Albert Pujols: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak Speaks the Truth About Loss of Slugger

When the Los Angeles Angels inked slugging first baseman Albert Pujols to a monstrous 10-year contract, it was a pretty big deal for them.

But for the St. Louis Cardinals, who got to have Pujols for 11 seasons, losing the best all-around player in baseball was really no big deal.

At least, so says general manager John Mozeliak.

Mozeliak spoke about Pujols' departure at the open of the Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up on Saturday, taking the opportunity to downplay the effect that the loss of Pujols is going to have on the team.

"With where we want to go and how we operate, it just creates new opportunities for us," Mozeliak said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "As I look back on it, I don't think I can look at it any other way than spilled milk at this time. It's not something I think we can sit here and (obsess over). It's time to move on."

You heard it here first. Albert Pujols: spilled dairy product.

I'll tell ya, 445 home runs and a lifetime .328 batting average just aren't worth what they used to be.

To be fair, though, "spilled milk" aren't the words we should be focusing on. Before Mozeliak said that, he said that the "right decision ended up happening."

He's right about that. In fact, Mozeliak is right about everything he said. Though losing Pujols hurts, not having him is by no means going to kill the Cardinals.

The Cardinals are going to be missing quite a bit of production, no doubt about that, but it would be a stretch to say that they have been robbed of their ability to win games. The Cardinals deserve more credit than that, as they are and still were a truly complete team. They led the National League in runs scored in 2011, and they also had a 3.74 team ERA.

Besides, the Cardinals may be losing Pujols, but they will have a few other additional pieces in place in 2012. Adam Wainwright will be back, the team signed veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals can also look forward to having full seasons from Rafael Furcal and David Freese.

The team as a whole will have to pick up the slack left over from Pujols' departure, but don't underestimate the Cardinals' ability to do that. Good pitching goes a long way, and the loss of Pujols has not robbed the Cardinals of the balance they have up and down their projected lineup.

And of course, it cannot be ignored that the Cardinals have plenty of financial flexibility going forward now that they don't have to pay Pujols' gigantic salary. If they struggle in 2012, they will have the funds to fix their problems ahead of the 2013 season.

Basically, Cardinals fans who feel disillusioned at the loss of Pujols should have faith in the Cardinals organization as a whole. After all, Pujols doesn't win six NL Central titles and two World Series unless he has a good team around him.

He may be gone, but the good team is still there.