Daily Dose: Oct. 15 - We can dream can't we...

about 2012 and beyond....

but the reality is Albert Pujols will probably stay in St. Louis.
think about it - the top two usual suspects for mega money deals will have their first base positions locked up for years. Mark Texiera is already in New York and I believe the Red Sox will trade some of its young pitching talent (perhaps even Aurora's Michael Bowden) to Milwaukee to get Prince Fielder before he hits free agency in 2012 and lock him up to a long term deal.

That leaves a couple of other big spenders out west...
Current Dodgers first baseman James Loney is under their control through 2012 - that's not to say they wouldn't trade him to get Pujols, but that fact (and their other needs in the lineup) may keep the Dodgers from being a serious player...

The Angels also have a youngster manning first base these days in Kendry Morales, and in his first full year as an every day player, Morales has hit 34 HR and driven in 108 runs. You would think Anaheim would want to re-sign him before he hits the free agent market after 2010 - especially since you can't guarantee that Pujols will even be available two whole years later.

So what about the Mets?
They are the the wild card here. They suck, they have an old first baseman and they will throw a ton of cash around.
But if Pujols is being honest in saying he wants to go to a team that can win the post season, he may be wary of the Mets. Sure, things can change dramatically in the next couple of years but the Mets have so much bad money already tied up, a contract the size of Pujols' may be too much to handle - especially since he may require a team like that to overpay to make it worth his while.

Could the White Sox really be players? Sure, why not? Pujols has played his entire career in the Midwest and is a star - he won't be affected by the bright lights on either coast. The Sox may win two or three more division titles by the time he reaches free agency and with an emphasis on pitching and young positional players, the Sox may be a player like Pujols away from winning another World Series come 2012.

It's worth a dream right?