When Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday woke up Thursday morning he noticed that his cell phone had already stirred with text messages and one noteworthy missed phone call.
It was from Albert Pujols.
A quick check of the text messages and the Web site MLBTradeRumors.com confirmed what the missed called hinted: His teammate — the three-time MVP he was signed to protect in the Cardinals' lineup — had signed with another team. Other Cardinals found out Pujols had agreed to a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels in similar ways. Two responded to the news that Pujols' 11-year masterwork with the Cardinals was over with succinct text messages: "Wow." But if Thursday was about looking for information about Pujols, Friday was about looking forward without Pujols.
"I wouldn't say that I was shocked. I was sad," Holliday said. "But the cupboard isn't bare. … It is going to be very different. But it's exciting. We've lost a Hall of Fame manager and one of the greatest players of all time in the same offseason, and a lot of organizations would be sent reeling by that. We're in pretty good shape. We have a team that can win."
Work to augment that team began Thursday, shortly after the front office returned to St. Louis from baseball's winter meetings in Dallas. The Cardinals are in the market for a shortstop (like Rafael Furcal) and can now pursue an additional bat to add depth to the lineup (like outfielder Carlos Beltran). By Monday, the Cardinals must present a contract to all of the arbitration-eligible players on the 40-man roster, including utility fielder Skip Schumaker and closer Jason Motte, and also finalize whether they will let infielder Ryan Theriot become a free agent. The Cardinals must also search for a new director of amateur scouting to replace Jeff Luhnow, the Astros' recently hired general manager.
General manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny met for a while Friday to discuss not only next week's planned meeting with the new coaching staff but also the rerouted plan for outfitting the roster.
As Mozeliak said on Bernie Miklasz's WXOS (101.1 FM) radio show, the Cardinals "don't really have a whole lot of time for sulking."
Business as mostly usual continued at the Cardinals' offices located in Busch Stadium. A spokesman for the team said the switchboard received about 50 calls related to Pujols' signing with the Angels. Most were supportive or neutral of the club's inability to sign him for more than $200 million. One caller, from Southern California, just gloated. At the team's Busch Stadium shop, items with Pujols' name and likeness remained on display and on sale for full price. This past week, ticket packs went on sale, and the club won't know the ticket-sales impact of Pujols' departure for awhile.
From his office at Busch, Matheny swapped texts or talked with at least a half dozen of his players in the past two days, partially to gauge how they were reacting to the team's inability to re-sign its signature player. The tone of the exchanges was appreciative of the player they were losing and thankful to have the lingering question of his return finally answered.
"Most of them were like, 'OK, here we go,'" Matheny said. "It's been fun to watch him do things nobody has ever done, but now let's go. Time to take off. … A lot of people are going through a whole array of emotions right now. I get that. I'm disappointed. I wanted to see him in a Cardinals uniform as a manager. But I'm excited to see what he does moving forward and I'm real excited about what we can do moving forward."
Matheny was there on April 2, 2001 when a young, unknown Albert Pujols made his major-league debut at Coors Field. Pujols hit sixth. Matheny hit seventh.
Reminded of his role as Pujols' first "protection," Matheny said as nostalgia crept into his day Friday another memory surfaced. Matheny remembers being in the weight room at the team's complex in Jupiter, Fla., when Pujols was called into manager Tony La Russa's office to hear, for the first time, he had made the major-league squad.
"I just watched a kid achieve that dream," Matheny said. "It was this special moment. Little did we know then that it was the launch of a career like none of us had ever seen and will be one of the best ever."
Through 11 seasons with the Cardinals, Pujols filled a baseball card with his unparalleled achievements. He leaves the franchise ranked in the top five in most significant offensive categories. He had 2,073 hits, 445 homers, 1,329 RBIs and 1,291 runs in his 1,705 games for the Cardinals. He entered 2011 tied with Stan Musial for the fourth-best batting average in club history.
He leaves the team at .328, fifth all-time and behind Musial's .331.
"The only other jersey I've seen him in is an All-Star jersey or a Home Run Derby jersey," Schumaker said. "From a team standpoint it's tough. It's a hit. You don't find another Albert Pujols in the free-agent market. Guys are better in the lineup all around him because he's in the lineup. He makes everyone better. The Angels got better."
Pujols could be a riddle to teammates, charitable at times and distant at other times. He once offered a teammate an autographed bat but wouldn't let go of it until the teammate promised not to sell it. He was judicious with his trust. He also bought a teammate, who had made the minimum salary the year before, an original painting of the team's 2006 World Series celebration as a surprise gift. While others were more comfortable and commanding as leaders in the clubhouse, Pujols was invaluable between the lines.
Schumaker described how Pujols would help position him on the field and how he would decode pitchers in the dugout for others.
"We're losing his instincts on the field, too," Schumaker said.
The sentiment that teammates expressed in the days after Pujols' decision to leave for Southern California and in the texts Matheny received was summarized by David Freese. The third baseman and World Series MVP posted this on his Twitter account shortly after news broke of Pujols' decision: "Blessed to have played and won a World Series with Albert. Now it's time to win one without (him). New challenges. New opportunities."
With a physical completed, the Angels will finalize Pujols' departure from the Cardinals this afternoon at a news conference in Anaheim, Calif. There Pujols will slip on another team's jersey for the first time in his career.
Holliday did return that missed call.
Pujols took him through some of the things that happened on the way to his decision, and the two decided to try and get together before Pujols leaves St. Louis. Holliday kept a pulse on the Cardinals' pursuit of Pujols and said he remained "hopeful" through this week. Now he looks ahead to possibly being the team's first new No. 3 hitter in years and definitely being the focal point of the offense.
"We've got a big hole to fill," Holliday said. "That's going to take all of us to fill it. I think it feels different. It obviously feels that way now. It will be even more glaring when we get to spring training and look around and Tony's not there and Albert's not there. It's a new look. It's a new era in Cardinals baseball."
