Who really controls the checkbook?

[foxfield]

The warning signs were there for Lee. He was 32 when he signed his deal, and he performed for the prime years he had left. Now he's in his subprime years.

Nobody is advocating (at least I'm not) to go acquire players that will have the majority of their contract be subprime years...

Prince Fielder for instance, will likely decline around age 32. He's 26 now. So you trade for him and you sign him to a 5-6 year extension for 25 million per season, similar to the Howard extension. So the majority of his years under contract, you are getting his best production.

Those are the kind of deals I am advocating for.

However, it is going to have to be Angelos that pushes for something like that because MacPhail has never spent that kind of money and likely won't.

These three bolded areas demonstrate where your basic ideas....which as SG notes above are essentially correct, and your methods are sorely, consistently lacking in fundamental reason.

Prince Fielder IS a premium player, but his body, specifically his weight do not scream bargin for age 30-32. That is 3 of your six years and this team can ill afford $150 Million down the drain. "Similar to the Howard extension"...most baseball people think that the Phillies made a mistake here, but it is perfectly understandable that you would not.

But hey, keep up the good work, another 30,000 posts and you might cure cancer or solve the energy crisis. UNfortunately, those are forward looking problems and your brilliance is always at its best in hindsight, when you point out the warning signs everyone else has missed, like Lee,....after the fact.

[waroriole]

What about adding Patton and/or Erbe? Brewers are looking for organizational depth at pitching, which we have. Adding Tillman and Patton would send them two starters who could produce next year. We have the depth with Britton still waiting in the wings and a slew of other pitchers

Bell would be a good fit for the Brewers and IMO he is about ready to come up. Luke could tear it up in the NL central and Snyder would give them a little depth at 1B.

These are just shots in the dark. Personally I wouldn't trade Prince unless it involved a king's ransom.

I think there is your answer. Patton and Erbe don't really add much. Erbe has been awful this year, and Patton is a borderline ML pitcher.