In case you haven’t heard, the Angels are in contract negotiations with Albert Pujols aka the Greatest Player in the Game.
Or they aren’t. It sort of depends on who you ask. And, as of Tuesday night, even the standard top reporters in the rumor mill can’t seem to figure it out.
Is it for real? Is it a bluff? Is it just bad reporting?
To be honest, I kind of don’t care because it has given me a chance to dream, if only for one night.
A guy can dream, can’t he?
I think this tweet sums up the Angels-Pujols quagmire best:
ScottMCBSSports Scott Miller Lots of lobby buzz from scouts swearing Angels are mystery team on Pujols, but multiple sources tell me Angels are not in on Pujols.3 minutes ago
There is probably about a 90% chance that all the conflicting rumors are going to create some sort of logical paradox that will cause the Winter Meetings to implode, leaving just a smoldering black hole where the Hilton Anatole Hotel used to be.
But me? I’m doing just fine. In fact, I’m downright euphoric.
The mere thought of seeing arguably the best player of my lifetime and one of the best to ever play the game spending the next decade in an Angel uniform is enough to put a smile on my face that will last for days, even if the notion of the Halos actually signing Pujols doesn’t last more than a few hours. This would be the biggest of big splashes. This would be a move that would vault the Angels into the ranks of the elite teams and not just a team lurking on the fringe always wishing they could play with the big boys but never having the courage to get in the game.
Is it a ridiculous amount of money over a moronic number of years? Absolutely. The logical part of my brain is outraged by the notion of it, but the reptilian part of my brain is screaming, “ME LIKEY PUJOLS! ME LIKEY HOMERS!!!! WORLD SERIES!!! WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The screaming is so loud the perfectly rational protestations of the right brain are totally drowned out.
Look, I’m a realist, I get it. There is probably at best a 5% chance that the Angels sign Pujols, and that might be an extremely generous assessment. But that hope of signing him gives me, well, hope. Hope that this new front office regime is willing to do something bold. Hope that Arte Moreno is no longer content to watch his teams win division titles and then flameout in the playoffs. Hope that one of these days the Angels will be linked to a big name free agent and actually land him.
For now, I’m clinging to all that hope. Once Pujols finally picks a team, I’ll let my normal analytical side take over and breakdown what it all really means in the grand scheme of things. Until that happens though, I’m going to enjoy this little dream.