Albert Pujols

Let's be serious for just a little while.

Albert Pujols is (whether you believe it or not) the face of the Cardinals' respective franchise, and that's just how things are.  And if a new contract is not offered to St. Louis' sporting savior, Pujols will not be involved in contract negotiations through Spring Training, nor the regular season.

This is a problem.

As much as you'd love to disagree with the fact that Pujols is the most important asset the Cardinals currently attain, the fact of the matter is that it is true.

Led by manager Bruce Bochy, the Giants will enter the 2011 season as the defending World Series champions for the first time since their days in New York, and they hope to find a way to repeat.

With an exception of the acquisition of shortstop Miguel Tejada and the departures of shortstop Edgar Renteria and second baseman Juan Uribe, the 2011 Giants will have a very similar feel to the squad that won it all in 2010.

With every passing day that the St. Louis Cardinals and their star slugger remain far apart in contract extension talks, speculation grows as to where the future Hall of Famer will take his talents next season.

It is almost a foregone conclusion that, barring catastrophic failures, Alex Rodriguez will replace Barry Bonds as baseball’s all-time home run leader.  After he does, however, is there any other current player with a realistic chance of reaching 784 (Rodriguez’s projected total) and beyond?

Could that player be Albert Pujols?

Possibly, but it’s not likely.

It seems like a ridiculous statement to make, but at $100 million ($116 million since St. Louis exercised their 2011 option) over the term of his last contract, Albert Pujols was an absolute steal for the Cardinals. It is safe to assume that his next contract will not be quite the bargain for the team that winds up signing him this coming off season.

Spring Training is less than a month away and with that comes the start of many fantasy baseball leagues.  Owners, if your looking to put together that unstoppable team, don't stress about who are steals and who are busts.  Here is a preview of the top 100 fantasy players for the 2011 season.     

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It’s true: The Cardinals without Albert Pujols is like Corn Flakes without the milk. It’s like the Colts without Peyton Manning. It’s like Oney Guillen without his Twitter account. 

But it could happen. Pujols has set a February 19 deadline to strike an extension deal with the Cardinals, and reports say the two sides will need a lot of steam to iron out these differences.

Ah, the time has come.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we now stand just weeks away from what looks to be another memorable opening day for Major League Baseball.

After a confounding postseason in which we crowned the San Fransisco Giants world champions once more, many teams find themselves in a promising situation heading into the regular season.

However, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  This is just spring training, as we all know.

So as preparation for the regular season begins to heat up, let's take a look at each team's status.

Albert Pujols is the face of the St. Louis Cardinals and the superstar of his era. In fact, he’s likely up there with Ozzie Smith and others who are considered Cardinals legends.  As a result, when he asked for a Spring Training deadline to negotiate a contract extension, I figured they would be able to get it done.

The Super Bowl, the greatest event in sports, is only moments away. Which means baseball, my humble submission for the greatest sport, is just around the corner.

Spring training is fast approaching, and with it, Albert Pujols' self-imposed deadline for a contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals. By Feb. 18, Pujols expects to be the highest paid player in baseball history, relevant to his status in the game today, or else.

The “or else” part of that is getting very interesting.