“I think I owe it to my family,” Franklin said (per St. Louis Post-Dispatch)”I’ve missed a lot of things that have been going on. I don’t want to miss a lot more.

“If I wasn’t able to provide for my family and we weren’t going to be OK to the extent that either my wife or I would have to continue working, then I should play more. But I’m financially sound. I don’t see having to keep playing for that reason.”

The Post-Dispatch has a good article about his decision and his reasoning. When you read about his history it all makes sense. Pretty much him and his family are simple people and despite all his millions have more then enough to last a lifetime. “My wife doesn’t go out and spend money like we’re the Trumps,” Franklin said. “She takes care of business. I admire the way she handles it. We’ve got everything we need.”

What’s more a shock to me is seeing Ryan plan on retiring while he’s on the top of his game. In 2009 he saved 38 games (6th in MLB) with a 1.92 ERA (2nd amongst NL Closers). So far in 2010, he’s saved 12 out of 13 games with an ERA of 1.86. He’s been so lights out in 2010 that prior to Saturday’s game against the Oakland Athletics he has only given up two runs over two months.

Impressive stats especially for a pitcher of his age. I give him plenty of credit for walking away from the game while he’s doing so good, especially with the money that will be on the table after 2011 if his success continues.

Then again, will he be able to walk away if he gets a huge offer?

“I’ve talked to guys who have retired. And they say to play as long as they let you,” Franklin said. “But right now I just don’t see that for me. If I have a good year next year, somebody is going to have to throw some serious money at me to make me stick around for a one-year deal.”

But I’m back now and we’ll be getting back to talking sports, daily. To start thou I’lll throw out some links for you guys to check out.

Gunaxin – Ladys of the 2010 Indy 500
PSAMP – Mario Lemieux Hot Wheels Cars Are Awesome
Blogs with Balls – My Town – Chicago with Joakim Noah
Detroit 4 Lyfe – Kiss Cam Steve Yzerman Goodbye

Major League Jerk – Something to Think About Tonight…
Midwest Sports Fans – The Evolution of Phil Jackson
7th Inning Stache – Twins’ Brendan Harris Nearly Mauled By Squirrel: Pics
Moon Dog Sports – Finger Pointing Will Begin if Cardinals Don’t Start Hitting

Unatheltic Mag – Robin Lopez Is Overreacting Just A Bit
Intentional Foul – Suns Fans Have a Message For the Arizona Government
Arrowhead Addict – Jared Allen Cuts His Mullet Off
Guyism – Albert Haynesworth impregnated a stripperNFLF

Let’s first look at the two teams that have already bowed out, then the other teams that are still in the running.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - GM Tony Reagins told the Los Angeles Times that his team is not focused on Holliday, they’re more interested in resigning their own players, John Lackey and Chone Figgins. He also says they’ve had discussions with Vladimir Guerrero. If he can’t resign those three guys then things could obviously change, but it shows that Holliday is not at the top of their wish list.

I’m actually not surprised. If the Angels were to hit the free agent market their biggest need is a power bat. Outside of Kendry Morales the Angels lacked the type of player who can change a game in one swing of the bat. They’re a team that has to rely on their speed and timely hitting to make things happen, which is something they do quite well. But like they showed in the playoffs, that’s just not enough. You need that one bat who can change a game. Can Holliday be that kind of player?

The jury is still out. While in Colorado he put up the power numbers, but that’s no surprise. Between Oakland and St. Louis this past season he hit only 24 homers. He did hit .313, had a high on base percentage and could steal a few bases but he doesn’t really answer what the Angels need. If in a bind they may reenter the race but in all honesty I think they’ll keep Scott Boras on speed dial just to keep their east coast rivals honest.

New York Yankees – Much like Reagins, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has already said his team is focused on it’s own players. (Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte). After the huge spending spree last season who can blame them? There are two reasons I don’t think they’ll truly get involved. One they don’t have many holes and two there is a huge free agent class next winter. After winning the championship they can afford to go with what they got for one season. Look for them to stay in the race thou as well, just to keep the Red Sox honest.

I really believe the Holliday Sweepstakes to be a three team race, just a completely different group then Morosi suggested. In my opinion the teams with the best chances at landing him are the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and of course the Red Sox.

