Pujols, Cards break off talks

The St. Louis Cardinals and slugging first baseman Albert Pujols have failed to reach agreement on a new contract, meaning the perennial all-star will not negotiate with his team until after the 2011 season.

Pujols had said he wanted a new contract by the time spring training began, and the two sides agreed to an 11am (CST) deadline today to have things worked out.

The Cardinals said the sticking point was not the number of years in the proposal, but the amount of money per year.