Did Lozano influence Pujols' departure?

Author's note: Keep in mind that the below column is strictly the author's opinion. This is not intended to be some type of factual accusation, but is instead an analysis of circumstances leading up to and during the Pujols negotiations of 2011.

When people discuss the 2011 departure of Albert Pujols from the St. Louis Cardinals, all of the talk is about money and soured negotiations.

While those are certainly factors, I also believe that there were other factors at play.

No, I'm not talking about feuds with other players or being disgruntled over other players with higher salaries. In reality, I think the events that led to Pujols' eventual departure are much more simple than that.

And I would argue that his agent Dan Lozano had plenty to do with it.

In November 2011, Deadspin.com released an expose-style article on Lozano and his "sleazy" ways.

The article accused him of just about everything one can think of that would qualify as tacky and classless. The list includes stealing clients, sending them prostitutes, squandering money, befriending clients under false pretenses and using client investments to fund a new business venture.

The latter creates a serious conflict of interest. The others qualify as tacky at best and illegal at worst.

The accusations that changed the Pujols negotiation process, however, dealt directly with him.

Lozano was accused of having taken a weak deal for Pujols when he first would have reached free agency due to his own financial problems. The eight year deal that gave Pujols $14.5 million was quite weak for a player who was far beyond the talent of anyone else on the market.

He was also accused of having lied to clients regarding offers in an effort to make it appear he was getting them more money when in fact he was simply accepting what they had offered.

Lozano is the textbook definition of sleaze.

When Pujols became aware of the type of person his agent was, he was beginning free agent negotiations. A shake-up with a new agent could have cost him dearly in what would clearly be his final chance for a major stake in the free agent market.

Pujols stood by his agent, but did insist on being hands-on involved in all contract negotiations. That's quite out of the norm.

While it's not unheard of for players to be more involved, for players to be on the phone or in the room during all negotiations is out of the ordinary.

In contract negotiations, baseball's business side shows through like nowhere else.

There is no talk by the team in question of "the wonderful years you gave us." The only question is what will you do for me in the future.

A team can't operate paying solely for past performance and expect to be competitive.

In negotiations for a 10-year deal, those discussions would be even more tense than usual.

As a result, negotiations would likely leave any player upset with their club.

By being hands-on involved in all negotiations and discussions, Pujols likely found himself listening to the team that he'd played with for more than a decade talk down his accomplishments.

Most likely he listened to them talk about the gradual deterioration of his offensive statistics. In all likelihood there was a discussion about how those numbers will likely continue to fall in the coming years.

While that may in deed be a fact, to a player not accustomed to the negotiation process it could easily seem like an attack.

Pujols has on multiple occasions talk about having his feelings hurt by the team. Given how involved he was, I would be shocked if his feelings hadn't been hurt.

When another team's owner then calls wanting to be his friend - knowing exactly what to say to get the deadly done - he no doubt felt like he had found the appreciation he was looking for from a team.

One question that has puzzled me for quite some time is whether Pujols was adequately prepared for the nature of intense contract negotiations.

Did Lozano explain to him how these things work or just let him be blind-sided by the process.

Lozano undoubtedly knew that a deal with the Cardinals would have meant much less money than he could earn on the open market. In reality, it was in Lozano's best interest for Pujols to go elsewhere.

After learning more about his nature, both as an agent and as a person, it's no stretch of the imagination to think Lozano didn't prefer for negotiations with the Cardinals to work out.

While the money was no doubt a factor to Pujols, it was likely an even larger factor for his agent.

Maybe the damage was done long before the end of the season. It's always possible that the rumors of clubhouse squabbles and being upset over a weak salary had Pujols' mind made up.

Maybe it was all about the money, despite having repeatedly denied it.

In all reality though, I still believe Pujols departure was simply a result of his seeing a side of baseball that was never intended for the eyes of players.

I can't imagine he would have his feelings any less hurt by internal discussions regarding his current performance by those who recruited him to California.

As I watched him Tuesday evening, I couldn't stop thinking about how incredibly awkward, uncomfortable and unhappy he looked.

It's always sad to watch the abilities of a player slide from greatness to unique.

The man who was once the most talented hitter I'd ever watch is steadily transitioning into a power hitter (low average-good home run total.)

The look that was once in his eyes when he stepped to the plate in St. Louis looks to be entirely gone.

That focus both on and off the field, combined with his incredible patience at the plate were what made Pujols the player we all remember.

What's done is done, as everyone knows, but after watching him face the Cardinals for the first time Tuesday evening, it's easy to see the regret in his eyes.

I still think that somewhere down the road, after his career is long gone, we'll see Pujols at Busch Stadium again - and he will be wearing a red jacket. By then, the hard feelings will be gone and people will be able to remember the early years for the exciting ride that they truly were.

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Corey Noles is a Cardinals Writer and Columnist for The Daily Statesman. Contact him at cnoles@dailystatesman.com or on Twitter @coreynoles.