Albert Pujols: Will He Come To the Chicago Cubs?

The days are up for the St. Louis Cardinals to sign all-world first baseman Albert Pujols, as the player's self-imposed deadline for a contract extension has eclipsed. Pujols appears ready to test the free agent waters.

After years of being massively underpaid, Pujols wants to be shown the money, to the tune of a record breaking 10-year $300 million contract.

With the Cardinals location in a small market and seemingly no way of being able to offer up that size of a contact, it seems very likely “The Machine” will be setting up camp somewhere else next season.

So round up the old “W” Flag, break out your cubby blue baseball cap, and throw some “Go Cubs Go” on the stereo and let’s welcome Prince Albert to the friendly confines, right?

It all makes sense now doesn’t it? A team with seemingly no light at the end of a century-long traveled tunnel, trading five prospects for a pitcher who has never proven himself to be a top the rotation pitcher in Matt Garza.

But for a team on the doorstep of signing a 40 HR and 120 RBI guy (yes those are the standards Pujols has set for himself) it’s not about prospects, it’s about winning now.

Isn’t the Carlos Pena 1 year $10 million dollar signing crystal clear now? Sure Pena is getting paid around $500,000 for every hit he had last year (OK it wasn’t that bad but somewhere Mario Mendoza is asking for it to be renamed the Pena Line), but he does have power and given a good year he could find himself moving to the outfield, after Pujols shakes Jim Hendry’s hand at the introductory press conference.

If Pena struggles, well it’s only a one year deal and Pujols will be in fold as his first base replacement.

I can see it now, Wrigley Field coming alive with Carlos Zambrano and Garza teaming up to form a duo as likely to pitch a no hitter as they are to hit a teammate. Starlin Castro building on his .300 hitting rookie season and continuing to amaze us with his out of this world range at short stop.

A healthy Aramis Rameriz becoming the run producer he once was and the Robin to Pujols’s Batman. And oh yeah, that Pujols guy carrying the Cubs to a World Series championship. Yes it all makes sense.

Or maybe this is just another pipe dream in the debilitating disease known as Cubdom.