Prince Fielder - Go get him

[threedaysrest]

I loved Albert, MSK, especially when he was with CLE. By the time he got to us, he'd lost some luster, bat speed, and power from those big biceps. Never-the-none-the-less, I loved Albert's anger and fire on the field. We need someone like that now...

[RShack]

The one thing I never undestood about El Trea is that he has no hope, no faith in MacPhail..hates him...starts endless threads about him, hijacks numerous threads and steers them into a MacPhail bash fest...

...and yet he thinks we had a shot at Tex. He wants him to get us to us Fielder. He wants him to get us A-Gon.

Why would anyone put any amount of faith or hope into someone they despise? That'd be like me having hope/faith that Bono would stop being such a douchebag or that Lindsay Lohan could give up her cocaine/alcohol habit.

Trea rants on here about how MacPhail can't get things done, then turns around and says how we need a big bat and that MacPhail needs to pull the trigger on a trade or a big FA signing and then turns around and bashes him when he doesn't.

It's completely two faced and a vicious circle to boot.

I'm going to go pick a random MLB team like the Reds and get on their board and start posting El Trea style just to see how much fun one person can possibly have.

This isn't especially relevant, but let me tell you a true story. I used to work in psychiatric hospitals. In one place I worked, there was a woman named Phyllis Somebody. She had been institutionalized her whole life, and was never gonna get out, she just couldn't cope. She drove everybody around her nuts because the only thing she would talk about was cigarettes. She'd try to swap one with you, or show you what kind she'd just bought. Or she'd ask you what kind you liked. Or what kind you didn't like. Or she'd ask if you remembered some brand of cigarettes that they don't make anymore. She had a one-track mind, and it was absolutely impossible to get her to talk about anything but cigarettes. She drove the other patients up the wall, she drove the staff up the wall, she drove the maintenance people up the wall, she drove everybody up the wall. It was cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes 24/7. She just would not shut up about cigarettes, and she would not talk about anything else. It was almost like, well, never mind...

Now, everybody just put up with Phyllis talking about cigarettes, in part because the MD said it was organic, by which he meant a non-treatable physical brain thing, and so what else were you gonna do? But I was kinda impressed about how many cigarette-related things she knew. As you well know, I know lots of useless crap, but when it came to cigarettes, this lady had me beat by a mile. You wouldn't think there were that many things about cigarettes you could talk about, but she had an endless supply of cigarette-topics. While I didn't doubt that she had some organic stuff going on with her brain, it's not like she was stupid.

So, one day I got all the staff together and said we were gonna do something new in how we interacted with Phyllis. Instead of trying to get her to talk about other stuff, what we were gonna do instead was insist on talking about cigarettes with her. Nothing else, just cigarettes. If she said "Good Morning", you were supposed to ask her if she had enough cigarettes to get through the morning. If she said, "How's the weather?", you could talk to her about how it would be hard to keep your cigarette dry out in that rain, they'd get all soggy, and then what? If she said she wasn't feeling very good, you could suggest that maybe it'd been too long since she'd had a cigarette. No matter what she says, make sure you don't talk about anything at all except cigarettes. People in the meeting weren't exactly sure if they could turn any topic into a cigarette discussion. But I told them it was easy, all they had to do was just pretend to be Phyllis. So, then we practiced up some, with folks saying things about whatever, and other folks turning it into a conversation about cigarettes. By the end of the meeting, everybody was cracking up. And then they went out and actually did it.

By the 4th day, Phyllis started having a fit about it. She went up to the head nurse and started yelling, "I'm a human being! I deserve being treated like a person! Everybody's just talking to me about cigarettes and they won't talk to me about anything else!!! This is wrong and unfair! I'm a person, and I deserve to be treated like a person! The staff here is getting paid to help me get better, and all they're doing is talking about cigarettes!!! They should talk to me about other things, like the news or current events or what's on TV or something!!! But they won't, they just won't!!! And this has to stop!!!" And the story goes on from there...

Now, I don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought you might enjoy the story...

[McNulty]

Exactly my point, and Scorpio brought this up as well.

WHY WOULD ANYONE EXTEND HERE? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO COME HERE?!?!?

Someone needs to do research (not me, I'm too lazy) to see what players have made the jump from pretty good to great teams to a perennial cellar dweller while in in their prime or just near it. I can't think of a superstar professional athlete in any sport off the top of my head who willingly went to a crappy team while they were in their prime. Alex Rodriguez is probably the exception to the rule, but he got the biggest contract in sports history.

If anyone can make up a list of athletes who did something as dumb as coming to a team like the Orioles when they had much better options available, I'm willing to bet that the results were similar to A-Rod's in Texas: less than stellar.

Does Ivan Rodriguez going to Detroit count?

[Moose Milligan]

Does Ivan Rodriguez going to Detroit count?

I can see why people could make a case for him, he had one awesome year in Detroit...his other years there were still really good, but not like his Texas days. IMO, he doesn't pass.

[Moose Milligan]

This isn't especially relevant, but let me tell you a true story. I used to work in psychiatric hospitals....

Now, I don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought you might enjoy the story...

Great story. And totally relevant.

[Bradysburns]

Boston wants Adrian Gonzalez. St Louis could sign him if Pujols were to go to the Cubs or Yankees. The Yankees have Teixeira.

But who else really has the money?

The Angels have Morales. The Phillies have locked up Howard.

The Mets might bite, but would Prince want to play in CitiField where his offense could decline?

I mentioned the Cubs and Washington could be a suitor I suppose, as could the Giants and Mariners.

I would hate to see us give away Tillman or Matusz in a Fielder deal, for the reasons cited: body type (I can't help but think Mo Vaughn and David Ortiz), and contract uncertainties. Plus it would be very tough to get him to sign here unless you really backed up the truck - and wildly overpaid, IMO. I would do that for a player like AGon... because to me he's a nicer all-around player.

