The Market for Pujols

When the news came down that Adam Wainwright's elbow would require Tommy John surgery, aside from feeling relief that he's not on my fantasy team this year, I immediately thought of how this impacts Albert Pujols impending free agency.

The St. Louis Cardinals were

already facing an uphill battle against defending NL Central Champion Cincinnati Reds. The loss of Wainwright for the entire season means the Cards have even more work to do.

I hate speculating about potential off-season moves, especially when we stand a few short weeks away from opening day, but let's face it, everyone's thinking about it. Another failure to make the playoffs will all but seal Albert's departure. The list of those lining up for his services will be long, but most have zero chance, realistically.

All the big dogs have long term options at first base. The Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Reds and Phillies have Teixeira, Gonzalez, Cabrera, Votto and Howard, respectively, and won't be in pursuit. That's 5 down, but there's still 25 more. We'll take a second to acknowledge the team's whose entire payroll won't compare to Pujols' salary. You can cross of Florida, Tampa, Cleveland, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Houston, San Diego, Minnesota, Oakland and Arizona. Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle all have big time prospects ready to bust out in Freeman, Belt and Smoak.

It's an even dozen now.

We have to assume Pujols won't resign, eliminating the Cardinals. The Mets are a joke, so forget them. The Rangers have a ton of money tied up with their offense and are in desperate

need of pitching. White Sox GM, Kenny Williams is never afraid to get creative, but with Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko signed for the next few years, they won't have the flexibility to land Sir Albert. Toronto is in re-build mode and after unloading the disastrous Vernon Wells' contract, they won't likely put themselves in the same position. Milwaukee will also be losing their big-time first baseman, slugger Prince Fielder, further saturating the market and giving interested parties a Plan B. They've made it clear they're going for broke this year and have little faith in getting either man signed after this season. The Dodgers are still sorting out the McCourt divorce mess and while they've shown they can spend this winter, James Loney is still young and very affordable. Colorado doled out somewhere in the range of $200 million to re-up Tulo and Car-Go, plus will need to find a few shekels for Ubaldo Jimenez.

That leaves four. Each one with a legitimate shot at Pujols.

First off there's the Los Angeles Angels. After missing out on Carl Crawford, they'll be eager to make a splash. Unfortunately, they always seem to be a day late and a dollar short when it comes to the big free agent. I can't see them pulling the trigger with that kind of money at stake.

Next we have the Baltimore Orioles. The O's are intriguing for a lot of reasons. First off,

Baltimore is a great baseball town with a fantastic ballpark. Their history is deep, despite years of agony in the AL East. Staring up at the Yankees and Red Sox for a decade has to get old. Ownership could decide this is the time to make a move and extend a mega-deal for Albert. Ultimately, I don't think Pujols risks having to compete for a playoff spot with two teams that have done whatever it takes to get there.

Everyone expects the Cubs to be a major player here as well. It makes a lot of sense. They've been good, but never great. And how do you go from good to great? Signing the best player in the league definitely helps. They've set themselves up to make a run by signing Carlos Pena to only a one year deal this past offseason, giving them a giant hole to fill at first base. Pujols can justify taking a huge payday by playing the hero role. He can say he wants to be the one to end the Curse of the Billy Goat and finally bring a championship to the Cubbies. Chicago would put him right up there with Michael Jordan if he could resurrect the Cubs.

And then there's the Nationals. Last year, they would have been on the joke list and rightfully so. But these aren't your father's Nationals. Back-to-back years of number one picks have yielded the phenoms, Strasburg and Harper. Strasburg will miss 2011 but should be ready to roll for 2012, about the same time Harper should have ascended to the show. The signing of Jayson Werth may have seemed insane, but it added legitamacy to the Nats and made it known that they were serious about changing the culture in the Nation's capital. A very young line-up could re-energize Pujols without draining him of the ability to play for a winner. Between Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Wilson Ramos, Harper and Werth, they could be quite enticing to a basher like Pujols. If another of their pitching prospects develops we could see a very dangerous squad. And you can't tell me other free agents wouldn't line up to play for that team if Pujols signs on.

