O/T, Prince Fielder to Tigers for 9 year deal
 

O/T, Prince Fielder to Tigers for 9 year deal, 214 million.

Great News for Detroit.

Joe

Too much IMO, anything over 5 years was too long. Great for the short term though. Him and Cabrera, plus that pitching staff? They look dangerous in the short run.

If you want 9 nine years worth better get him a treadmill.
Congrats to the Tiger fans, your team just got better!

With Cabrera, and now Fielder, they certainly have increased their team BMI.

Of course it is to long but he might help with a couple of World Series runs.

I'm Happy:)

Joe

They're going to need a bigger dugout.

$214 million....chump change.

At least he and Pujols are now in the american league. Helps the Cubbies to have a chance to get to the post season.

Addition by subtraction, leave it to a Cubs fan to find the silver lining!
Actually it helps the Cards too! :)

So much for using V-Mart as the DH. They used to have the luxury of platooning V-Mart and using their other catcher (Alex Avila - aint so shabby) which gave them some flexibility with V-Mart. There's no way V-Mart takes 1B or DH from Cabrerra or Fielder and they have a pretty good young catcher in Avila. Looks like V-Mart may be in for some reduced playing time. Oddly enough the Tigers signed V-Mart last year to a few year contract for some decent cash. The Tigers must be looking to make a huge push.

He was injured last week, possibly out for the year. Torn ACL

Since Victor Martinez is out for the year due to injury, it won't be until 2013 that Cabrera, Fielder and Martinez are in the same lineup.

I love this move. The AL gets better in 2012. The Tigers will be a great team to watch. Good pitching and hitting. WS in 2012. If not, it will be fun. Thanks to Mike Illitch , the new George S.

Wow, that is a very expensive replacement bat for V-Mart. Torn ACL... yikes.

Have they scheduled the parade yet? :eek:

Too many years and too much money. The guy is going to break down with all that heft on his frame. Beware of knee, back and foot problems in the not-too-distant future.

. . . but with Victor possibly out for the 2012 season
 

.

. . . it might serve both as a means to help protect Cabrerra's bat in the lineup, and another building block for a team trying to become a perennial contender.

I look at the acquisition alittle different then some fans. If Jim Leyland's plan is to make sure most of his biggest guns get adequate time to rest during the season, in an attempt to keep them healthier and fresh, then an eventual rotation of Cabrerra, Fielder, Martinez, and Avila might achieve that (where one man sits out each game). Odd man out makes for an extra weapon on the bench in late innings too. Plus, I wouldn't rule out the outside possibility that Victor learns to play alittle third base. He might not be the typical thirdbaseman, but I don't think he would embarass himself either. Not to mention, the man can hit. Detroit's stable of higher-price talent might be a problem other managers wish they had. But only if the egos are checked at the start of season, and positive team chemistry is achieved.

It wasn't too long ago the Tigers were picked to contend for their division, and they damn near surplanted the Royals in the cellar.

Verlander wins 30 :)

Now kidding aside, Miggy + Prince = Scary

Personally, injuries aside, I think that V-mart is an all around better hitter than Prince. I don't expect either player to be great in the long term though. No way do the Tigers keep V-mart after this.. Hopefully, next year with Hafner off the payroll, we'll be welcoming Vic back to Cleveland...

Agreed he's a better hitter than Prince and question both long-term greatness. But Id be more surprised if they victor go after the year he had last year and play 140+ games for all we hear about injuries.

Wow, Prince is going to be making as much money as Romney, before taxes. :D

Yeah, but Prince is working harder and getting his hair messed up!

Wasn't it just a couple of years ago we were handing the tigers their WS rings after looking at their off season moves.

Ah, yes:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...heduled+parade

Reading the comments, I see a few other team supporters a little sad and wishing they could have landed Fielder, especially anyone following the Texas Rangers. ;)

Nothing guarantees the post season, but they are going to be fun to watch.

Joe

baseball should mandate DH in the NL also. as is all the big contracts are going to the AL teams where they know if guys break down and can't play everyday they can be the DH

Quan,
You are advocating the end of real baseball?

well at least get some uniformity. right now the balance is tipped to the AL in terms of offense. i actually like pitchers hitting as it adds another layer of strategy...but MLBPA will never allow the loss of DH in the AL, so might as well bring it to the NL also.

Great news. I'm sure the donut shops in Detroit are ecstatic.

