As a function of age, atrophy and simple economics, whoever signs Albert Pujols to his next contract won't get anywhere near the value the Cardinals have received over the course of the past decade.

That much has been established all along, and the point has only been hammered home in a 2011 season marked, thus far, by the slowest start and, now, the first extended absence of Pujols' career.

But as evidenced by the short-term tear he was on before Wilson Betemit smashed into his glove hand and fractured his wrist last week, Pujols does remain one of the game's top talents, and it has always been assumed that no team -- all Jim Hendry hugs aside -- needs him more than the Cards.

For St. Louis, after all, Pujols is more than just a masher; he's the franchise face, clubhouse leader and, naturally, the heart and soul of the lineup.

In that vein, and in the spirit of every difficulty inviting a new opportunity, it has been suggested elsewhere that the Cardinals ought to take the six-week loss of Pujols to the disabled list as a chance to revisit the extension conversation last broached in mid-February. Pujols might be nursing an injury to his left wrist, but he signs his name on dotted lines with his right hand, so that's considered a start. And the fact that his market value has presumably taken a hit this year does have the potential to work in St. Louis' financial favor.

But given that Pujols has made it clear he wishes to avoid all contract talks in-season, there is another potential opportunity -- uninvited as it might be -- at play here as the Cards get their first look at life absent Albert and see everything that life entails.

Namely, can they still contend in the NL Central with Pujols out of the picture? The answer might very well determine whether going all-in with Albert at this stage in his career is the organizational obligation that most in baseball assume it to be.

Getting David Freese back in the lineup, as expected, this week should be a big boost to a Cardinals club that's due for one. This season has provided one daunting injury after another, and yet they're still alive in the Central.

Sans Pujols, though, they've gone 1-5 thus far. Not a good start. It goes without saying that this is a much better team with a healthy Pujols intact, but in a few weeks we'll know the full extent of how vast the discrepancy is.

Pujols spent the first two months of the 2011 season giving the paying audience a rare glimpse at his human side, mustering only a .267 average and .755 OPS through May. So already, there was growing suspicion -- suspicion he was, to his credit, doing his part to address with a torrid June -- that Pujols might not break any baseball business records next winter.

Prince Fielder's MVP-type season in Milwaukee doesn't help Pujols' cause in that regard, either. Though there is obvious bugaboo over Fielder's body, he is four years Pujols' junior, and it will be interesting to see how teams weigh those differences in age and body type in terms of dollars and cents.

To become baseball's paycheck pace-setter, Pujols would, of course, have to top Alex Rodriguez's 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees, if not in total value then at least in average annual value. It already looked to be a tall order, given that the Yankees and Red Sox are both set at first base with Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez, respectively. It looks taller still now that Pujols suffered an injury that can pollute a power hitter's production for more than just the short-term, especially when the power hitter in question is 31 years old.

Then again, as is often said, it only takes one particularly passionate team to tip the scales. Stranger things have happened.

It's pretty well-documented that the Cards aren't in the position to do anything that strange. They can't entertain any $300 million contracts. They are in the lower-third among television market sizes in the Majors and have never pushed their total team payroll north of $100 million. They can afford Pujols at the $16 million he makes this season, but to nearly double his salary would cripple their ability to build a contending team around him, especially as his prime years come to a close.

That's why the Pujols contract conundrum wasn't solved before the season started. He was too adamant about exploring his worth, and they were too hesitant to bend to his every dollar desire. When the talks broke down as Spring Training camp began, it was a big story in baseball, and the Cards were largely portrayed as having missed out on their last chance to lock up Pujols before he tests the open waters. But how the Cards respond to life without Pujols and how Pujols responds to his frustrating first half will go a long way toward determining if, in retrospect, their hesitance should be panned or praised.