TEMPE, Ariz. • Contractually speaking, Albert Pujols doesn't want to talk about the Cardinals.

"Let's talk about this organization," the new Los Angeles Angels first baseman said firmly on Saturday. "I don't need to sit here and talk about the Cardinals. That's in the past, and that's the reality. As soon as I made my decision (to leave), I flipped that page. I'm not looking to the right. I'm not looking to the left. I'm looking straight forward."

Well, yes and no.

Pujols, who signed a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels in December after 11 record-setting seasons in St. Louis, might be putting the organization in his rear-view mirror, but not its players.

"I still talk to those guys," Pujols said. "Skip (Schumaker) just sent me a text. I'm still in touch.

"That's my family, man. I had a lot of fun with those guys. That's what you build out of this game. Just because you're wearing a different uniform, that doesn't mean the relationship is going to change. At the end of your career, that's what you've built: the great relationships where you can still keep in touch off the field.

"I've got so much respect for those guys. I'm still in touch with them. I was part of a great, great team last year."

And Pujols said his former team will prosper this year.

"They'll be OK," Pujols said. "Carlos Beltran is going to be good. (Lance) Berkman is going to be good again. Matt (Holliday) is going to do his thing. They've got (Rafael) Furcal. … They have a pretty good ballclub."

One former teammate Pujols has particular interest in is outfielder Allen Craig, who starred when healthy last year but was healthy for only about one-third of the season.

"Craig is the guy that is going to do a good job whenever he gets that chance," Pujols said. "Just leave him alone, and he'll do all right."

The interleague schedule does not have the Angels and Cardinals playing this season, but Pujols said he and his former teammates haven't ruled out a meeting after the regular season is over.

"That's what we keep talking about — hopefully we'll see you in the World Series," Pujols said.

Although the first full-scale workout for the Angels won't be until Monday, Pujols has been in camp for nearly a week and already has made an impression

"The biggest thing is how professional he is," hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. "Not too many guys come in that early and do the things that he does. He's just been a great guy. He says, 'Hi,' to everybody. What happens a lot of times is when you get a player like that, it intimidates a lot of the players.

"But all these players are relaxed around him because they see what kind of guy he is. Not only a great player but a great person. And he just brings that every day in here. He's just been a joy to work with. Pujols has brought a lot to our team."

Hatcher said he thought he, in turn, could bring very little in return to Pujols.

"He's going to coach me," Hatcher joked.

Veteran Angels manager Mike Scioscia has as much respect for Pujols' accomplishments as anybody, calling him "arguably, the best player in baseball." But Scioscia hasn't been shy about tweaking Pujols.

Hatcher said: "(Pujols) has been getting beat up in the morning meetings. He's ... up to about 10 lunches that he has to buy for the team. Whatever comes up, Mike just looks at him and says, 'Pujols, you're paying for that.'"

In that respect, Pujols is "the man," although he recently took umbrage with an Angels marketing campaign that was splashing billboards around Southern California around bearing the words "El Hombre."

Pujols had been wary of being called "El Hombre" in St. Louis because of his reverence for Stan "The Man" Musial.

"I just think people were overblowing it," Pujols said Saturday. "People think I don't respect Stan, and I do. I don't even need to talk about this."

Pujols is not in totally unfamiliar circumstances here. Former Cardinals righthander Dan Haren is one of the Angels' aces.

Former Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen is trying to make the club from nonroster status.

Isringhausen, a fan of the Pujols ethic, said, "He's not real vocal about things. But if these young guys watch the way he works, everything will take care of itself. Everybody here has talent, but you see his work ethic, you realize why he's got the talent he's got."

Scioscia envisions the righthanded-batting Pujols and switch-hitting Kendrys Morales as a serious 3-4 punch in the middle of the lineup if Morales can show he finally is recovered from a fractured leg suffered in a home-plate scrum after he hit a game-winning grand slam against Seattle in May 2010. He hasn't played since.

In his 13th season as Angels manager, Scioscia has had several outstanding hitters on his club, notably the free-swinging Vladimir Guerrero, who never saw a pitch he didn't like.

"Albert is Vlad with discipline," Scioscia said. "You've seen the Tony Gwynns. You've seen the Wade Boggses. You've seen the power guys who put up incredible numbers. Barry Bonds — even before you want to talk about (performance enhancements) — was a great hitter. Vlad Guerrero. But I don't think we've seen a hitter bring the total package together like Albert.

"Not only in the batter's box, but the way he plays defense and the way he runs the bases. … There's a lot of excitement."

While Hatcher jokingly said he can't help Pujols, he feels that Pujols can help such young hitters as outfielders Peer Bourjos and Mike Trout and first baseman -third baseman Mark Trumbo just by being himself.

"Look at how calm he is at the plate," Hatcher said. "Look how relaxed he is. To have Pujols here, where they can see all that, is a great teaching tool. To have probably the best hitter in this era on your team is a joy to watch. He can educate some of the young hitters just by playing."

From his experiences playing against Scioscia teams for three interleague series in St. Louis, Pujols said, "There are no selfish players. That's what I saw from them. Whatever it took to win the game that night, that's what they did — where it was stealing a bag or getting a guy over or a sacrifice fly. They play the game the way Tony (La Russa) taught us how to play the game in St. Louis for 11 years."

Pujols, in short, calls himself "a winning player and that's what I'm going to try to do here. It's a new chapter in my life. I did my job (in St. Louis), and I'm going to try to do it here."

Technically, Pujols hasn't left St. Louis. His Pujols Family Foundation still is based in the city, although Pujols suggested that might change. He lived in St. Louis this past offseason although, but he said he might move in the future.

"I haven't made that decision yet," he said. "Probably within the next year I'll make that decision. It's a decision my wife and I will make, and it will be whatever is best for my kids and my family. I don't think about myself.

"It's what's best for my family. Find a good school for (son) A.J. and the (other) kids and go from there."

Hatcher said, "I can imagine St. Louis is going to miss (Pujols). But at least they didn't burn their jerseys like they did in Cleveland with that basketball player. Remember all that?"

The Angels' coach couldn't remember the name Lebron James, who has made a significant impact with his second team, the Miami Heat.

The Angels are looking for much of the same. After all, they have been to just one World Series in their 52-season history. Pujols has been to three in 11 years.