He is terrible defensively, he better hit 50 HRs and drive in 140 for 24 mil. Also if you look at his splits .326 at home and .272 on the road, hopefully Detroit will be as friendly to him as Miller Park was this past year

But what does all this mean for the Brew crew? No more Prince and it appears Braun may be serving a 50 game suspension to start the season. What happens when Braun doesn't have Prince to protect him in the lineup?

If this ends the pitcher's hitting, then yes, by all means start the DH in the NL. There is nothing worse than watching a pitcher strikeout time and time again b/c they don't care about hitting. I don't see any point in pitcher's being in the hitting lineup...other than a channel change for me!

Only thing worse then watching a pitcher hit, is watching a pitcher run the bases.

;)

The Minnesota Twins have officially been eliminated from the 2012 Central Division race :(

Maybe Selig can form a division with Pittsburg, Houston, Seattle, Minnesota and Oakland.....

I'd rather have Romney helping my business for 9 years than Prince Fielder at the tail end of that contract!

I was hoping the Mariners would sign him but when I saw the length of the deal I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy they didn't. 1-4 years Detroit will be happy and get good value and production, but 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years from now his Salary is going to the "Bain" of their existance (2 Romney mentions in one post about Prince Fielder!). Hopefull for Tigers fans they win a couple quick or that contract is going to be a major flop.

I like Fielder a good deal as a player but seriously, how do you allow yourself to get THAT big as a Professional Athlete? If he cant lose some weight in a contract year do you really think he is going to give a crap about his weight as he gets older with a guaranteed contract until he is 36!

I just figured it out, its all part of the governments revitalization of Detroit plan! His taxes on the new contract are worth more than the whole city!

Laugh...........
 

Thanks...........I needed a laugh!!!

I agree with the body type comparison, but in terms of who is/was the better player your incorrect. Prince is a much better hitter. .282 vs .255 lifetime average is not even close. Also Prince only needs one more season to tie his dads mark of over 100 RBI seasons, he'll do that easily in each of the the next 4 years, cruising right by him. Also, comparing their walks to K's ratio, not even close. Prince is a monster! His Big Daddy had a few good power # seasons, but not close to the hitter the lil guy is.

Paul,
Most likely the first time in a long time Prince has been referrred to as "the 'lil guy." :)

Did anyone of you know that Price Fielder is a vegetarian?

Joe

That's a lot of vegetables.

Seems to be working.

The above comparison leaves out one major point -- Cecil was 27 when he had the breakout year you cite -- Prince was 23. A 27 year old player would be expected to break down four years sooner than a 23 year old.
That being said, can't see the Tigers getting value for the full nine years, but for the next five or six maybe he could be a force.

Greg

wow
 

looks like the Angels STOLE Pujols after seeing this bloated (pun intended) Detroit contract...

Re: O/T, Prince Fielder to Tigers for 9 year deal
 

Let's hold off a bit on the coronation ceremony. Their defense is going to be brutal and unless the light suddenly goes on for Austin Jackson, they don't have a real leadoff hitter. The Tigers will rue this contract for a long time.

Ed, you're right. If Verlander hurts his arm the Central could be a race. I am sure that won't happen but.....

Joe-So are hippos and elephants

Best Non-Move So Far
 

As a Nationals fan, I have to admit some relief over the Nationals' refusal to cave to Boras's demands for Fielder. For a front office so often maligned about when and how they spend money, this has to be the best non-move they've made yet. The Nats have too many other things that require attention and money, and "upgrading" (if it really is an upgrade, all things -- like defense -- considered) to Fielder over Adam LaRoche (assuming he's healthy and back to his career norms) was a luxury the team couldn't afford (especially since years 4-9 would likely seen al expensive albatross and not a net asset hung around the team's financial neck). 2013 seems like a better time to spend FA money, from where the Nats sit, at least.

Deadspin has a story opining about which the tandem of Fielder and Cabrera will reach first; 600 combined home runs or pounds.

I like Detroit's chances. Of course injuries to players could make everything mute. They usually do.

Right now Detroit has the best pitching and hitting in the American league. I was hoping for someone with speed on the bases, that would have helped. With this trade I see Jacob Turner being given a bigger shot as the 5th starter for the Tigers also. I don't see them signing any pitchers, although Edwin Jackson is available again. He was 13-9 last year I think.

Joe

I agree, I like our non-moves (We did give up a lot for Gio but I'll take a proven ML over a bunch of prospects). If Fielder signed for 7 years or less, I would've been disappointed.

