Prince: "I'm not happy about (contract renewal)"

[endaround]

Wow this is like listening to Dan Needles whine about Yi. "How dare he not kiss our butts!" Prince did not go out and kick your dog.

[Thurston Fluff]

Yes lets grill Prince on a meaningless throwaway line! That will keep him happy and in Milwaukee! I don't understand why its hard to understand. His father blew his signing bonus and he didn't get as big of a raise as he expected when the minimum went up. Now you might find that petty, but if you were swindled out of millions you too might have a chip on your shoulder. Again focus on Hardy who needs to put up this year to assure his future with the team.

 

Why should we care if he's happy? It will not make any differance if he's all about the money. From everything we see, like his choice of agent to his whinning about his contract he's all about the money. This type of player you just pay the least amount possible until he leaves. Why pay to make him happy when there is no % in it for the team? As far as his dad blowing his money how the heck does that have any relevence to the Brewers? If he's mad at the Brewers for the choices he's made in his life then there is no making him happy anyway.

[rluzinski]

"Its one thing to say something around "you know I am dissapointed but I realize its a business and the two sides couldnt come together so they used their system for paying us out","

 

Instead he said, ""You have to respect their scale," Fielder said. "But like I said, I'm not happy about it. But I'm going to do my job this year."

 

So what's the problem again?

[endaround]

Why should we care if he's happy? It will not make any differance if he's all about the money. From everything we see, like his choice of agent to his whinning about his contract he's all about the money. This type of player you just pay the least amount possible until he leaves. Why pay to make him happy when there is no % in it for the team? As far as his dad blowing his money how the heck does that have any relevence to the Brewers? If he's mad at the Brewers for the choices he's made in his life then there is no making him happy anyway.

I'm not saying the Brewers should pay him, I'm just saying don't take it so hard when Prince wants more money. He's not pleased with his current situation and it would great if all was sunshine and lollipops but its far from being important. Its not like he's threatening Operation Shutdown!

 

[Thurston Fluff]

Gotcha end. I think this is news because this is really the first sign from him that, after his arby years, he will not be a Brewer. It probably will take some time for it to set in to those who have been holding out hope that the Brewers could somehow, someway, keep Prince in the fold. For my part I never thought of him as a lifelong Brewer so it's not allthat big of a deal. I'll be happy watching him then when the time comes be happy to move on with someone else. I like the dude but never really get all wrapped up in one person.

[splitterpfj]

Baltimore has renewed Nick Markakis at $455,000, so now he's mad too. Cole Hamels wasn't happy that the Phillies renewed him either, and none of this changes anything.

 

Anger seems to fuel Prince, whether it's his dad, his contract, Moneyball, or whatever. That being the case, I'd like to be the first to say, "Bet you can't hit the top of the scoreboard! You're overweight, and will never amount to anything! Hey, look over there, it's Matt Capps and Billy Beane...."

 

Next season someone else will be pouting, while Prince is making eight figures, and people will think that's a big story too. It's just part of the deal, only the names change from one spring to the next.

[TooLiveBrew]

Baltimore has renewed Nick Markakis at $455,000, so now he's mad too. Cole Hamels wasn't happy that the Phillies renewed him either, and none of this changes anything.

 

These young guys can go ... well, this isn't exactly the Political Scene, so I'll stop there.

 

Waaaaah! I'm only making half a million dollars to play baseball! Waaah!

[Fanof17andBrew]

Should have shown some loyalty and bumped him up some more. Many things need to fall into place this season. Handleing this the right way would have been a nice start.

[Baldkin]

So, if they just bump Prince, what does that show to Hart? Weeks? Braun? Villanueva? Gallardo? Parra?

[brewjihad]

You can't be upset with the Brewers about this. But still, if they can give a few million to Guillermo Mota, I think they could afford to throw another $200,000 or so at all of the young guys to keep them happy. It would probably be worth it the long run.

[trwi7]

You can't be upset with the Brewers about this. But still, if they can give a few million to Guillermo Mota, I think they could afford to throw another $200,000 or so at all of the young guys to keep them happy. It would probably be worth it the long run.

