Tony La Russa talks on Albert Pujols negotiation
Albert Pujols is up for negotiation with the St. Louis Cardinals and while the deadline is about to end, manager of the club, Tony La Russa was the only man to talk about the situation.
"They're working to get it set", La Russa said. "Fingers crossed. In the meantime, we've got a really good club, and he's a part of it - and we've got to get ready. I keep hearing this thing about distractions. You allow yourself to get distracted".
La Russa went on to say that the club was not going to get distracted in any case. La Russa went on to explain that this meant there would be a lot of questions unanswered in this case. He went on to say that he expected the players to act in the same manner.
He reiterated that this wasn’t what they were focused to do this season.
The Cardinals manager was able to talk about the excessive pressure placed on the players by the Major League Baseball Players’ Association.
He pointed at them as running for increased salary wages that increased the weight of the deal on the stars.
"I've been through it for many years, going way back to Chicago" La Russa said.
"The pressure that a high-profile player receives from the union and his representatives to push for the last dollar, ...I don't think that's a real healthy part of our game".
La Russa explained it further by stating the Major League Baseball Players Association Union was involved as well as they are looking out for the best interests of the player, setting the bar perpetually higher.
La Russa then talked about Albert Pujols in depth. He said Pujols wouldn’t heed more to the words of the Union and his representatives, than his family. But doing so would put the player in an unfair position.
Nevertheless, even though Albert is a good player, this practice does occur annually on every team. La Russa personally doesn’t accept the practice and believes it’s not about the money involved but the situation that prevails.
La Russa pointed the finger of blame towards the Union and the representatives of the player.
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