Tigers next club to go bankrupt. It amazes me that every individual and every corporation or corporate like entitiy continues to leverage their future. This will turn out badly for everyone. In my opinion of course.

He must be deep-frying them.

Please, how many teams are bankrupt? Yankees?, Red Sox?, I don't think so. Name the teams that are bankrupt. I don't think you realize how much money the Ilitch family has. Owner of Little Caesars pizza, Wife owns Casino in Detroit, family owns the Fox Theater and many more entertainment sites. And he owns the Red Wings. Come On! This is not a small market team no matter what you think.

Joe

Curious where you think I said or implied that the Tigers are a small market team.

What I am saying is that player salary outlay is too high. Ticket prices cannot continue to escalate to offset these costs, fans cannot afford it, the Mets are a clear example of this. It will also be clear to many observers that the Yankees will see a large decline in season ticket sales this year. I work for a large investment bank, we have had over 2 dozen season tickets to the Yankees for years, this year we are reducing that to 6 seats total and they are much less expensive seats. I know others in the industry are doing the same and the financial industry holds a lot (many more than you would think) of those seats. Entertainment spending is being reduced much much more than it was during the crisis of 2008.

In my opinion the finances of MLB are in trouble and we are going to see many many teams stressed.

I think it would be a mistake to assume ticket prices are how teams make their money. TV deals and merchandising will always bring in more money than ticket sales IF you're a team people want to see play baseball.

I still think the Tigers are going to stink 4/5 days. Their pitching is terrible besides Verlander and everyone knows you can't slug your way to a World Series title. Just look at what happened to the Tigers the last time they were in the Series. Kenny Rogers was their second best pitcher and Todd Jones was their closer. You can't win that way.

Not to mention how awful Verlander is in the post-season.

Not sure where you got your stats: below are the wins using the 5 starters for each team. These are for the top 6 teams in the American league for last year. I only used the 5 starting pitchers for each team. Gave Cleveland 6 pitchers to help their total. And Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones are not here anymore. You don't like Valverde as a closer?

Detroit 73 This includes Brad Penny for the 5th starter
Texas 73
Yankees 71
Tampa Bay 64
Los Ageles Angels 58
Cleveland 50 using 6 rather tha 5 pitchers.

Joe

I know Jones and Rogers are gone. I was just pointing out how bad pitching and great hitting led to the Tigers failing to win a championship the last time they had a mashing team.

I wasn't looking at wins. I was looking at ERA. Here are the ERA's of the Tigers' five starters last season:

Verlander : 2.40 (led the league)
Scherzer : 4.43
Procello : 4.75
Penny : 5.30
Phil Coke (started 5th most games) : 4.47

Fister may be good, he may be bad. It's hard to tell. Penny will probably be gone. Valverde was very good last year. Alburquerque was good too.

But who will be their 4th and 5th starters? What if Fister's year was a fluke? That's 3 starters they either don't have or don't know what they'll get from. You can add Porcello to that list too, which would leave just Verlander as a guy you know you can count on. But again, not in the post season.

I think Braun is getting off, Aramis Ramirez will hit behind him or vice versa and Corey Hart is sandwhiched in there. The Brewers if Gamel finally gets it will be a better team than last year

If Bruan wins his appeal (I believe) it will be the first time a suspension like this has been over turned. I honestly hope he's clean. The sad part is that if the suspension is lifted, the cloud of suspicsion will still remain over him.

Packs,



Unfortunately era's are not what they were in past years and never will be. That is why I look at wins not era. You won't find but a handful of pitchers with era's like Verlander. A handful at most. Pitching is always a suspect area, but I think the Tigers will add another, maybe Edwin jackson, he is available. Scherzer is much better than his era a shows. And I think Fister can win with the number of runs the Tigers will score. Porcello has always been a worry, does not throw hard enough for me, what saves him is high number of ground balls hit off of him. Another choice and I think he will get a chance this year just because of this signing, is Jacob Turner the young star in the minors.

I do think the Tigers will get to the post season again this year. The 2011 post seson was affected by all the rain we had also. Timing was off kilter for the pitching staff.

Another thing that bothers me is when Cabrera gets a hit and is sliding into a base. This will be the same thing for Fielder. Possible injuries. I guess the way to stop that is hitting home runs , about 75-80 between them I hope.

Joe

They're definitely going to hit. Cabrera is incredible and Fielder going to Detroit not only helps the team, but it's a nice story too. Every team has holes. I think they're the team to beat in the division. But I'm still rooting my Yanks to take it all. Definitely worried though. Especially since you beat us last year. Can you tell I'm still not over it?

