Paging Matt Holliday

Have you seen this man? (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

I just spent the last half hour or so at my desk reading the latest reports about the Cardinals' offer to free-agent outfielder Matt Holliday, Scott Boras' reaction to it and six or seven more comparisons of Holliday's worth to that of New York Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira. (Would anyone believe that I spelled that name without the aid of Google? You really shouldn't.)

I've tried to avoid falling into this habit, but it's nearly impossible to avoid all of the speculation, so I've read plenty of the coverage. I'm sure many of you have done the same.

At the end of the day here's what I know.

Not much. (Or maybe it's so much that it just feels like nothing.)

And here's how I feel.

Not that concerned. Interested? Of course. I wouldn't have spent hours reading the endless "updates" and "breaking" news, all of which amount to little unless you're in to conflicting reports and side-by-side stats for Holliday and Teixeira, if I didn't care.

Now, I have been a Cardinal fan since before I was old enough to figure out if balls or strikes came first in the count Jack Buck was telling me on the radio, and I am willing to admit that my general mindset when it comes to the franchise determines much of how I feel about this situation.

There's plenty of room and plenty of use for objective analysis of Holliday's numbers and the amount of money he deserves and the argument that a professional baseball only gets one or two opportunities like this (to be a free agent and be in complete control of his future) in a career if he is lucky is valid. (Somehow I feel like my college philosophy professor would have a problem with the use of the word "valid" here, but you understand what I'm saying.) If Holliday wants to take his time, that's fine. It will only give me more "the-Red Sox-are/are not-interested" and "the-Mets-are-once-again-players" stories to read.

I was happy when the Cardinals acquired Holliday last season and I only got increasingly happier throughout the rest of the regular season as his red-hot hitting led St. Louis to a playoff birth.

We know what happened next.

I felt more sorry for than mad at Holliday after game 2 of the NLDS, but he's not Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina and hasn't earned full Cardinal status in my heart just yet. (Cheesy, yes, but however you want to say it there is a moment when a person who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals becomes a St. Louis Cardinal and Matt Holliday has not had that moment.)

NOTE: Here is where all the fans of the 29 major league baseball teams and Boras are more than welcome to start rolling their eyes.

I believe that Matt Holliday should want to become a Cardinal and I believe that if he doesn't care about that then it's just fine that he go somewhere else.

I probably give management a free pass more often than I should when it comes to holding it accountable for how the team performs on the field, but I don't think that is the case here. They've offered Holliday the richest contract in the history of the franchise and you can compare the numbers to any other numbers you want to -- it is enough. I'm not losing any sleep feeling sorry for Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt having to dig a little deeper into his pockets, but it really is enough.

He's not Albert Pujols. And the Cardinals aren't the Yankees. (Thank goodness.)

I want to see the Cardinals succeed as much as the next person and I believe that Matt Holliday will help St. Louis win baseball games. I'm not delusional. I know the Cardinals are better off with him and I hope he stays.

But if he wants to sign with the Mets for $20 million a year. That's fine. I hope the extra $4 million a year is worth it. And maybe it is. (Although it doesn't appear that suitors are lining up to offer Holliday that kind of money...)

This is where my lack of concern comes in. He's either going to stay or he's going to leave. There's certainly nothing I can do to influence his decision, and I don't know exactly how much more the Cardinals can do. (Depending on who you're inclined to believe the answer here is either "a lot" or "not much.") Either way, I do not believe that one player (Again, no player not named Albert Pujols. He is the exception to every rule.) can destroy the pattern of excellence the Cardinals have built. (No one makes the playoffs every year for those with a short memory and the front office has shown that they are willing to make the team better when possible.)

There is a new group of free agents and new stars in baseball each year. Some stay productive for eight years. Many do not.

The only thing that really bothers me is that I have no idea how Matt Holliday feels about all of this.

Are we sure he's still alive? Is he in the country? Still planning on playing baseball? Still bald?

For all I know he has a ponytail and a beard and is living under a rock in the Montana wilderness, planning to open a bed and breakfast where he and his family will spend the rest of their days.

I understand that Holliday has little to gain by speaking out now, but until he shows up somewhere ready to talk I'm going to assume that he's not a Cardinal and that I'll be alright whether or not he ever becomes one.