We wait patiently for the day when press conferences will be run without the need for in-person middle men. Until then, here are some questions for today’s press conference to re-introduce Matt Holliday that we pose into the ether of the internet.

John Mozeliak

• How sure were you of another bidder’s offer, and how did you know?
• How much did it take to beat it?
• Would you have offered this deal if Holliday hadn’t played the second half with the Cardinals?
• How much of this was driven by a need for return on losing Wallace?
• How many offers did the Cardinals put forth?
• Do you feel you had to pay a premium of sorts to get this deal done when you did, as opposed to waiting longer?

Matt Holliday

• Would you have signed this deal if you hadn’t played the second half with Cardinals?
• Given that you’re entering your age-30 season and will be playing the entirety of this contract in the decline phase of your career, how much pressure do you feel to live up to it?
• What took so long?
• How much did the Bay deal factor into yours?
• How did the Rockies’ offer that you declined factor into your thoughts this winter?
• During the negotiations, did you ever consider how your contract would affect the team’s negotiations with Albert?
• How close were you to signing with the Orioles? Why didn’t you?

Scott Boras

• Does the deferred contract, which makes the contract total appears bigger than it is, allow you to save face?
• When you said back in December at the Winter Meetings that the Cardinals were "obviously one of the top eight," what did you mean, given that at least one economist has put them at #23 in overall market size?
• When you said that "There’s nothing that prevents a successful franchise like the St. Louis Cardinals from signing two great players," were you aware of the fact that the Yankees and Mets are the only two other teams to have two $100-million contracts on the payroll?
• If the Cardinals hadn’t met your terms, what were you going to do?

Bill DeWitt, Jr.

• Albert Pujols has said in the past that his requirement for re-signing with the team is a commitment to winning. The Cardinals have made the playoffs seven of the last 10 years, second only to the Yankees, and now you’ve signed the top free-agent of the offseason. Is there anything more you can do to prove your commitment?
• Some in the local media have accused you of holding the purse strings too tightly. Does this contract, the largest of the winter for any team and in Cardinal history, speak for itself as to those accusations? What else would you say to them?

Thanks to Fungoes designer James McKie

Randy Johnson, who has announced his retirement from baseball, pitched some of the most dominating games that the sport has seen in the last two decades, and perhaps of all-time. Here are his greatest hits by Fielding-Independent Game Score (FIGS):

His 5/8/2001 masterpiece is tied for the best since 1954, and perhaps best ever:

And unlike one-hit wonders like Ramon Martinez and Frank Tanana, Johnson has three of the top 25 games since 1954 (all as a Diamondback).

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
twelve first-place votes receiving,
(nearly) eleven ultimate zone a-rating,
ten titles winning,
nine runs a game creating,
eight WAR achieving,
seven triples tripping,
six wins off-walking,
five All-Star Games;
four expected fielding-independent runs,
three MVPs,
two Gold Gloves,
and a Cooperstown inductee.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
(nearly) eleven ultimate zone a-rating,
ten titles winning,
nine runs a game creating,
eight WAR achieving,
seven triples tripping,
six wins off-walking,
five All-Star Games;
four expected fielding-independent runs,
three MVPs,
two Gold Gloves,
and a Cooperstown inductee.