Ok, we'll leave it at that.

Good Luck for the upcoming season.;)

Joe

They better hit alot. I know Miggie will and I suspect that Prince will, even in Comerica. With Prince at first and Miggie at third, I don't see too many gold gloves being handed out in the infield. Last I looked, it seemed like Prince wasn't so much on going more than a few feet left or right. While eating lots of broccoli and carrots may help, you just can't ever call him mobile. I suspect there's going to be a lot of extra base hits down both lines.

As a lifelong Brewers fan
 

I will miss Prince. Happy to see him in the AL though, I think Det will love him, especially for the first 6 years or so. A great hitter and a fun guy. Comparing him to his dad is unfair to Prince for a lot of reasons.

Don't forget he has two career inside the park homeruns, nothing is as entertaining as watching the fat guy run the bases!

braun getting off would set a bad precedence for baseball. roger clemens will misremembered he took the same cold meds as braun then...

After losing Victor Martinez, we're generally ecstatic in Detroit, but as to the long term view, Joe is of course correct--the old man's last, even half-way decent year came when he was 33. After that, he was too fat to get around on any fastball above the belt (and what big fat guy was effective past 35, other than that guy who started out pitching for Boston, whose PSA 7 M rookie just sold for 200K?)! One problem we see here is that Cabrera is the better fielding first baseman, and we don't really think Miguel can play 3rd effectively. Why shouldn't the slugging fat guy DH, even though he is younger???

Happy days are here again, to all of us Tiger fans in any event!

Larry

Yeah, Joe, I can tell.

Best wishes and good luck to your guys,

Larry

Wait...What happened to the big stick that Tony Clark had until he got to Comerica? How 'bout Juan Gonzalez' big stick in Comerica? Carlos Pena's power went off the charts once he got out of there(if you don't count the year sitting on Boston's bench). Johnny Damon had average power but it disappeared when he got there.

Point is, anything can happen when going to a new ballpark. And Comerica has a history of killing power hitters. This may or may not effect Fielder, because it hasn't really effected Miggy. But in the odd chance that it does, we better be prepared for a lot of long fly ball outs and some of the deepest singles we've ever seen in the history of the game...

V-mart's custom fit for that park. Fielder may not be.

They moved the fences in from the original dimensions, David, and Juan-Gone simply never wanted to be here. Tony Clark was just one of those guys IMO whose talent wasn't meant to last in the big picture. Prince will lose a few HR's on long balls hit to the left of the 365 marker, beyond which the fences go out rather steeply to center at 420, but he's a big boy, and doesn't need overly friendly fences to hit his 35+. My prediction for him is 36 HR's, 115 RBI's and his usual 100 or so walks, while hitting about .275 or better. He'll probably have a bit of a slow start adjusting to a new league, just as Miguel did the first couple of months here (although he ended up with 37 homers and
.292, leading the league in HR's, if I recall correctly, that year). If we could just get him to limit himself to one man to a uniform, those 9 years would look a lot better, but that's what it took to sign him.

Contrary to some of the other comments, having seen every one of Fister's starts on a great big HD screen, he seems to be the real deal and may well be a true No. 1 starter. The Tigers' pitching is weak after that, however, with Schirzer inconsistent despite having very high quality stuff, Porchello more than a bit wishy-washy, due to the inconsistent nature of the break on his sinking two-seam fastball and control from start to start, and Brad Penny gone (good riddance there--other than eating up innings, he only qualifies as a No. 5 for a well-under .500 team). We think, though, that having shored up the bullpen with Dotel, Coke firmly back in place as a quality 7th inning guy, and Valverde having learned to throw a pretty decent two-seamer to pick up the slack for a split finger that often didn't do much, that they may well have a real shot at several World Series appearances over the early years of the Fielder deal.

Best wishes,

Larry

Larry, I know. I was just bustin' balls. I honestly do think that Fielder will be fine for 4-6 years of that deal.. I think he barely replaces V-mart's overall, so I don't think it makes that big of a difference this year. But when Vic's back, with him, Fielder and Miggy, that's gonna be one hell of a middle of the order for the next couple of years..

I have to retract this statement, just read in the Detroit newspapers and Prince Fielder confirmed it. He was a vegetarian for about 3 months and that was it. :o

I am still estatic that he has joined the Tigers.

Joe