Do you really think Scott Boras is going to say to Prince. "Hey, they gave you the extra $200,000 back in 2008. You can go ahead and give them a hometown discount..."?

[dvoiss]

This is the way the game is played. Prince doesn't have to like it he just has to live with it. Prince is obvioudly worth more than what he's getting but his day is coming. I don't think it makes it less likely he'll stay when he hits free agency because we all kow he is gone then anyway.

[TooLiveBrew]

Exactly, dvoiss. 2007 & 2008 will balance out him making north of $15 mil. when he's 35.

[brewjihad]

Do you really think Scott Boras is going to say to Prince. "Hey, they gave you the extra $200,000 back in 2008. You can go ahead and give them a hometown discount..."?

 

Not at all. Sorry if it was interpreted that way. I have no problem with what the Brewers did on this, but I think they could have just thrown in a little extra to eliminate the issue entirely. It wouldn't really have hurt anything.

[DHarris34Phan]

Why should we care if he's happy?

Are you kidding me? For roughly 200k, we should easily have been able to accommodate Prince.

With how the tickets, parking, and merchandise prices all going up, this franchise could easily afford giving him the extra $$$, and as a fan I wouldn't be opposed to it. Prince is part the reason we are paying these prices, and part of the reason the franchise has become so profitable.

 

This guy has been our franchise savior thus far, and to upset him over $200k sucks.

[TooLiveBrew]

If $200K more is all Fielder needs to be happy, he can go endorse shoestrings. I get the feeling he wants more than that, but at the same time his agent would advise strongly against any extension.

[Thurston Fluff]

This guy has been our franchise savior thus far, and to upset him over $200k sucks.

How does making him happy help us win? How is paying him more than we have to going to keep him here long term? How does a team remain solvent when they throw money away when they don't have to? Prince will drain the team for every dollar he can get then leave when someone offers him more. The way to deal with that is not to bow down to him simply to make him happy. The way to deal with that is to treat him the way his agent treats teams. If I thought he would play differantly for the extra money or stay with the team longer simply by paying him an extra couple grand then I'd be all for it. He won't so why throw the money away for no reason what so ever?

 

While I agree Prince is part of the reason this team is now stabile he is not the only reason. If we started giving everyone who is part of the solution an extra couple hundred thousand we then have an couple million more on the payroll. for every $ you spend now you have one less $ to spend a year from now. If we need to fill a hole in the bullpen next season and come up a million short on being able to fill that hole will it be worth it? It's easy to tell someone how to spend their money. When it's your money and there is no reason what so ever to give it away would you just give it to a 23 year old kid on the verge of becoming very wealthy next year just because he wants it? Or would you keep it and reinvest it into the team for maybe another scout or a minor league instructor or maybe on promotions to increase revenue. Wise business poeple spend their money wisely.

 

 

(pared back nested quote --1992)

[jhart05]

Prince, worry about what you are doing on the field and the money will take care of itself.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Alot of 'talking heads' on various sports sites compare Fielder to Ryan Howard - on the field, I can agree with the comparisons, but their respective situations are much different:

Howard was blocked by Jim Thome for 2-3 seasons before finally starting to accumulate MLB service time a few years back. Ryan Howard is currently 28, Fielder is 23. For all intensive purposes, the first long-term free agent contract Ryan Howard signs will be his last, so he has one shot at cashing in big. If Fielder can keep weight issues away, he will most likely be able to sign two long term deals, similar to what ARod was able to do with the Rangers and Yankees.

Howard initially felt slighted by the Phillies because he wasn't brought up to the bigs until 2-3 seasons after he was ready - he earned much less playing in the minors than what Fielder made playing in the big leagues at similar ages. All of the other 22-24 year old players griping about their contracts getting renewed isn't similar at all to Howard griping about it at 27. If Fielder wants to use Howard as an example for what he should be paid, the Brewers should offer him 900K in 4 seasons, when he's 27.