For the New York Mets, their main need is a power bat in reality they need any warm bodies they can get. For them I believe it will come down to what they favor most, all around production or pure power. If it’s power only then I think he’ll be giving Jason Bay a call, but if it’s all around they’ll be going all-in on Holliday. They’ve always got some money to spend and spending it on Matt could be their best decision since trading for Johan Santana.

Landing Holliday will also give the Mets something they really need, good publicity. A signing like that would allow them to steal the back pages from the World Champs for a couple days.

Boston Red Sox – For the Red Sox, I think it will also come down to who they favor more, Bay or Holliday. Jason was amazing in Boston the last couple years, showing a real feel for hitting in Fenway. His average at home is slightly above his season averages but his power numbers are slightly lower at home then on the road. Regardless, he showed he can perform in Beantown and that the pressure of such a place won’t get to him.

And that is the thing I think really separates him from Holliday. I have no doubts Holliday could perform well iin Fenway, actually at a much higher level then Bay BUT can he handle the pressure? While in Oakland he struggled mightily, part of it could of been learning the pitchers in a new league but there was also pressure on him there to produce. Once he was traded to St. Louis and he could be an accessory to Albert Pujols he took off.

I think Theo Epstein will push really hard for Holliday, while keeping Bay on the backburner if things fall through. Is that the right decision? Not sure, but the Sox really need to make some type of splash this off season and Matt would definitely help them do so.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a unique position. Holliday loved playing there and performed admirably during his time, but is that enough to overcome the money factor. With Boras as his agent, I’d say probably not BUT it could be enough if top teams in baseball keep bowing out of the race.

The Cardinals have already admitted they won’t cut the biggest check so they’ll need to get creative. To have a real chance at keeping the slugger I think they’ll have to bypass Boras and go straight to the player. They need John Mozeliak, Tony La Russa and probably a few players to keep giving Matt a call and persuade him St. Louis is where he wants to be. Get in his head, get in there enough to where he tells Boras I’ll take slightly less to play with these guys.

Will that happen? Probably not.

So what do I think will happen? I’m not sure at all. The Yankees and Angels say they aren’t interested but you can never count them out. In the end it will come down to money as it always does with star players but I have a feeling Matt will be staying in the National League. He looked more comfortable at the plate, in the field and in the dugout after his short stint in Oakland and the AL.

If there really is that much of a difference between the leagues for him, he’s got to weigh that in to his decision. If not he could be setting himself up for failure by going back to the American League.

The St. Louis Dispatch reports:

After opening the third inning with a fly out, Pujols returned to the Cardinals clubhouse to review video. There he predicted to assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete that his next at-bat would ricochet off the yet-to-open Royals Hall of Fame behind the visitors bullpen in left field. “He didn’t say he might hit the Hall of Fame. He said he would hit the Hall of Fame,” Aldrete recalled.

Pujols returned in the fourth inning against Royals starting pitcher Gil Meche with the bases loaded and one out in a 4-4 game. Pujols and Meche reached a full count. By then Meche had shown Pujols every pitch in his repertoire except a change-up. When Meche finally threw the pitch, Pujols swatted it some 423 feet off a Hall of Fame window.

Now I have to admit we’ve heard many stories where teammates claim to have called a shot, or that a player predicted he’d hit a homerun. Very rarely thou have we ever heard of a player pinpointing exactly where the ball will go.

There’s only one occurrence of this that i can think of. That was during the 1932 World Series when Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees pointed in the direction of center field on a 2-2 count and blasted a ball to deep right-center. There is still much debate to this day if that shot had even been called.

So did Pujols call yesterday’s shot? I don’t know but its a great story if he had.

There is one thing for sure thou. Albert Pujols is the BEST player in baseball. In fact he’s the best player in recent memory, sorry A-Rod but it’s true. With the way Pujols is toying with pitchers we can even start the argument about being the greatest of all time.

Adam Wainwright said, “Face it, I’m playing with the best player of all time. It’s ridiculous. You almost have to focus on what you’re doing because you can get caught up in what he’s doing. He’s that good.” ”

Pujols is currently on pace for 60 homers and 160 rbis. Those kind of numbers are just astounding when you consider the era we are in. The numbers might slack off a little but there’s know doubt that he’s the best player I’ve ever seen play.

