WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. • Less than two weeks remain before the Cardinals and three-time MVP first baseman Albert Pujols run into a deadline for the club and its iconic player to reach agreement on a contract extension.
An extension probably would make Pujols the highest-paid player in his league, if not the game.
Failure to reach agreement could intensify speculation that has mushroomed since the sides opened negotiations last month and redoubled when the club acknowledged a February deadline imposed by Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano.
Though Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed a deadline almost three weeks ago during the team's Winter Warm-Up, neither party has noted a specific date, believed to be Feb. 15. Pujols was bothered enough by Mozeliak's acknowledgement to question the club's professionalism during an 18-minute appearance the next morning. The Cardinals have said nothing since and apparently plan to hold their tongues until an agreement is forged or whatever deadline is in place passes.
The parties recently resumed talks after nearly two weeks of silence. The pause occurred after chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. minimized the significance of this month's deadline hours after Pujols' Jan. 16 appearance.
DeWitt has maintained that he believes the window for negotiations could remain open through spring training. However, implementation of the deadline in the first place probably reflected growing frustration by Lozano and his client about the virtual absence of negotiations last spring training and earlier this winter.
Both parties' adherence to a virtual media blackout on the matter has created a void inviting speculation and taking of sides by a fixated and increasingly apprehensive fan base.
Unless lines are redrawn this month, Pujols will pursue free agency if he enters the season unsigned beyond 2011. He and Lozano have offered no indication of waiving the blanket no-trade leverage Pujols gained after reaching 10 years of major-league service last October.
Last year, Mozeliak took questions about whether Mark McGwire's hiring as hitting coach would invite a circus atmosphere to Jupiter, Fla., for spring training. McGwire helped diminish the gawker element by giving a series of emotional interviews in early January, making an uncomfortable appearance during an event that came to be known as "The Riot at the Hyatt," then taking all questions once camp opened.
Mozeliak earlier this week declined to address the potential for Pujols' contract status serving as a distraction to this year's camp. Mozeliak said that merely addressing the question might give a negative impression that would not be helpful to ongoing talks. Given the swirl created by his earlier acknowledgement of a deadline for talks, Mozeliak probably has a point.
Extended silence would tacitly acknowledge that the matter has entered a sensitive public relations phase, one where both parties could emerge bruised by accusations of greed or arrogance.
While the Cardinals and McGwire suffocated lingering controversy over his hire with transparency, the team and its public face risk stoking dissent with open-ended silence.
Pujols is known to be leery of entering a back-and-forth similar to what transpired earlier this winter between another iconic figure, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, and the only team for which he has ever played.
Jeter, approaching the end stage of his career, had to accept a lesser contract as team captain. In contrast, Pujols, the game's most prolific player during his 10-year career, has never been the game's highest-paid player and only briefly had one of its top 10 salaries.
While the club maintains silence regarding its negotiating posture, Mozeliak and DeWitt previously offered hints. Mozeliak made clear in the aftermath of Ryan Howard's five-year, $125 million extension in Philadelphia that the Cardinals would approach any upcoming talks with Pujols based on how it projected future performance. He also stated Howard's deal was "independent" of Pujols' situation.
DeWitt made clear during an extended interview with the Post-Dispatch at Major League Baseball's winter meetings in Orlando that there was a limit on how much the franchise could commit to one player and that it would not be hostage to other organizations' excessive deals.
As if on cue, December's meetings became a stage for surprise deals showered upon free agent outfielders Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford. Werth, like Pujols a 31-year-old, received a seven-year, $126 million deal from the Washington Nationals without a 100-RBI season on his résumé. Crawford, who lacks a 20-home run season, commanded a seven-year, $142 million contract from the Boston Red Sox. Of course, the Cardinals crossed the seven-year threshold last January while retaining free agent left fielder Matt Holliday with a $120 million package.
At his client's urging, Lozano has offered little public comment during the last 11 months about the process. However, that hasn't prevented sources close to Team Pujols from noting the first baseman's disappointment over a process that has never reached high gear.
Now, less than two weeks remain before the Cardinals and Pujols either reach an 11-hour agreement or enter a season offering varying shades of grey.
