Well, it was some kind of eventful day at MLB's winter meetings. You can't ask for much more, other than asking Terry Francona to get some new glasses. C'mon Terry, you're on TV now. They look like tiny Harry Potter glasses. I digress. The big news of the day was the signing of Albert Pujols with the Angels. The contract info seems to be 10 years, $254 million in total. That's an awful lot of money. Pujols is now "31" years old. The age is in quotes because we know how accurate those Dominican birth certificates are. Just ask Miguel Tejada, who went from 32 to 34 overnight when ESPN got hold of his real birth certificate. That means that Pujols will be making roughly $25 million when he's "41" years old. We can assume by then that Albert will be a shell of his former self, if he's even in the game at all.
The Angels have drawn tons of criticism for this move. Critics attack the deal mainly for its length. I'd like to give the other side of the argument. Yes, you may be paying him wayyyy too much when he's 41, but how much is he worth to your franchise over the first 6+ years of that contract? He makes the team an instant World Series contender. There will be a ton of hype surrounding the team -- from ESPN and national TV games, to new sponsorship money, to the Latin Americans who will become Angel fans. Plus, who wants to be a Dodgers fan anyway? That team is turmoil (even though they do have some studs). You can assume that he will be worth more to his franchise than the $250 million plus that they are paying him. For superstars like Albert (and I don't know if you can compare him to anyone; he's probably the best baseball player of all-time), I don't think there's a price-tag that is too high. You pay these guys for their popularity as much as their on-field production.
News also broke that the Angels signed C.J. Wilson. Wilson struggled for the Rangers in the playoffs this year but has been an effective pitcher for the Rangers over the last couple years. I don't want to make this into a preview, but Haren, Weaver, Wilson, and Santana are about as formidable a top four as you can get. The Angels fittingly went from about 18:1 to 9:2 co-favorites to win the World Series. If you were lucky enough to bet them before this all went down, you're in business.
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