who got the better of him, including future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine of the Mets; snarled at the media numerous times for asking questions he didn't like; whacked at a chair near his locker and knocked it accidentally (presumably) off a writer's leg; and looked back over that series of events and put the blame where he's sure it goes: on the media, for being "negative."

Who knew Albert Pujols, who has replaced Barry Bonds as the game's greatest active player, could replace Bonds as its biggest jerk?

Pujols and his micro-media-manager, Tony La Russa, can blame the media all they like, but the truth is that Pujols has gone out of his way during these playoffs to look like an enormous ass.

It started small but tellingly, with an unseemly shot at the Padres' Chris Young after Game 3 of the NL Division Series. Young threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine -- including Pujols twice. That almost never happens. Pujols struck out just 50 times in the regular season, and had been fanned twice on the same day by the same pitcher only two times in 162 games. Pujols' postgame impression of Young?

"Not difficult at all," Pujols said. "He's just a pitcher, like everyone else."

Like Glavine, maybe. Throwing his assortment of slow and slower, Glavine held Pujols hitless in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series, striking him out once. Afterward Pujols summed up Glavine, who has won 290 games the same way, by deciding that he "wasn't good -- he wasn't good at all."

The frothing New York media reacted about like you'd expect, including one headline that called him "P.U.-JOLS."

Before Game 3 of the NLCS on Saturday, Pujols clarified his comments by, well, lying. He said the media was just "negative," that he had actually said, "I think (Glavine) was good, but not good enough to hold us to four hits."

By then La Russa already had come running to his star player's aide. La Russa blamed the media for -- get this -- talking to Pujols after a game. And writing down what Pujols said. And putting it in the paper.

"You want quotes from the players, right? So the guys that give the best quotes are usually the guys that are not the very best competitors," La Russa said. "If a guy burns with the competition and you get him 10 to 15 minutes after the game, he's liable to say something that's not really how he reflects."

Don't fall for that line of bunk. For years, decades even, players in every sport have spoken with the media after tough losses. Players can handle it, even the "very best competitors," provided they aren't jerks. Bonds couldn't handle it, but he was a jerk. Steve Carlton and Kevin Brown couldn't handle it, either, but they were jerks. After a period of time, those titles became accepted: Steve Carlton = jerk.

If Pujols isn't careful it'll happen to him, and if you're wondering why it hasn't happened yet, look at his address. He plays in St. Louis, a town that for years has looked the other way for its best baseball players. For example, I'm writing this story from the Enos Slaughter Room. Slaughter was behind a near-boycott in 1947 when the Cardinals objected to the color of Jackie Robinson's skin. In some places a player gets maligned for that sort of thing. In St. Louis he gets a room named after him.

Remember the discovery of andro in Mark McGwire's locker, one of the events that triggered the steroid scandal? The bottle wasn't discovered by the local media, which had years to notice it, but by an out-of-state Associated Press writer. Years later, McGwire's name is mostly dirt, but not in St. Louis. Stories and photos of his greatest moments in a Cardinals uniform still hang in the press room. His jersey sells in the stadium stores. Here, he's untouchable.

The same goes for Pujols, whose boorish behavior is becoming known now that he is on a national stage. Before the NLCS began, Pujols approached a crowd of reporters waiting to speak with him -- during the specific time the media was allowed in the clubhouse -- and growled, "Get out of my freaking locker."

Pujols dressed, turned and spotted some reporters still hoping for a moment of his time. Pujols gave them a moment. It went like this: "You guys are a pain ... you know that?"

We are what we are, Albert. That's no secret.

But you are what you are, too. That's no longer a secret, either.

[Root66]

Sounds like a butt-hurt writer.

I could easily, within 10 minutes, post a dozen articles talking about how great of a guy he is.

Let me guess, Cardinals fan?  Very few truly unbiased people think bad of Pujols.

And you sound like a butt-hurt punk. Pujols couldn't have carried Musial's Cardinal red sports jacket to the cleaners. As noted earlier he was a prick and a cancer in the Cardinal locker room.

[dhornjr1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2637763

From discovering Pujols to working at Wal-Mart

By Wright Thompson | ESPN.com

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark. -- Dave Karaff doesn't have to work right now. Five days a week he stocks grocery shelves at the local Wal-Mart, but tonight, he settles into the comfy, oversized chair to watch his beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Dave Karaff no longer has a job with the Cardinals, but he and his wife, Janette, still root for the Redbirds.
The man's got a right to love them. He spent seven years as a Cardinals scout before being let go in 2003. His biggest signee was the guy walking up to the plate right now: reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols. Yes, that's right. The scout who signed Albert Pujols stocks groceries in an Arkansas Wal-Mart.

How's that for an organizational thank you? Some guys get bonuses. Others get watches. Karaff got canned.

