"There was an eerie sense of deja vu in the Dallas Hilton Anatole last Thursday morning.

In the same winter meetings hotel in which the Texas Rangers stunned baseball by signing Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252-million deal in 2000, the Angels sent similar shock waves through the game, acquiring slugger Albert Pujols with a 10-year, $254-million deal.

"There must be a strain of Legionnaires' disease in here," New York Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said. "I think every club that has signed a 10-year contract has regretted it.""