We need Prince Fielder as much as any team needs a single player!

[GoldGlove21]

If we have the meltdown I think we're on the brink of, AM just might move some players at the TD for young talent. If the W/L record is obviously a disaster, then he would be free to do so, providing PA doesn't throw a fit about trading the likes of Jones, Guthrie, and Markakis. Jones, Guthrie, Hardy, Markakis(to a team tha can afford him like the Yankees or Sux)Reynolds, Koji and Gregg could bring back a lot.

I think we may see a guy like Guerrero go to save some cash or Uehara if we get blown away, but those are the only guys I think we potentially trade at the deadline.

[DrungoHazewood]

So was David Wells. Curt Schilling wasn't exactly svelte either.

Being fat doesn't mean you are bad baseball player.

But it is a risk factor, especially for a position player. Fielder is already a negative defensive player and a negative baserunner. That certainly won't improve with age, and years of hauling around 270+ pounds on a sub-6' frame will take its toll on his body. Most players with similar builds didn't age well, and the few that did (say, Smokey Burgess, Matt Stairs, Gates Brown) were in limited roles off the bench.

To say you have little or no concern about his weight would be odd. And citing fat pitchers doesn't seem terribly relevant.

[DrungoHazewood]

The Orioles should have gone for it earlier or blown it up earlier. Right about the offseason when Tex was a FA was when they should have made that decision. Roberts and Markakis could have been traded instead of extended for pieces we'd have today.

Instead they pissed away 2 years and here we are at year #3 we are throwing away as well...

The path they chose wasn't wrong because they didn't trade away their core when they were still young and cheap, nor was it wrong because they didn't offer Tex a 10/250 deal with vastly overpaid years on both ends of the contract (both prior to contention and past-peak). It was flawed because they failed to augment the core with the right pieces, and they failed to do what was necessary to keep the flow of talent going in the minors.

The plan to build around Matusz and Markakis and Jones was certainly a good one, if they'd followed it up with increased investment in amateur development and scouting and analysis and international presence.

[CA-ORIOLE]

But it is a risk factor, especially for a position player. Fielder is already a negative defensive player and a negative baserunner. That certainly won't improve with age, and years of hauling around 270+ pounds on a sub-6' frame will take its toll on his body. Most players with similar builds didn't age well, and the few that did (say, Smokey Burgess, Matt Stairs, Gates Brown) were in limited roles off the bench.

To say you have little or no concern about his weight would be odd. And citing fat pitchers doesn't seem terribly relevant.

Maybe we throw in a gastric bypass.

[GoldGlove21]

But it is a risk factor, especially for a position player. Fielder is already a negative defensive player and a negative baserunner. That certainly won't improve with age, and years of hauling around 270+ pounds on a sub-6' frame will take its toll on his body. Most players with similar builds didn't age well, and the few that did (say, Smokey Burgess, Matt Stairs, Gates Brown) were in limited roles off the bench.

To say you have little or no concern about his weight would be odd. And citing fat pitchers doesn't seem terribly relevant.

Maybe, this is not football. Fielder is not a little guy, but that may be his natural build. I would imagine that a 250 pound 5'10" Fielder would be a beast. Not every big guy is built the same. We like to call Fielder fat, but I do not think he is as fat as we think.

[GoldGlove21]

What right parts were there that would give us a legit pitching staff at any point over the last 3-5 years? The problem was that the minor league system wasn't deep enough when we started to pluck players from it and we didn't do a good enough job replenishing that system. We will stuck in between and that seems to be our MO no matter who is in charge.

[JTrea81]

But it is a risk factor, especially for a position player. Fielder is already a negative defensive player and a negative baserunner. That certainly won't improve with age, and years of hauling around 270+ pounds on a sub-6' frame will take its toll on his body. Most players with similar builds didn't age well, and the few that did (say, Smokey Burgess, Matt Stairs, Gates Brown) were in limited roles off the bench.

