Two weeks have passed since it first came out — maybe since it most recently came out — that the St. Louis Cardinals were ready to talk about negotiating some time in the future on Albert Pujols' contract. At the time, that was exciting news; for a Cardinals team that's seemed focused mostly on matters of internal discipline while the Milwaukee Brewers added Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum and the Cincinnati Reds — okay, the Cincinnati Reds signed Miguel Cairo to a two-year contract (Hi, Walt!) — the Pujols contract is the last thing holding them up from making plausible and potentially interesting future plans.
↵But here we are two weeks later and Pujols remains unsigned, and the Cardinals remain focused on incredibly minor, lateral movements of the remaining infield deck chairs.
↵I am waiting for the blade of the guillotine to come down on my neck — at this point I'm just curious to see what it feels like. Eight years, $200 million? Seven years, $200 million? Am I being too optimistic? Once my head is severed the Cardinals can't start making plans again. (That's where the metaphor breaks down...)