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

[AJAY]

After seeing how enormous the Brett Farve retirement coverage has been lately, I hope the Brewers have really learned something.

 

It very clear to me that the Brewers have to be willing to pay Prince Fielder whatever the marquee superstars are making. This kid is extremely special and you can NOT let him go. He is the youngest player ever to hit 50 bombs. He is going to challenge Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds for the all-time homerun champion title. He has major name recognition because his last name is "Fielder". He wins the voting for the all-star roster. His unusual body shape makes him unique and gives him character. His first name is Prince and the name just sounds so smooth and marketable. He is a big-time leader in the clubhouse. He has a lot of passion and energy in his game. He is committed to improving all aspects of his game including his defense. He is going to become a Hall-of-Famer. He is shown on ESPN montages all the time. He has been on the cover of ESPN Magazine and featured in Sports Illustrated. Even his conflict with his father brings national media attention and creates something of a story. I can easily see a documentary someday called "Behind The Glory: The Prince Fielder Story". Prince Fielder gets African-Americans to notice the Brewers and baseball. Prince sells jerseys and bobbleheads. The Brewer are now contenders and are drawing close to 3 million. Prince Fielder gets more standing ovations than all the other Brewers combined over the last 25 years.

 

Prince Fielder can become what Brett Farve was to the Packers. No offense to Robin Yount, but it's time for the Brewers to have a high-profile national icon for once in their history. It's our turn now.

 

If Prince has a legendary career in a Brewers uniform, the franchise will forever have some relevance in baseball history. That can never be taken away.

 

10 years, 190 - 200 million. Just Do it.

 

Like I said, I hope the Brewers have learned something from the whole Farve era.

[TooLiveBrew]

His unusual body shape makes him unique and gives him character.

 

Which is tragically also the same reason why this:

 

He is going to challenge Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds for the all-time homerun champion title.

 

is highly unlikely, sadly.

 

Prince Fielder gets more standing ovations than all the other Brewers combined over the last 25 years.

Not sure what that's all about... Prince is an incredibly gifted hitter - already a better one than his father ever was. He's very motivated to continue his improvement, but I think it's an outside chance at best for the Brewers to even have a realistic shot at retaining him, let alone whether he'd want to sign here or not.

[RyGuy671]

Wow, might be giving Prince a bit too much credit. He's no Hall of Famer yet, and it's way too early to think he'll challenge for the all-time home run title. I do think his body type does kind of endure him to folks, but it will also play against him as he get older. I don't rip on him for being fat as a lot of non-Brewer fans do (he is just a huge guy), but as he ages, it'll be hard for him to no let his weight affect his play.

 

He is the face of the franchise, no doubt. But we can't just pay him a ton of money to stay a Brewer. We have to be smart on how we spend our money, small-market economics still rule.

[Invader3K]

After seeing how enormous the Brett Farve retirement coverage has been lately, I hope the Brewers have really learned something.

 

10 years, 190 - 200 million. Just Do it.

 

Like I said, I hope the Brewers have learned something from the whole Farve era.

AJAY, I agree wtih a lot of what you said, though I don't see how you can say Favre's legacy should have any relevancy to what the Brewers do in regard to Prince. The Packers will always be the far and away number one passion for the majority of sports fans in this state. That's just how it is.

That said, I would love to see the Brewers pony up some big time cash and get Prince signed long term. I just don't see how Scott Boras is going to allow it. It's just not his modus operandi. He's going to demand that Prince wait and test the free agent market, and if his value has held in a couple years, some team like the Yankees is going to offer some insane contract the Brewers can't possibly match. I just don't see how that scenario is realistically avoided.

[RyGuy671]

It kinda sounds like Mark A. is on the side of Prince in this whole "contract disagreement". A few words from the JS article about it:

 

Noting that clubs have the upper hand until players are eligible for arbitration, Attanasio said, "The system is what it is. It's very difficult on younger players, especially younger players who really produce. "Prince did something that nobody in the history of baseball has done. If I was Prince, I would feel bad, too. But that is the system. It's the MLB system. It's not my system." Attanasio conceded that the Brewers could have given Fielder more money but said the system that general manager Doug Melvin has in place is an objective one. "This is the first time we've had a case like this one," Attanasio said. "We need to continue to look at what we're doing to make sure it's fair. "I think, for the most part, Doug's system has worked for us. Other teams put something out there and if it's not accepted, they penalize the player and cut their (last) offer. We're absolutely not doing that."