Karaff, a friendly 64-year-old grandfather, doesn't mind if you come watch Game 2 with him, but under one condition: He's not gonna talk about Pujols. Though the slugger is wildly talented, he's also as sensitive as a junior high cheerleader and is still peeved because he believes Karaff said he wouldn't make it to the big leagues. In reality, Karaff felt like he was a talent but not a sure-thing first-rounder. Clearly, every other team agreed.

But after Pujols popped off earlier this year, it's best not to start any drama. So Karaff isn't gonna talk about Pujols, not a word about the guy who looks like he might walk off the high-def television at any moment. Not a word. Doesn't want to cause any problems. Well, you know, maybe a few words won't hurt. After all, signing the probable Hall of Famer is the highlight of his career.

"I will say one thing," he says. "If there's anybody that can stand there and tell me truthfully this is what they thought he'd do, I would call them a liar to their face and never flinch."

Karaff sits in his chair and watches Pujols watch the pitcher.

"When he's going bad, he really floats to that front side," Karaff says. "That's what he did in high school."

He ought to know. Karaff has spent his entire life around the game. For almost two decades, he coached Hickman Mills High in Kansas City. He worked as a scout for the Seattle Mariners and, starting in the mid-'90s, for the St. Louis Cardinals. He'd always been a Redbirds fan; he had his car stolen at the 1985 World Series and, instead of calling his wife, he bought new clothes at a discount store and went to the next game.

Scouting for his favorite team was a dream job, one he took seriously. For 130 or so nights a year, he rated players. He went everywhere. Three years before he was fired, for instance, he was assigned Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, half of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The highway was his home. His car logged more than 40,000 miles a year.

Mostly, he charted people who'd never spend a day in the big leagues. Then there was this young man in Kansas City. Albert Pujols. He had obvious skills. The Cardinals' scouting form gave players a grade between two and eight, Karaff says, with each prospect getting a present and future score in each category. A "five" is considered major-league average.

"I probably made him a six hitter future," Karaff says, "but he probably was a four hitter present."

The rest, of course, is history. Though he slipped to the 13th round of the 1999 draft, Pujols made it to the bigs in 2001, won Rookie of the Year and now has 250 home runs in just six seasons. He is arguably the most feared hitter in baseball. He's a superstar.

And Karaff? He was fired in 2003. The team decided to go in a different direction, and there was a massive shakeup in the scouting department. Lots of people were left to wonder what they might have done better. Karaff figured he should have sold his players harder.

"That was probably a weak point of mine," he says. "I sold them on paper, but I don't think I did a good job talking them up. Until the end. If I'm gonna struggle or if I've got a chance to lose my job, I'm gonna put 'em on the line. That's what they want you to do."

Three years later, the wound is still fresh -- seemingly more so for his wife, Jannette, than for him. He's explaining his release, and the personalities involved, and he's doing it with kid gloves. She's sitting nearby, practically simmering.

"Dave's just being nice," she says.

"Jannette," he says, "just let it go, honey."

"Well, I ...," she begins.

"Let it go," he says.

He had to let it go. He needed to find a job that offered benefits. Hence the grocery stocking. But there are certainly days he wishes he had his old life back.

"I miss it all," he says. "I really do. It's the most enjoyable job I've ever had."

The things he did as a scout make him proud, even if it didn't end like he wanted it to. That makes Pujols' recent public comments cut deep.

The slugger, for instance, told The Kansas City Star: "He said I wasn't going to make the big leagues. That's why he got fired."

He told USA Today : "How can you draft a guy and say you don't know if he's going to make the big leagues? All of a sudden, the next year (I'm) in the big leagues, and he wants to take all the credit."

That burned up Karaff's family, who felt like a superstar multi-millionaire was picking on a guy who stocks shelves at Wal-Mart. They say Karaff isn't trying to take any credit.

"I was heartbroken for Dave because I didn't think it was fair," Jannette says.

Losing his dream job was bad, but being called out by the player he once championed to his organization is worse.

"I think everything that happened with Albert hurt more," he says.

Still, they are Cardinals fans. Both lean toward the television as their team holds onto a lead. Pujols comes to the plate. Jannette Karaff almost jumps out of her chair. They're just fans now, glued to the television.

"Come on, Pujols," she yells. "Do something!"

[clutch]

I'm a die hard Cards fan, and I don't understand the anger. Sure it sucks he left for more money, but that's how the business is today. It happens.

I for one am kind of happy that he left. I under no circumstance want the organization to sign him to a 10 year 250-300 mil contract. I enjoyed everything he did as a Cardinal, but did not want to see the organization struggle down the road just so that we could see him retire as a Card. Our future is much brighter without him.

[dhornjr1]

I'm a die hard Cards fan, and I don't understand the anger. Sure it sucks he left for more money, but that's how the business is today. It happens.

I for one am kind of happy that he left. I under no circumstance want the organization to sign him to a 10 year 250-300 mil contract. I enjoyed everything he did as a Cardinal, but did not want to see the organization struggle down the road just so that we could see him retire as a Card. Our future is much brighter without him.

