An embarrassment of riches...

So, first things first. Albert Pujols is officially with the Angels now. Who saw that coming? Apparently no one. Even though the Angels were not in the running at all, I have to say that I'm glad he will be in the AL next season. According to reports, the Marlins lost out on Pujols because they would not give him a no-trade clause in his contract. Wait, WHAT? Just because that wasn't needed for Reyes, Bell or Buerhle does not mean that Pujols shouldn't get one if he so chooses. Hello, he's ALBERT PUJOLS. I didn't expect myself to be as annoyed by that as I am, but I guess I am. If the Angels are looking for a boost in attendance (though I think theirs is pretty solid), they certainly will have it for 2012.

Although there must be a lot of sad Cardinals fans today. A lot of people are probably asking, "Where the loyalty?" After ten years, I would think that Pujols' love for St. Louis was pretty solid. How many other teams can say they'd had a future hall of fame slugger on their team for ten years? And he certainly went out with a bang.

Not long after that, it was announced that CJ Wilson signed with the Angels, getting a nice 5 year/$75 million contract. I guess compared to Pujols' 10 year/$254 million contract, that's small pickings. I happened to catch an interview with Wilson on MLB Network today (where else!) and he said that despite liking Miami, he wanted to be closer to his home in LA. The thing I found most interesting about Wilson's interview was the topic of how his former teammates feel about his departure, especially to a division rival team. He said that he got text messages (that's all baseball players do, it seems, is text each other) from a lot of his former teammates wishing him well and giving congrats. Wilson also said that he got a text from David Murphy asking if they were enemies now that they were on rival teams. I appreciated Wilson's honesty in saying that he didn't know yet. If nothing else, this move will make the race for the AL West division a lot more interesting!

I would imagine that Mike Scioscia is pretty happy with the potential starting rotation for the Angels next year: CJ Wilson, Jared Weaver and Ervin Santana. Not too shabby!

While that was the biggest news from this week's winter meetings, the news that Huston Street went to the Padres is, I think, something worth noting. It's also a nice move for the Padres, who may have had to part with Heath Bell, but picking up Huston Street is pretty damn nice. I just wish he weren't a closer so I would know which games he would be pitching in advance. Alas.

Despite no actual moves having been made yet, it seems many teams are interested in the top three pitchers on the A's rotation: Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez and now possibly Trevor Cahill. I would be happy for any of them to make more money elsewhere, because they all deserve it. I have nothing against the A's, mind you, I just worry about their payroll. And that no one goes to actually see them pitch at home. So sad. As long as they don't go the way of Barry Zito, it's all good. However, since none of them will be going to the Giants, chances are, they will do fine wherever they end up.

Speaking of the Giants, I heard possibly the greatest news (to me) all week. Alex Gonzalez signed with the Brewers and not the Giants. What does this mean, though? Do the Giants suddenly have more confidence in Brandon Crawford? Or were they too broke to snatch him up? It's hard to say. I'm hoping it's the former.

Quite a lot seemed to happen during the winter meetings this week. Some interesting things, some not so much. As much as I've enjoyed keeping up with all of the news, I'm relieved that it's over. I think the fact that I watched pretty much every single playoff game this season (except three, I think) is catching up with me. I won't make that mistake again. Oh wait...yes I will. It's a sickness and I don't foresee a cure. Bring it on!