To say you have little or no concern about his weight would be odd. And citing fat pitchers doesn't seem terribly relevant.

I think the whole "fat" thing was talking about Sabathia which is why I picked the pitcher examples.

However in Fielder's case there is a risk due to his height, but he's played 150+ games each season since his rookie year and there is the DH to give him a break.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think the whole "fat" thing was talking about Sabathia which is why I picked the pitcher examples.

However in Fielder's case there is a risk due to his height, but he's played 150+ games each season since his rookie year and there is the DH to give him a break.

Nevertheless, it's still a significant risk. He almost certianly has the highest BMI of any position player in history, so we're in uncharted territory.

[GoldGlove21]

Nevertheless, it's still a significant risk. He almost certianly has the highest BMI of any position player in history, so we're in uncharted territory.

Mo Vaughn says hello and keep in mind that BMI does not hold much weight for actually weight lifters. Fielders has a lot of muscle under some of that fat. He is a big guy, but he would be huge if he dropped his body fat% IMO.

[Sports Guy]

Mo Vaughn says hello and keep in mind that BMI does not hold much weight for actually weight lifters. Fielders has a lot of muscle under some of that fat. He is a big guy, but he would be huge if he dropped his body fat% IMO.

Fielder should be good for the next 4 years.

But you are then going to pay him 3/75 type money for 10 million a year, at best, production.

That's the issue.

If we were on the cusp of winning, you do that...But we aren't even close.

[JTrea81]

Fielder should be good for the next 4 years.

But you are then going to pay him 3/75 type money for 10 million a year, at best, production.

That's the issue.

If we were on the cusp of winning, you do that...But we aren't even close.

We could be however if the Orioles go "all-in" in a win-now mode.

[xKHx]

Fielder should be good for the next 4 years.

But you are then going to pay him 3/75 type money for 10 million a year, at best, production.

That's the issue.

If we were on the cusp of winning, you do that...But we aren't even close.

But Mo Vaughn was 805 plus ops well in to his 32 season and still had an ok age 34 season after he sat out all of 33. Thats 5 years and 7 if you can't all of them. If fielder hits a 800 plus ops his final season in his contract I take that 5 times a week.

[DrungoHazewood]

Mo Vaughn says hello and keep in mind that BMI does not hold much weight for actually weight lifters. Fielders has a lot of muscle under some of that fat. He is a big guy, but he would be huge if he dropped his body fat% IMO.

Mo Vaughn wasn't that big, and even so his last season over 1.5 WAR was at the age of 30. I understand that BMI isn't as important for athletes, but Fielder isn't a fullback with 3% body fat and a BMI of 40. In any case, just as an example I looked at the Virginia Tech football team roster. They have no one under 6' who weighs more than 254 pounds, and nobody over 261 who isn't a lineman.

Prince Fielder easily packs on more pounds per inch of height than anyone on a typical D-I football roster.

[DrungoHazewood]

But Mo Vaughn was 805 plus ops well in to his 32 season and still had an ok age 34 season after he sat out all of 33. Thats 5 years and 7 if you can't all of them. If fielder hits a 800 plus ops his final season in his contract I take that 5 times a week.

That's true if you only look at hitting, and don't even put that in context. Vaughn never had a 2 WAR season after the age of 30, because he had negative fielding and baserunning value and played in the best hitting era of the last 70 years.

[Can_of_corn]

Mo Vaughn wasn't that big, and even so his last season over 1.5 WAR was at the age of 30. I understand that BMI isn't as important for athletes, but Fielder isn't a fullback with 3% body fat and a BMI of 40. In any case, just as an example I looked at the Virginia Tech football team roster. They have no one under 6' who weighs more than 254 pounds, and nobody over 261 who isn't a lineman.

Prince Fielder easily packs on more pounds per inch of height than anyone on a typical D-I football roster.

I think the 2010 version of Sandoval had him beat.