That's why it's the funny bone, not the common sense bone.

Can anyone explain to me why on earth Albert Pujols is opting to wait on having the inevitable surgery on his injured elbow? He will need the surgery eventually, there is no way around that because there is a 'high grade tear' in the ligament. Yet instead of having it this year, thus getting started with the recovery process as soon as possible, he is postponing it, apparently until it is absolutely necessary.

So, this year, the Cards will have Pujols, and yet even if he is performing at 100% the team still has practically no chance of making serious noise in their division, much less the league at large. By doing things this way, Pujols is creating the possibility that if perhaps the Cards improve before next year, they may have to attempt to compete without their best player. It also becomes possible now that he will injure his elbow more seriously than it is already injured. Can anyone offer me reasons why it makes sense for Pujols to wait? Is it purely a delusion that the Cards can compete this year? Granted, their division may be the weakest in baseball, but it still isn't as weak as the Cards. And even if they somehow compete in their division they don't have a legitimate shot at success in October unless there are significant changes on the team before the trading deadline. I'm lost here.