Albert Pujols arrives at spring training without a contract

Albert Pujols arrived at Cardinals camp yesterday without a long term deal in place.  According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com 10 years and $30 million per year, while the Cardinals were offering 8 years and around $26 million per year.  Albert is from Santo Domingo, DR.

This has been the most buzz worthy story of the first week of spring training.  Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa weighed in and said the players union pressures players like Pujols to go for the best deal possible.  Both Pujols and the Cardinals insist they will honor the February 16 deadline for a contract and revisit the negotiations after the season.

The Dominican Baseball Guy thinks that this 10 years for a player that is 30 years old (or older, allegedly) is crazy.  But it is Albert Pujols, the most productive hitter in the game and crucial to the Cardinals lineup and the city of Saint Louis.

Albert swings away, by SD Dirk on Flickr

What does everyone think?  Sign at any price, or let him go to the Yankees?