I still go to spring training with the same attitude I took five years ago: I want to make the team.

– Albert Pujols

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to seeing this kid play. It sounds like he’s got his head in the right place, so let’s hope he’s got the skills, too.

At the same time, you hate to see guys like Matt Morris leave the organization and those guys we couldn’t sign, Reggie Sanders and Mark Grudzielanek. As you know, this is business. Look at (former Cardinals shortstop) Edgar Renteria. He went to Boston last year and he’s in Atlanta right now. Baseball is real crazy. You can play for 20 years and never figure out why things happen.

– The Great Pujols

Well, that’s true sometimes. Renteria’s case is less mysterious: He spurned the Cardinals to cash in on the “business” side of baseball, and couldn’t live up to the expectations that his doing so created for himself. Baseball is indeed real crazy sometimes, and that includes some of the players.

I’m 35 now. If you’re an athlete and you’re running around every day, it’s getting to the end of your career. If they don’t pick (the 2007 option) up, I don’t know how many opportunities there are going to be for me to play. I’m going to approach it like this season will be one of the last ones I have. Hopefully, they’ll allow me to come back. But if they don’t, I have to be ready for Plan B.

– Jim Edmonds, on his future with the Cardinals and in baseball

Perhaps it was the climate shock, coming into town this weekend after spending the offseason in California, but Jimmy needn’t be so gloomy. First, as far as the Cardinals go, they’re having enough problems finding corner outfielders, let alone centerfielders. Edmonds is due $10mil in 2007, but considering the $3mil buyout, he’ll still be worth at least $7mil, even with deteriorating skills. Second, Jimmy may be heading into the athlete’s decline years, but all he has to do is look around the league to see that he likely won’t be jobless (or million-less). The 38-year-old Kenny Lofton, a much lesser player, is still able to get 3,850,000 deals, while the 40-year-old Steve Finley is still employed (by the Giants, who, er, value the graying player) to the tune of $7mil in 2006.

I know Mike had a lot to do with him going out there. It’s going to be fun for them to get back together. I know he wanted to stay here, but in the same sense, he’s got to look out for himself. I think he’ll be comfortable out there.

– Jason Isringhausen on Matt Morris and Mike Matheny

Yeah, it’s helpful to have someone you can trust on your new team to show you the ins and outs, like the good detours around Barry Bonds’s locker and the difference between the bottle of flaxseed oil and the one with “the clear.”

I haven’t really heard too much of what’s going on. I came back here a couple of weeks ago and people said, ‘What do you think about your new teammates?’ I said, ‘Which ones?’ I didn’t know who we signed or anything. When you’re in California, it’s like you’re on an island of movie stars and other stuff. It’s not much into sports. If you’re not in L.A. watching Kings hockey or the Lakers or something, you don’t get a lot of news.

– Edmonds

No wonder they call it La-La Land. Being on an island of movie stars, with the only sports news being about the Kings and Lakers sounds to me worse than the 9th circle of hell.

(Ponson) can win 20 games here if he can get some run support.

— The Great Pujols

Excellent observation, Albert. It’s one of the reasons that some people have been saying for years that a starting pitcher’s single-season win-loss record is no indicator of his contribution to his team.

I want to get to know everybody. I didn’t want to spend one week with them and then start a long season with them. We would be strangers, and I don’t want that.

– Isringhausen, explaining why he opted out of the US team in the World Baseball Classic

I’ve heard several different reasons why players are declining to play in the WBC, but this is the most bizarre. Since players in the WBC tournament are subject to Olympic-level steroids testing, the skeptical side of me has been keeping an eye on the players who aren’t going to play, for whatever reason. I hope we don’t have reason to be concerned with Izzy.

I think that St. Louis Cardinals jersey would look good on my back. I grew up as a Cardinals fan and to put that jersey on for one game, I’d love to be able to do it.

– Mark Buehrle

Now this isn’t an uncommon sentiment from young men who grow up in the St. Louis metro area. The only problem is that this particular young man is under contract for a major-league team known as the White Sox. It’s getting a little strange, since this isn’t the first time the St. Charles native has made amorous overtures toward the Cardinals. I’d probably be a little upset if I were a White Sox fan. But I think I speak for many Cardinal fans, Mark: Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and sign a sweetheart deal with the hometowners after 2007. Or better yet, demand a trade before Spring Training.

Walt told me we could get it done tonight. We’ll trade Pujols for Buehrle straight up. That’s Wilfrido Pujols for Buehrle.

– Tony LaRussa, later

Who says TLR doesn’t have a sense of humor?

This entry was posted by Pip on Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.