Why do the cardinals need to sign Holliday?

It seems like I am one of the very few Cardinals fans out there that does NOT want the Cardinals to re-sign Matt Holliday. "ARE YOU AN IDIOT? WE HAVE TO PROTECT PUJOLS," some might be saying right now. But is that really true? It seems like I'm also in the minority of Cardinals fans that remember that Pujols actually hit better without Holliday than he did with Holliday. Pujols hit .332 in the first half of the season and .322 in the second half.

Am I also the only Cardinals fan that has not forgotten that Matt Holliday was embarrassingly terrible in Oakland? Was it due to the leg-kick thing? Was it the huge ballpark in Oakland? Maybe, but does that really make you feel comfortable giving him somewhere in the neighborhood of a 7 year contract worth 16 to 18 million a year? I don't feel good about that at all and I'm stunned that the Cardinals are interested in signing anyone not named Albert Pujols to that kind of contract.

So if not Holliday, then what?

Well, lets go "shopping" with the money that would have been spent on Holliday. Since the latest reports are saying that Holliday wants 18 million per season, that's the number I'll use.

What could the cardinals have gotten for 18 million a year? Let's take a look at the guys that have already signed that I would have signed instead of waiting for Holliday. I've set my eyes on the following guys and have listed the contracts they've signed (not including bonuses and incentives).

Chone Figgins 3B 4 years 9 million per.

Mark DeRosa LF 2 years 6 million per.

Takashi Saito RP 1 year 3.2 million.

(Ok I went over by 200k. The Cardinals can afford it!)

With Figgins, you add something the Cardinals have not had in a very long time. That is a guy that can hit at the top of the line-up and steal bases! Figgins hit .298 last year and stole 42 bases. The only down side with Figgins is that he doesn't play great defense at third base.

I don't understand the Cardinals decision to let DeRosa walk away at all. He plays just about every position in the field, is a great guy in the clubhouse, and last but not least a very good hitter! He also doesn't cost that much considering all the attributes he bring to the table at 6 million per year. DeRosa would have been my left fielder.

Saito is a guy that would have been perfect for the Cardinals. He can be your set-up guy for Franklin, or you could move Franklin back to the set-up role (which is what i would do) and have Saito close.

There you have it. In my plan, I signed a third baseman, left fielder, and upgraded the bullpen. Now all of these guys have already been taken off the market, but if I'm the Cardinals I would pursue a plan like this. The Cardinals, instead, want to give all that money to ONE guy who may or may not be the same guy that we all saw in the second half of last season. My plan also does not tie up a bunch of money over the next six to seven years on ONE guy. This leaves the door open to the possibility of resigning Pujols when his contract comes up. Signing Holliday makes that nearly impossible.

So, again, I ask why do the Cardinals need to sign Holliday?