"Chris Carpenter today finds himself precisely where Albert Pujols stood a year ago, a star player entering the final guaranteed season of a long-term contract. Pujols entered last season virtually assured that the Cardinals would assume the three-time NL Most Valuable Player's option for the 2011 season. (They did just that in October.) Carpenter, who is entering the final installment of a five-year, $64 million contract signed after the team's 2006 World Series championship, is less certain that the same can be said of his $15 million option for 2012. "When I signed my last contract, I signed to be here five years plus an option. This is the fifth year," Carpenter related after a two-hour signing session during Saturday's Winter Warm-Up at the downtown Hyatt. "What's under my control is to be part of this club and help it win a World Series. What I can't control in January 2011 is whether they're going to pick up my option for 2012." Carpenter is due $15 million should the Cardinals bring him back for 2012. He turns 36 in April as he enters his ninth year with the organization, making him the club's second-longest tenured player to first baseman Pujols. Whether the Cardinals sign Pujols to a potential industry-record deal in the next five weeks will dramatically affect the team's payroll structure, a fact not lost on Carpenter. Though general manager John Mozeliak insisted Saturday Carpenter's status is "independent" of the outcome of talks with Pujols, Carpenter acknowledged having little sense of the organization's thinking. "It's up to them, not me," Carpenter asserted. "I'm not thinking about it to be honest with you. I'm not. I've made a lot of money in my career. Do I want to stay? Absolutely. I love the fans; I love the stadium; I love the city; I love the people. I love being part of the organization. But it's business, too. I've made plenty of money in my career. There was a time when I really believed I would stay in Toronto forever. Then I basically started over. It's Mo's decision, or it's ownership's decision. Whoever's decision it is, it's theirs." The Cardinals hope to reach agreement with Pujols on an extension before he reports to Jupiter, Fla., next month. Should Pujols stay, his salary would at least challenge the industry standard of $27.5 million per season, putting more pressure on a payroll that projects at about $106 million to open this season." read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...cle_a489095f-b58c-5f59-ac16-578c25b12bc1.html