It may be a long shot, but crazier things have happened. Hell, no one saw the Rangers landing A-Rod or the Phillies Cliff Lee. We've proved the market will be thin and the Nationals could put together the best pitch to land the talent of a lifetime. Much can happen between now and November, but rest assured, one thing that won't change is everyone guessing where Albert Pujols will call home next year.

Now is Not the Time

The relationship between a city and its head football coach is an important one. If your city doesn't like its coach, then nothing on the field really matters. On Monday morning, no matter how the game turned out, the coach iscriticized in some way, shape or form. Philadelphia has never been in love with Andy Reid. With the Eagles most recent first round playoff departure, many are calling for Reid's 12-year tenure as Head Coach to come to an end.

The naysayers will point to Reid's misdiagnosis of the talent he had at quarterback. What little faith he get by shipping Donovan McNabb's sorry behind to Washington, he quickly lost when he had no idea who would be taking snaps each week. He first named Kevin Kolb the starter. Then when Kolb got hurt he plugged in Mike Vick. But while Vick was starting in Kolb's stead, Kolb was still officially the starter. Just an injured starter. Then Vick played out of his mind

and won the job outright. Then his reckless play caught up to him and he injured his ribs, putting Kolb back in - but only temporarily.

As mismanaged as it was, it ultimately worked out pretty well as the Eagles won 10 games and the NFC East. But with an inexcusable loss to the Vikings on Tuesday Night Football, with a chance at a bye-week on the line, the team never recovered. Reid rested the starters against Dallas in week 17 and then waited until the 4th quarter to get it going against Green Bay.

It's easy to blame Reid for his teams lack of preparation and focus. And don't even get me started on his horrible time management. I can't remember the last time the Eagles actually won a challenge or had a timeout remaining under 10 minutes to go in the game. But let's look at what Reid did this year and evaluate it without the bias we all so vehemently hold against Big Red.

The Eagles turned parted ways with two of their most recognizable players of the last decade in the same off season. No more Donovan and no more Brian Westbrook. He couldn't have expected to truly compete this year and balked at spending money on the defensive side of the ball via free agency. Julius Peppers wanted to come to Philadelphia, but Reid wouldn't pony up the cash required to reel him in. Instead, he drafted two promising defenders, D-End Brandon Graham from Michigan and Safety Nate Allen from USF. Both had solid season that unfortunately ended on Injured Reserve. One of the league's best corner backs, Asante Samuel, was also plagued by a bum knee all season and inside linebacker Stewart Bradley played with his head in the clouds after a week one concussion before dislocating his elbow on a gruesome play later in the season.

And with all these injuries, Reid still managed to guide them to the playoffs. If there was a legitimate replacement to Reid out there, I would consider replacing him. But Bill Cowher isn't an option and either is Jon Gruden. I don't want to kick Reid to the curb only to replace him

with an Eric Mangini or some unknown defensive coordinator or college head coach. Now that Reid knows what he has in Michael Vick, give him an off season to put together a plan. Last season lacked consistency because of all the changes he had to make on the fly because of the unknown with his personnel. Now is not the time to make a change.

Nnamdi Asomugha is a free agent and would fit nicely opposite Samuel. Haloti Ngata is also a

free agent and could be a menace anchoring the defensive line. And there's always Albert Haynesworth. The Eagles have a reputation of being penny-pinchers, but when it comes to a need position they are always willing to spend. Unlike some teams just down I-95 who spend for the sake of spending, Philadelphia evaluates the cost of a free agent versus drafting a rookie at the same position and have generally had good success. The opened their wallets for Asante and Jason Peters when they needed them and I think they will do the same this year. If they move Kolb for a first round pick they can start to rebuild the offensive line as well. The skill position players are some of the most dynamic and dangerous in the league. DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin are nice weapons for Vick and another year of working together and developing a rapport will only help.

It sounds crazy to even suggest this to Philadelphia fans, but just be patient. Reid may not be the best coach in the league, but he's gotten to a handful of NFC championship games and one Super Bowl and knows his time is running out. That sense of urgency will work in his favor and his constructs a contender in 2011. He gets more blame when they lose and never enough credit when they win. I've turned a corner on Andy Reid this year. I see the fire and passion in his eyes. Big things are yet to come and Reid will be at the helm for all of it.