When I first heard that Albert Pujols had signed with the Los Angeles Angels, the fan in me wanted to scream.

I knew that I should be angry at either…

A. Pujols for leaving a team that JUST WON THE WORLD SERIES for more money after saying that he would take less to remain a “Cardinal for life” many times or…

B. The Cardinals for not doing everything possible to keep one of the greatest players in the history of baseball and the most beloved athlete ever in St. Louis.

Someone had to pay.

But after chewing on it throughout the day and then chewing some more, I realized that I can’t blame either side for the decision that they made. All of our irrational feelings aside, both sides did what they thought was best.

I can’t blame the Cardinals for drawing a line in the sand and not getting sucked into a bidding war for Pujols. They know how much he meant to the team and the city, but decided that a nine-year, $200 million deal was the most they wanted to offer.

Any more than that and the Cardinals would end up kicking themselves down the road. Sure, having Pujols absolutely makes them a better team this year and probably the next two years after that.

But what happens if his notoriously bad elbow gets worse, he starts hitting .270 and can’t even play first base in the fourth year of a ten-year deal. Those are legitimate possibilities that would leave throwing $25 million away for years.

Then what?

At the same time, it’s hard to knock anyone for turning down an extra $50 million. It’s easy for us as fans to turn on Pujols for this, but how many of us wouldn’t also take more money and play somewhere where it doesn’t snow in April?

We overestimated the value of playing in “Baseball Heaven” and that’s on us. It’s unfortunate and it probably means that Pujols lied at times, but it’s the truth.

So maybe the best thing we can do is move on, because if we are true fans of the Cardinals, we won’t let the ghost of Albert Pujols get in the way of supporting the team. And more importantly, we can never let this tarnish the memories of his 11 years as a Cardinal.

That would be the worst loss of all.