It is actually better for the Cardinals he left. But Bernie Miklasz summed up why people are pissed at Pujols.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-poor-albert-had-no-choice/article_6baf3c37-03d7-59ef-9d98-e93cfd81a9e9.html

Pujols was a free agent and could do what he wanted. I don't blame him for taking Anaheim's deal; it was a tremendous contract. Pujols did what was best for him. I've actually defended him on that count. And I was ready to move on. He's gone. Let's move forward. And if Pujols would have said he was ready for a change, he was disappointed in the St. Louis offer, and the Angels made a wonderful offer that he couldn't turn down -- well, fine. No blowback from me.

But the more Pujols talks, the more his wife talks, the more his agent talks, the sillier this gets. They're pushing the idea that The Decision was about everything except money, and that's absurd.

[ImHogginIt]

Yeah I'm pissed he left but the great years he gave us as a Card far outweigh him leaving as far as I'm concerned.

[dhornjr1]

Baseball is unlike any other sport. It has a romanticism and tradition to it that basketball and football lack. Mention the numbers 714 or 755 or 660 or 536 or 511 or 56 or .406 or 4,191 and you immediately know what they mean.

Many baseball fans grow up living in that romanticism. I know I did. Business did not enter into it. Albert Pujols reminded Cardinals fans that there is no loyalty, no tradition any more, just business.

And that hurts.

[Baseball Hog]

And that hurts.

And there's your issue.

I understand.  You were a fan and he left.  I'd be sad too.  I've had favorite players leave for money too, it sucks.

But until you've had the decision that would cost you tens of millions of dollars I wouldn't judge.

[Root66]

And there's your issue.

I understand.  You were a fan and he left.  I'd be sad too.  I've had favorite players leave for money too, it sucks.

But until you've had the decision that would cost you tens of millions of dollars I wouldn't judge.

I'm judging. Pujols was a liar. It wasn't about the money, remember? And in the last four years of his St. Louis tenure, he never seemed to pay attention to his third base coach. But then he WAS the great Albert. Look at me Albert.

[dhornjr1]

And there's your issue.

I understand.  You were a fan and he left.  I'd be sad too.  I've had favorite players leave for money too, it sucks.

But until you've had the decision that would cost you tens of millions of dollars I wouldn't judge.

I find it ironic that an Atlanta Braves fan, still reveling in Chipper Jones' long career and retirement with the Braves, would try to tell me how to feel about the best player on my team in fifty years turning his back on that team and city and fans.

You have no frame of reference to discuss this issue.

[McKdaddy]

I'm a die hard Cards fan, and I don't understand the anger. Sure it sucks he left for more money, but that's how the business is today. It happens.

I for one am kind of happy that he left. I under no circumstance want the organization to sign him to a 10 year 250-300 mil contract. I enjoyed everything he did as a Cardinal, but did not want to see the organization struggle down the road just so that we could see him retire as a Card. Our future is much brighter without him.

I agree w/ all this. I wasn't mad when he left. I was disappointed, but I realized it was better for the team to be able to spread around the money to more players. But some people act like he screwed their spouse. I don't get it. Unfornunately it is the "business" of today's sports world.

[McKdaddy]

Yeah I'm pissed he left but the great years he gave us as a Card far outweigh him leaving as far as I'm concerned.

I agree w/ this also. I was hoping he could be my generation's Musial on the field, and play his whole career w/ StL, but that wasn't meant to be. We move on and remember the years given.

[Baseball Hog]

I find it ironic that an Atlanta Braves fan, still reveling in Chipper Jones' long career and retirement with the Braves, would try to tell me how to feel about the best player on my team in fifty years turning his back on that team and city and fans.

You have no frame of reference to discuss this issue.

My favorite player growing up was Andruw Jones.  I was 8 years old during the 1996 World Series when he busted on the scene as 19 year old hitting bombs off the Yankees.  The kid was swagged out, Willie Mays incarnate.  I idolized him.  Right when he hit the peak of his career he sold out and followed the cash.

So yeah, I've been there.

[Baseball Hog]

Really this goes back to the validity or lack thereof of the statement:

It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

[dhornjr1]

My favorite player growing up was Andruw Jones.  I was 8 years old during the 1996 World Series when he busted on the scene as 19 year old hitting bombs off the Yankees.  The kid was swagged out, Willie Mays incarnate.  I idolized him.  Right when he hit the peak of his career he sold out and followed the cash.

So yeah, I've been there.

Not quite the same thing.

Like Pujols in St. Louis, Chipper Jones was the heart and soul of that franchise from the time he first stepped foot on the field at Fulton County Stadium.

[dhornjr1]

Really this goes back to the validity or lack thereof of the statement:

It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

To anyone who says that I would quote Tommy Lee Jones from Men In Black.

"Try it".