Albert in the Birds on the Bat
The outlook
seemed brilliant for the Cardinal winter meeting:
The bidders
were down to three or two but their grasps ‘peared only fleeting.
And then
when Reyes signed down South, and Bell
did the same,
A sickly
silence fell upon the fandom of “the Mang.”
Many stated
coldly that the Redbirds should send him packing,
For, they
thought, that Albert’s salary would only bring the team to lacking.
Others
thought it would be worth the risk to put up more than that-
Put up more
money to keep him wearing the Birds on the Bat.
Although his
numbers had declined, yet so many records he could break,
It was
history, loyalty, and home-team pride that was at stake;
Upon the
stricken Cardinal-nation such ambiguity doth sat;
There was a
divide among the faithful over the price of Albert’s bat.
The Marlins
made an offer to the wonderment of all.
The Angels,
the silent, had made no attempt so far this fall;
Then the cloud
had lifted, and people saw what had occurred,
For the
Fish had signed Buehrle thus no longer could afford.
From
millions of throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled
through the archway, it rattled through Foristell;
It knocked
over the Rocky Mountains and beyond way more
than that.
For Albert,
so it seemed, would again wear the Birds on the Bat.
Throughout
the years Pujols stated that St. Louis
was his place;
That this is
where Albert wanted to always keep his space.
And when
money had been mentioned, he almost always spat-
"There’s
more to me than money; there’s more to me than that."
Whether at
home or on the road thousands would cheer him and stand;
He rarely
failed to disappoint the 46,861 who were on hand.
For it can
never be said that what he gave wasn’t surely worth the trip,
And whether
he stayed or went, for this may our hat we will always tip.
Looking
back we can remember his many fantastic years,
Killing Cubs,
whipping the Astros, demolishing any thrown spheres.
Always
close by LaRussa’s lips many complements would shed,
“He’s the
greatest I’ve ever coached,” the manager had said.
From off
the pitch of Lidge in October two-thousand and five;
His bat did
so much damage it made us fans alive.
Thanksgiving
for two-thousand eleven and don’t forget Oh-6.
His play
was always exciting and we were always in the mix.
With a
smile of Christian charity great Albert always shone;
And he practiced
so relentlessly so his craft he could always hone.
He tortured
opposing pitching, and although allegations flew,
He stands
as one who played the game clean, truly through and through.
But now the
faithful hear of what had been some debate;
A mystery
team also had put an offer upon Albert’s plate.
They say
Albert’s face grew stern and cold, they said his muscles did strain,
As he
pondered a deal that may not come by his way again.
The Angels, now revealed from secrecy, had offered him so much,
A deal so
great it would have made Solomon to blush.
And now the
Angels held the deal, and how they let it show,
That the
baseball world was duly stunned by the amount of Angel dough.
Oh,
sometime in the future, the sun will again shine bright;
Sometime
the Cardinals will be winning, and everything will be alright,
And
sometime we’ll again be laughing, with cheering and a shout;
But today,
there is no joy in St. Louis
– mighty Albert has walked out.
-CJ (Obviously based upon "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer.)
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