Here’s a quote from teammate Skip Schumaker “After the second home run we just laughed. It’s just so easy. It’s a higher level. It’s like he’s here and everybody else is at Triple-A.”

“There are possibilities here and there, but nothing compelling,” team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr said regarding a middling pool of available trade possibilities. “There remain some clubs that now perceive themselves in the race that may fall out and move talent. But you can’t be certain of the market.”

So yea, it looks like Cardinals fans are stuck with what they’ve got right now. Which offensively isn’t too appealing. Yesterday for instance the Cards beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 thanks to two Pujols homeruns and a strong start by Brad Thompson. Unfortunately this is how the team is going to have to win games.

DeWitt suggests that the teams output has been because of injuries, citing specifically the long term absence of Troy Glaus and personal issues of Khalil Greene. “We really haven’t been at full strength all year,” DeWitt said. “Hopefully, in time, we will be.”

This could be true? But can those two really make such a difference.

In my opinion, not likely. Greene is highly over-rated, I know I drafted him for years to my fantasy baseball squad only to cut him by mid-season a couple of times. This year he’s batting the mendoza line .200 with 2 homers and 14 rbis over 105 at-bats. Over the course of his career he’s only hit for a .246 average so it’s not like he’s been having a huge slump. Just worse then usual.

Glaus could be a big boost but how much I’m not sure. The Cards have struggled to find a cleanup hitter all season and Glaus could fill that role. The issue with him is when he’ll be able to return. No one’s sure exactly when that will happen as he hasn’t even begun to swung a bat yet.

Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said, “He’s getting his strength back. He’s been cleared to start his throwing program, which will progress into a hitting program probably in the next week or so. The timetable is still quite unknown. It’s probably going to be somewhere between the All-Star Game and August 1 if he were to return.”

That’s not a good sign at all. If he were to return? That’s never a good sign. Basically with this time frame the Cardinals have to move forward like he’s not going to. DeWitt needs to realize that. Yes, your team is in the divisional race despite their struggles but you can’t expect that to continue. By the time Glaus returns they could of played themselves out of the race, by waiting.

There’s always an underlying reason, a reason that goes beyond the players and that’s money. The Cardinals reduced payroll this season by $8 million and are reluctant to add more. By trying to ride things out and wait for Glaus, he could lower the dollar price on any player he adds.

Take for instance Miguel Tejada. The Cardinals have had interest in him since last year but it hasn’t yet happened. Partly because of Astros owner Drayton McLane reluctance to trade as the team is still in the playoff race themselves. And partly because of Tejada’s cost, his contract for this is $13 million. If they wait till the All-Star break he’d only have half of that salary remaining and then become very affordable. The Astros are struggling financially and by then may realize they have to cut salary despite their position.

There are some other options who’d become very affordable around the All-Star break.

Seattle Mariners’ Adrian Beltre will have about $6 mil remaining and Cleveland Indians Mark DeRosa will be down to $2.75 million.

All would be salaries the Cardinals could and still be below last years payroll. DeRosa or Tejada would also serve another purpose. They are multi-position players that can help the Cardinals with that versatility.

Unfortunately just like all things in life, this is going to come down to money. The Cardinals need fans in the stands to be able to meet and possibly exceed payroll. They’ve sold their 3 millionth ticket this month but need more.

“Three million is always our goal — that and to be in the race to the end,” DeWitt said. “We’ve done better than (3 million) in recent years. I’d still say we’re having a good season in that respect, though some of the other revenue categories are down. That’s a function of the economy. But it’s important because nobody knew which way the economy was going. It hasn’t played out yet. We’re still not certain of how revenues will be across the board but we’re encouraged by attendance and what that means.”

The Cards can use some help offensively but unfortunately it won’t be for a while. In the meantime, they should take a look at what the Chicago Cubs have done with the firing of hitting coach Gerald Perry. Maybe they should take a look in that direction. Hal McRae has done a good job with the youngsters, but the veterans have clearly digressed.

What are your thoughts Cards fans?