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Definitely have a lot of mixed emotions about this.

I am grateful to have seen a future Hall of Fame player in a Cardinals uniform for 11 seasons. Time will tell if those were the best years of his career. We saw so many home runs and gold glove plays as well as Albert’s pure baseball instinct. I will appreciate all of that forever as a Cardinal fan and a fan of the game.

I am happy for Albert and the Angels. Talent deserves to be rewarded and a quarter billion dollars is an amazing amount of money. I guess the Angels can afford it thanks to their new $3 billion Fox Sports television contract. They now have a real threat in the middle of their lineup and a new star to attract disgruntled Dodger fans.

I feel bad for all the five year old kids in their Pujols t-shirts and the lesson this taught them about loyalty.

I feel good about Cardinal management. They were aware of Albert’s age and the likely impacts of past and current injuries on his future performance. Also, did they see a hole in his swing as Albert hit into one double play after another in 2011? Nevertheless, they offered more than they should to make their fans happy and to give Albert an opportunity to become a Cardinal legend.

I’m a little relieved and very optimistic about the future.

This contract has been hanging over our heads for a couple of years. I’m glad it’s over and that management didn’t mortgage the next decade on one player.

It is a little late and I don’t see any obvious moves in the free-agent pool other than maybe Rollins at short. Don’t know enough about the relievers on the market but the bullpen would be a good place to drop some cash for 2012.

Management has worked hard to restock the farm system and the Cards have some prospects that should have a real impact in a year or two. With a couple of tweaks, I’d be willing to muddle through 2012 with the current roster and use Albert’s $20+ million a year to improve the team when the right deals come along.

Finally, I’m mostly glad that Albert is going to the American League and won’t be in a Cub uniform.

Sorry to be so windy but this topic has been on the minds of a lot of folks around here the last couple of days. It feels good just to get it off my chest.