I want to start off by explaining my absence in the blogosphere. December was a wonderfully exciting month. I have never felt so popular in my life as I did when I looked at my personal calendar for the month of December. That month was saturated with out of town guests, holiday parties and birthday celebrations. It was so much fun, yet also very exhausting!
The tail-end of the month was a different story though. December 22 marked the beginning of my two week paid vacation. What a treat! After the holiday passed, I had a whole to-do list I was planning to tackle -- organizing my apartment, trying new recipes, exploring the city and knocking out a bunch of new blog posts. Regrettably, almost none of those things happened. Time off is no good for me. I get lazy and I get distracted by things of little importance. In other words, I extended my holiday. Oh well, I don't anticipate having two full weeks off of work in quite some time, but I do apologize for my absence of posts. My New Year resolution includes more blogging!
So on to the other Holliday extension...
I have posted about the St. Louis Cardinals before and anyone that follows me on Twitter will learn in an instant that I am an avid fan.This week has been quite exciting for Cardinal Nation with the 7 year re-signing of Matt Holliday and some more crazy antics from Tony LaRussa. The chatter around the Cardinals this week almost made it feel like the season had begun. Unfortunately, I will have to stay patient for a few months, but in the meantime, here are my top 7 (in honor of Holliday) Cardinal advertisements of all time (Well, of my lifetime).
1. "The Macine"
Even Cubs fans like this one!
2. "Blanket"
Terrible quality, but I will embarrassingly admit that it almost drew tears.
3. "Cape"
There has to be an explanation as to why Pujols is an MVP3
4. "Blindfold"
I bet this wasn't staged at all... (Seriously. Molina is that good!)
5. "All the Love in the World"
The trifecta -- Great message, montage and song.
6. "Spelling Bee"
I know how to spell "awesome". A - W - E - S...
7. "Finger Lickin"
Oh Fred...
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I am happy we got him and I feel very optimistic about the next 7 years. The number one goal of this organization is to keep Albert Pujols in St. Louis and they wouldn't jeopardize losing him for a player like Matt Holliday. Holliday was arguably the best player up for trade this year. He did exceptionally well at the end of last season as a Cardinal. He is a good player, but he is not Albert Pujols good. I respect him and his talent and I am thrilled that we were able to re-sign him, but this article from Rob Neyer over at ESPN.com more or less summarizes my opinion of Matt Holliday.
So, getting back on target...
Pujols.
People are up in arms about what the Holliday deal might mean for the Pujols re-signing discussion that is just around the corner. I have complete confidence that the Cardinals' organization has enough pocket change to keep Pujols and Holliday on the roster for the next several years. Furthermore, I think that recruiting the likes of Matt Holliday in the outfield and Mark McGwire on the coaching staff was simply an insurance plan for Pujols to stay in St. Louis. This season, Pujols will have batting practice with one of the MLB's greatest hitters of all time and he has a very powerful and capable teammate batting clean-up behind him. What more could a MVP3 superstar ask for?
Money?
Yeah, I guess that is possible. The Cardinals are not going to skimp on Albert's paycheck when it comes time for re-negotiations, but we are also not the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox. Does that scare me? Hell yeah, but I have faith (and maybe it's blind faith) that although the money may be a big factor, it will not be the overarching determining factor for Pujols.
Pujols knows what a hero he is to the people of St. Louis and he is also well aware of the passion and support that the Cardinals Nation brings to the sport and players. Of course I'll never be able to find this article again, but I once read a wonderful interview with Pujols in which he claimed that as long as the Cardinals keep winning and staying competitive he is happy to be a part of this organization.
Well Al (and Holliday. And McGwire. And these guys. Oh, and this one!), we are happy to have you too. Here's to an an exceptional (and healthy) 2010 season!
**Full disclosure -- I am severely biased when it comes to the Cardinals**
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