[1992casey]

Did Prince seek out reporters to talk about this or was he approached? If he sought them out, there's a problem. If he was approached, and I'd guess he was, I don't see a problem with his comments.

[jazzytrav]

Did Prince seek out reporters to talk about this or was he approached? If he sought them out, there's a problem. If he was approached, and I'd guess he was, I don't see a problem with his comments.

I was wondering the same thing. He may have been just being honest. I don't really have a problem with a guy who just hit 50 homers saying he's worth more (relatively) than half a million. Did he say "I'm not happy that they didn't give me a little more and my performance might reflect this"? If not, then I don't see it as a big deal. If someone asks him about his contract, would you rather he lie and tell us what we want to hear? Or would you rather he tell us the truth but assure us that he understands why it is and that this won't affect his performance?

 

It's really all there, as rluzinski pointed out:

 

"You have to respect their scale." (he understands that there is a process)

"But like I said, I'm not happy about it." (he's being honest)

"But I'm going to do my job this year." (I would assume his job is hitting 50 homers, so I have no problems here)

[NievesNoNO]

I don't think this is real a big deal. I would guess the majority of us have felt (or been) underpaid for their work. No different here, we're just talking bigger numbers which makes it harder for some of us to relate to. Yes, for his stats and meaning to the team he's underpaid, but that's the system. The Brewers handled it the way they should have. Although I'd be all about trying to work out a deal with him now to secure his services at maybe a reduced cost down the road. He's a freak and still getting better!!

[RyGuy671]

It seems Mark A. is still quite interested in signing Prince to a long-term deal. That sounds pretty obvious, but the fact that he's still pressing it is good news.

 

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/03/07/attanasio-wants-long-term-deal-with-fielder.aspx

 

I really think Prince's situation will be different than guys like ARod who bolt for money when they get the chance. I'm sure he loves Milwaukee and the team, with all his close buddies playing alongside him. Not saying he'd take a "hometown discount", but I think it's a higher than normal chance he'd be receptive to a long-term deal, despite what Boras would say.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

"So, if they just bump Prince, what does that show to Hart? Weeks? Braun? Villanueva? Gallardo? Parra? "

 

The only one close to accomplishing what Prince has done for us, is Ryan Braun, and he still has a ways to go, before he's there. Weeks, Hart...they never hit 50 HRs (hell, NO Brewer EVER has before), an OPS over 1.000, 119 RBIs...I could go on. They've never been starting All-Stars, never been voted in by the fans (ahead of Albert Pujols, no less). Prince already has 80 HRs in 2.1 seasons, and if he weren't represented by Boras, he'd be our biggest slugger ever.

 

He's a unique talent which comes around once in a generation, maybe less often than that. If I'm Ryan, CV, Corey, Rickie...I wouldn't expect myself to be graded on the exact same scale. Prince is one of those guys you make an exception for.

 

OK, you don't give him $10,000,000 already, but you at least make an effort to accommodate him.

 

Not saying that I agree, but, especially in light of Doug holding steadfastly to his "system", WHEN Prince leaves to become a Yankee, we'll be perceived as the same ol' cheapskate franchise all over again.

 

Sheets is a huge injury risk, Suppan is a bum, Gagne, post-roids, is ridiculously iffy... They're all question marks, moreso than $8-10 million-per-year players. But Prince? He's legit.

 

I'd make a big goodwill move to Boras and Prince, and give him a few million, especially since Cecil stole millions from him. RE-set him up for life, right away. Maybe Prince wants to do something specific with a few million, now. Who knows what kind of security he's seeking right away. If we make that happen, and treat him like the special, ultra-rare talent he is, then MAYBE we can get him to view us positively, and perhaps he'd at least give strong consideration to staying until he's at least 30.

 

But now? Instead of Milwaukee having a 20-30% chance of signing long-term, I'd say we're down to around 2%...

[1992casey]

If someone suggested that the Brewers ought to look at this situation and consider tweaking their 'system' for judging and compensating pre-arby players, I could buy into that.