Pujols Drama/Manning Drama

Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr stated over the weekend that a lack of commitment did not have to do with Albert Pujols leaving, rather it was a fiscal limitation.

The Pujols PR camp has stated that DeWitt and Mozeliak were cold and did not show the commitment they thought was due. From Joe Strauss: According to a source, Pujols described BDJ's perceived lack of enthusiasm during a series of teleconferences thusly: "He sounded like a dead man."

Bernie Miklasz, a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and radio host on 101.1fm ESPN radio stated "that anyone that has ever heard BD Jr. in a radio interview knows that he sounds like a 'dead man.'"

I don't know what Pujols was expecting. Did he really think that DeWitt and Mo would be excited about pouring millions of dollars to keep him and not knowing how they would be able to build a team around him? Come on. And Albert was the one who kept saying time and again "it's business." If it's truly business, then emotion should not be involved, right?

Albert, you set the tone when your agent Lozano said you wouldn't settle for anything less than the A-Rod deal in 2009. Then, before the 2010 season the Cards offered you 9 years for $198 and you said no. Did you really think they would offer THAT much more once you hit free agency?

If the Angels had not secured their TV deal you would not be an Angel. It was just luck that they had the money. The Cardinals didn't, and you knew that. Any smart person would know that the Cardinals couldn't afford what Pujols wanted.

But the Pujols PR camp seems to want to make the Cardinals management the bad guys. I get it, perhaps it's because the Pujols Foundation is still based in St. Louis and they don't want to alienate people.

Let me break this down for you Albert. You chose to leave the Cardinals. St. Louis Cardinals fans will respect you for what you've done, but that doesn't mean we have to be happy with or like you right now. We're not going to side with you on this one. If you have buyer's remorse, that's your fault for going with the team that offered you the most money, and not the team that would revere you as a legend. Stan Musial will remain the greatest baseball player in Cardinals history. You said you wanted that, but money won out. I'm tired of hearing about hurt feelings. You should work on making your new fans happy.

In other news, Archie Manning (father of Peyton, Eli and Cooper...wait, you never heard of Cooper?) recently stated that his son Peyton would perfer to stay in Indianapolis.

Tell us something we don't know, Archie? Peyton has time and again said that he wanted to finish his career in Indy (and unlike a certain 1st baseman, he means it). Peyton will get a chance to play in Indy again...if he's healthy. That is the big unknown right now.

If Peyton is healthy, no way does Irsay trade him, even if they do draft Andrew Luck. We will know a lot more once the March 8th deadline hits, which is when Manning is due his $28 million dollar bonus.

I've heard so many sports analysts insist that there's no way that Manning and Luck exist on the same team. I want to ask them if they've followed the Indianapolis organization that well, and if they really understand the relationship between Irsay and Manning. I can see both Manning and Luck on the Colts roster in 2012. After that? We'll see.

If the Colts get clearance that Manning is good to go, they keep him. However, I'm not sure they pass up the opportunity to draft Luck either. If the Colts organization can find a way to keep both, they will.

I get that there are other issues with the Colts. They need to strengthen the offensive line. The defense needs help also. They have many veteran players that are getting older. The Colts have a lot of things to fix before they can be considered as a playoff contender. Just getting Manning back or drafting Luck won't be enough.

Lots of things to think about in the off season, no doubt. If Eli Manning wins another ring will that energize Peyton enough to make a comeback and beat out his little brother? The best thing that ever happened to the Colts in recent years could be Eli winning another ring. Because if anything is going to force Peyton Manning to get as healthy as possible? It's gotta be another ring for baby brother.