Countdown

Albert Pujols has stated he will not negotiate with the Cardinals after February 18. Which means: if no agreement is reached in the next 11 days, 2011 will essentially be a lame duck season for the Cardinals slugger.

I'm not in the "sign Abert at any cost" camp. The players themselves remind us how baseball is a business, and no business should overpay for a commodity. But if not resolved one way or another, the situation could create some interesting dynamics this season. (Albert, who has a no-trade clause, has also ruled out that possibility.)

We are also facing a March deadline in the NFL. The worst case scenario: the Cardinals playing with their best player one foot out the door, and no football!

I liked it better when these were games rather than businesses, and countdowns came at the end of exciting games rather than contract negotiations.