[mweb]

The further we fall from contention the more you want us to trade our talented young players for a veteran nearing free agency who probably wouldn't even sign an extension if we offered him a horrible contract.

This is the opposite of what a bad team should do.

I honestly don't understand your logic. To me, the guys you fetishize become more appealing the closer we get to contention. You seem to feel more justified in calling for them as we get further from contention.

To each his own, I guess.

Basically what I was going to try to say.

Well said.

[Sports Guy]

I can see why people could make a case for him, he had one awesome year in Detroit...his other years there were still really good, but not like his Texas days. IMO, he doesn't pass.

Fielder would sign here because of money. He is young enough where if he could stay in shape and stay healthy, he could get another good deal with a contender once an extension would be over.

The problem is, as I said, that contract would likely have to be 8/200 or so, give or take.

No way he is worth that...and no way is he worth that plus the package you have to give up to get him.

[section18]

Please note the following;

Player Salaries

PLAYER Salary (US$)

1 Alex Rodriguez 33,000,000

2 CC Sabathia 24,285,714

3 Derek Jeter 22,600,000

These three players make about $8 million more than the Orioles payroll. Is Fielder worth what they are? No

4 Mark Teixeira 20,625,000

These 4 players are making over $100 million dollars. Only in NY.

I like Fielder but prefer Gonzalez.

[El Gordo]

This isn't especially relevant, but let me tell you a true story. I used to work in psychiatric hospitals. In one place I worked, there was a woman named Phyllis Somebody. She had been institutionalized her whole life, and was never gonna get out, she just couldn't cope. She drove everybody around her nuts because the only thing she would talk about was cigarettes. She'd try to swap one with you, or show you what kind she'd just bought. Or she'd ask you what kind you liked. Or what kind you didn't like. Or she'd ask if you remembered some brand of cigarettes that they don't make anymore. She had a one-track mind, and it was absolutely impossible to get her to talk about anything but cigarettes. She drove the other patients up the wall, she drove the staff up the wall, she drove the maintenance people up the wall, she drove everybody up the wall. It was cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes 24/7. She just would not shut up about cigarettes, and she would not talk about anything else. It was almost like, well, never mind...

Now, everybody just put up with Phyllis talking about cigarettes, in part because the MD said it was organic, by which he meant a non-treatable physical brain thing, and so what else were you gonna do? But I was kinda impressed about how many cigarette-related things she knew. As you well know, I know lots of useless crap, but when it came to cigarettes, this lady had me beat by a mile. You wouldn't think there were that many things about cigarettes you could talk about, but she had an endless supply of cigarette-topics. While I didn't doubt that she had some organic stuff going on with her brain, it's not like she was stupid.

So, one day I got all the staff together and said we were gonna do something new in how we interacted with Phyllis. Instead of trying to get her to talk about other stuff, what we were gonna do instead was insist on talking about cigarettes with her. Nothing else, just cigarettes. If she said "Good Morning", you were supposed to ask her if she had enough cigarettes to get through the morning. If she said, "How's the weather?", you could talk to her about how it would be hard to keep your cigarette dry out in that rain, they'd get all soggy, and then what? If she said she wasn't feeling very good, you could suggest that maybe it'd been too long since she'd had a cigarette. No matter what she says, make sure you don't talk about anything at all except cigarettes. People in the meeting weren't exactly sure if they could turn any topic into a cigarette discussion. But I told them it was easy, all they had to do was just pretend to be Phyllis. So, then we practiced up some, with folks saying things about whatever, and other folks turning it into a conversation about cigarettes. By the end of the meeting, everybody was cracking up. And then they went out and actually did it.

By the 4th day, Phyllis started having a fit about it. She went up to the head nurse and started yelling, "I'm a human being! I deserve being treated like a person! Everybody's just talking to me about cigarettes and they won't talk to me about anything else!!! This is wrong and unfair! I'm a person, and I deserve to be treated like a person! The staff here is getting paid to help me get better, and all they're doing is talking about cigarettes!!! They should talk to me about other things, like the news or current events or what's on TV or something!!! But they won't, they just won't!!! And this has to stop!!!" And the story goes on from there...

Now, I don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought you might enjoy the story...

Did she improve at all? Or did you just succeed in making her as miserable as she was making everybody else?

[RustyMcNail]

Fielder would sign here because of money. He is young enough where if he could stay in shape and stay healthy, he could get another good deal with a contender once an extension would be over.

The problem is, as I said, that contract would likely have to be 8/200 or so, give or take.

No way he is worth that...and no way is he worth that plus the package you have to give up to get him.

Exactly right.

[Konabird 66]

The sad thing is that the O's could have drafted Fielder instead of Loewen.

[Dr. FLK]

Has there ever been a player with Prince's body type that didn't break down early in his career? Big, fat guys seem to see production decreases far earlier than players who are actually in shape...I wouldn't want any part of Prince for a long term extension.

[Dr. FLK]

Prince Fielder = Albert Belle.

Believe it.

MSK

If that were true, I'd take him in a heart beat. Are you implying that being compared to Belle is a bad thing?

[Mackus]

I'd be very interested in a trade for Fielder with an extension, I'm willing to take on the risks of him struggling with weight or other issues in the last years of a 7-8 year deal. I don't think he gets quite as much as Teixiera did, but I'd be willing to go close to that high.

What we'd have to give up to get him is certainly the biggest obstacle. I wouldn't trade Matusz or Wieters, but anyone else I'd be willing to move. I'm not gonna pay a historic amount in talent, though, so if they ask for the moon, I'm moving on.