Top 10 Albert-A-Geddon Takeaways

Albert Pujols has set a deadline for Wednesday for contract negotiations. As always, FTT has what you need to know...

10) We can assume the February 16 deadline is set in stone, since Albert would never overshadow the big President's Day weekend

9) Given that the Yankees have Mark Teixeira, and the Red Sox have Adrian Gonzalez, it's not a given that there's going to be a team with the big money to sign him next year

8) On some level, you have to wonder if the Phillies overpaid Ryan Howard just to cause this problem

7) When Kyle Lohse tells you the negotiations won't be a distraction, you can believe him, because Kyle Lohse's concentration is just that total

6) If you want to make Cardinals Fan cry, just photoshop Albert in a Cubs jersey

5) Pujols is said to want 10 years for $30 million a year, because tying up a quarter of a team's budget on a 41-year-old first baseman is just the blueprint for winning championships

4) Luckily for all concerned, these negotiations are being kept very private, which is why they led off every sports telecast

3) Pujols has the right to veto any trade proposal, which shows the Cardinals should have shipped him off by now

2) Even if the team does lose him, they'll just make do by signing a bunch of rag-arm pitchers that Dave Duncan will turn into something useful

1) If this was going down in New York, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles, you'd have been hearing about it for months, if not years