After the 1987 season a significantly pre-orange Jack Clark signed with the Yankees. I was eight and convalescing from the World Series. My dad had the talk with me, the talk about New York, and about why guys go there, and why players leave at all. When you’re eight years old you assume they’re all playing for free, because why wouldn’t they?

Yesterday surprised me by being blameless. I don’t blame the Cardinals for not signing Pujols even though he might be one of the ten best players ever. I don’t blame the Angels for signing him because he might be one of the ten best players ever. I don’t even blame Pujols for leaving. If I could trade the dirgey barrens of St. Louis for proximity to three-day parkhoppers for my kids and all-you-can-eat sunshine, I’d do it. For free. 

Maybe it’s because they just won the World Series which is a get-out-of-jail-free card stress-wise and means you can actually enjoy baseball for a full season, decompressed. But my despair/anger yesterday almost felt ceremonial. The Cardinals lagged and the Angels ambushed them. DeWitt and Mozeliak got beat like floor toms. What’s next? 

This is the only argument that makes sense for applying the DH to the National League: it’s insurance against your early-aging-period stars bolting for the league that actually prolongs the careers of hitters. Pujols will be DHing in three years and everyone knows it. He knows it, is the point. He ate hot dogs and nachos installing that spare tire we were all DADT about for the last two years knowing he could always go to an AL team and be David Ortiz. Pujols is in hog heaven right now. 

After Jack Clark left the Cardinals signed Bob Horner to play first base. My dad tried to convince me there’d be no falloff but his heart wasn’t in it. Opening day against the Reds, the Cardinals loaded the bases in the first inning and Horner came up and I don’t remember what happened, I think he popped up or something. Anyway I’m not equating Pujols leaving to Clark leaving, I’m not in that much denial. And I’m not equating Lance Berkman to Bob Horner, even, or the Cardinals’ disastrous 1988 season to 2012. Title defenses are incredibly hard and I wish Albert Pujols had been part of this one. But I’m not sad he’s gone. 

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