Too late for Pujols?

The St. Louis Cardinals had their chance.

They could have signed Albert Pujols to an extension years ago when Pujols was more willing to listen.

The Cardinals stalled, believing they had plenty of time.

That time is now nearly exhausted.

Pujols wants a contract extension by the time he steps foot on the field Wednesday for the Cardinals' workout. If not, he says he'll play out the season and test the free agent market.

Those close to Pujols say there is no need for a deadline. The two sides are so far apart that a resolution is impossible. Pujols wants a 10-year contract. The Cardinals haven't come close to meeting that demand. And they haven't even gotten to the point of making up the money difference.

Pujols, the three-time National League MVP, is not necessarily gone after the year.

Yet, for the first time since he joined the Cardinals organization, the possibility now exists, and Cardinals fans are apoplectic.

Folks in St. Louis are blaming Pujols, saying he should take less money, and be an icon like Stan Musial. One Cardinals blog is claiming that Pujols is "a liar and a religious phony" with a "titanic ego." Others are blaming the Cardinals for being too cheap and not giving Pujols whatever he wants.

No matter which side you take, the delay will cost the Cardinals dearly.

His price skyrocketed last April, when the Philadelphia Phillies handed a five-year, $125 million contract extension to Ryan Howard, who has one NL MVP to Pujols' three and was still two full seasons shy of free agency.

It got even costlier this winter, when Jayson Werth ($126 million) and Carl Crawford ($142 million) received mammoth deals. Werth has never finished higher than eighth in MVP voting; Crawford's best finish was seventh.

All of this is not lost on either Pujols or the Cardinals. And now, a mess has been created around the city's most popular player since Stan Musial.

The Cardinals made an offer about two weeks ago. Pujols rejected it. And, as of Monday morning, the two sides have not revisited the talks.

It appears the timing of the deadline does not matter. Talks are over for now. Maybe Pujols will change his mind and listen if the Cardinals want to revisit the talks. Maybe, in the manner of most free-agents-to-be preceding him, he believes that if the Cardinals didn't make their best offer by now, why permit them further exclusive negotiating rights?

Pujols will have plenty of suitors as a free agent.

The Texas Rangers, buoyed by a 20-year, $3 billion TV contract, need a first baseman. The Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers may be in the market, too. And the Werth contract proved that there's a lot more teams than we may realize who have money to spend, often out of nowhere.

And then, course, there is the ultimate Cardinals nightmare.

The Chicago Cubs will have an opening at first base, too. Carlos Pena is signed to a one-year contract. You don't think they'd love Pujols to be hitting 40 home runs and driving in 140 runs for the next decade?

The Cardinals could always turn to free agent first baseman Prince Fielder. But they probably would only be fooling themselves to believe anyone could replace Pujols.

"He's an iconic player because he's such a great player,'' Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt said last month. "He's proven year in and year out that he's one of the greatest player to play the game. He's never had a bad year and has lifetime totals that are incredible.

"You can't go out and find an Albert Pujols."

Which is why it seems the Cardinals have no choice but to eventually sign him.