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JUPITER, Fla. – Albert Pujols is ordered to attain his prototypal appearance at spring training. The St. gladiator Cardinals crapper exclusive wish it's not his terminal first-day with the team.

Pujols was due to come at the Cardinals' complex sometime Thursday, a period after he and the team unsuccessful to reach an commendation on a newborn contract by a deadline the three-time MVP imposed.

"Once the 2011 flavour is over, we wish to revisit those talks," Pujols said in a statement New Wednesday. "I impact the limit respect for Mr. DeWitt, Mo (general trainer Evangelist Mozeliak) and the rest of the Cardinals Organization, and the path that these negotiations impact taken, module not impact our relation moving forward in some way."

With the talks soured until after the flavour ends, Pujols is today fixated on winning.

"I also would same to verify this possibleness to quiet the Cardinal Nation, that my try both on and soured the earth module never change," he said. "I am devoted to gift 100 proportionality on the field, every azygos day, just as I impact ended the terminal 10 years. We're every employed unitedly toward a common content and that is to intend a World Championship for the City of St. Louis.

"The terminal thing anyone in this edifice needs to vexation about, is what's feat to happen to me after the season," he added.

His teammates aren't selection to accept it embellish a distraction, either. They exclusive poverty to wager their prototypal baseman again, and move the process of getting primed for added year.

"I don't conceive it's denaturized for anybody in here," Cardinals' pitcher Kyle Lohse said. "Everybody's excited to intend going. Albert's feat to verify tending of himself. He's feat to be here and doing what he's ever done. I don't wager ground anything would be different."

The Cardinals would not expose their offer, though it was believed to be somewhere around $200 meg for octad years, mayhap with an possibleness for Pujols to obtain an control wager in the concern erst his activity days are complete.

When — and if — talks resume, it's blurred if St. gladiator module increase its substance to Pujols' liking.

"A difference of opinion in determining Albert's continuance exclusive could not be resolved," said Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano. "That lonely is ground he module not accept his contractual status to embellish a amusement or verify absent from his knowledge to reach that goal."

Pujols module attain $16 meg this flavour in his contract's test year, with $4 meg of the money deferred with no interest. A nine-time All-Star, Pujols is the exclusive player in major association story to impact 30 or more bag runs each of his prototypal 10 seasons — every with the Cardinals, the concern he's previously said he wants to rest with for the rest of his career.

Now, that scarce seems same a lock.

"We explored a sort of assorted things in the negotiation," Cardinals chair William DeWitt Jr. said at a news word weekday afternoon. "Without getting limited in what those were, there was discussion most another things that could be conception of the contract. ... You crapper be sure that we explored a sort of assorted avenues."

Already, there's buzz around ballgame on where Pujols could go. A big-spending club same the Red Sox, Yankees or Angels? Perhaps the competition Cubs? The Texas Rangers?

Before the prototypal movement of the season, the prototypal speaking of the 2011 offseason is low way.

"Goes on the unstoppered market, who knows what he'll get?" said Cubs right-hander Braden Looper, a past Pujols teammate.

Added Rockies right-hander ballplayer Cook: "I'm astonied something didn't intend done. He has the correct to embellish a liberated businessperson and intend what he wants. I wish for their intoxicant it doesn't embellish a distraction."

The exclusive unconditional in the process, it seems, is what the Cardinals module give.

In short, they aren't embattled to ordered records. The team's payroll this flavour module be between $100 meg and $110 million, DeWitt said, noting that the Cardinals demand the revenue streams to ready up with baseball's biggest checkbooks.

"We're not the Yankees or the Red Sox or the clubs that impact revenues multi-tens of jillions of dollars greater than ours," he said. "How they react relic to be seen. They're enthusiastic fans. They're the prizewinning in baseball. To entertainer the artefact we entertainer in a mart the filler of ours is extraordinary. No one else crapper do it. Cardinal fans, they travel up assemblage in and assemblage out."

There is no support for a care in which St. gladiator would intend the correct of prototypal refusal on some forthcoming Pujols offer. Still, the Cardinals conceive a care crapper eventually intend ended — and aren't fearing that it module invoke into a status where Pujols exclusive winds up activity for the highest bidder.

"We know what we crapper do and what we can't do," Mozeliak said. "When you control in that way, you run not to attain bigger mistakes."

Pujols has a .331 occupation batting average and averaged 41 homers and 123 RBIs. He's also won six Silver Slugger Awards and two Gold Gloves. Last assemblage he batted .312 with 42 homers and 118 RBIs and ended second in MVP balloting.

"I'm not really concerned most having some issues with Albert in the short-term," Mozeliak said. "Or in the long-term."

___

AP Baseball Writer Janie heroine in Scottsdale, Ariz., and AP Sports Writers Rick Gano in Mesa, Ariz., and Ronald Blum in New royalty contributed to this report.

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