 

Sounds like something an owner would say (as opposed to the GM who deals with the contract and system). I actually like the gist of it. Sure we should have stuck to the system, but at least Prince knows Mark may not like it, and thinks Prince deserves more. Shows that the club isn't just sticking it to him. You can tell Mark is laying the inroads for future talks.

[1992casey]

I like Mark's comments, too, especially this part: "We need to continue to look at what we're doing to make sure it's fair."

 

I don't think the Brewers did wrong by applying their scale, but I do think Prince deserved more money and that he exposed a flaw in the system.

[BrewCrewForever]

I like hearing comments like that from our owner. Another reason I love Mark A. so much. He really seems like he will open the check book to try to keep Prince long term at some point.

[logan82]

AJAY wrote:

10 years, 190 - 200 million. Just Do it.

Never, never, never. 10 Years is just way to long for a contract.

[BrewCrewForever]

Brett Favre signed a 10-year contract. Didn't some Ovechkin guy in the NHL just sign like a 18 or 20 year contract?

[EinhornIsFinkle]

I'd make a big goodwill move to Boras and Prince, and give him a few million, especially since Cecil stole millions from him.

I thought it was like a hundred k or two hundred k which Cecil says should have been his agent cut. It certainly wasn't millions as that would have been like all his money.

 

[AJAY]

Prince will be 33 in 10 years. He won't really be that old. I am sure his salary will probably be considered a bargain by that time.

[TooLiveBrew]

Didn't some Ovechkin guy in the NHL just sign like a 18 or 20 year contract?

 

NYI goalkeeper Rick DiPietro. Which has nothing to do with whether or not a 10-year contract is a good or bad idea. I don't understand why anyone's trying to compare two sports with salary caps to MLB. Doesn't make much sense.

[BrewCrewForever]

Prince will be 33 in 10 years. He won't really be that old. I am sure his salary will probably be considered a bargain by that time.

That is a great point. And really the only thing that will hold Prince back if anything is his weight. But he works hard so I don't see that getting out of hand.

 

[rluzinski]

A 10 year contract to a guy who's already not a very good defender at the easiest position would have me concerned. Unless the Brewers move to the AL sometime soon, no thanks.

[logan82]

The contracts in the NFL are hardly worth the paper they are written on. The only part that is guaranteed is the signing bonus. You take a one year hit if you get rid of the player. In MLB the contracts are guaranteed so you are in it for 10 years or however long the contract is.

[Tbadder]

I love the A-Man. He's made Milwaukee real, but he really needs to be B+++ch slapped on this one. Any extra money he sends Fielder will simply be money thrown away. He's gone Mark. it's not the end of the world. Ist basemen aren't that hard to replace. Save the dosh for stellar shortstops and All-Star catchers. Boras is a shark, and if you cozy up to a shark you will be dinner toot-sweet.

 

 

(note: "B+++ch slapped" = circumventing cuss filter --1992)

[JenksFan5]

During today's broadcast, Jim Powell was talking about how it was revealed at the owner's banquet on Friday night that ownership/Melvin had offered Prince a very substantial contract and that Boras turned it down. Powell went on to say that Attanasio said that the Brewers would do everything in their power to keep Prince.

 

I don't think it is fair to criticize the Brewers when they put the money on the table and Prince/Boras turned it down. Now we can only speculate on contract details, but Prince could have signed and be making several million dollars this season I would guess. If he wants to risk injury in hopes of really cashing in later, more power to him, but it sounds like the Brewers have tried locking him up long term and if he really wanted more money now, he could have had it.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't think it is fair to criticize the Brewers when they put the money on the table and Prince/Boras turned it down

 

Exactly why so many dismissed Prince's comments/'concerns' immediately.

[logan82]

JenksFan5 wrote:

Powell went on to say that Attanasio said that the Brewers would do everything in their power to keep Prince.

What does that mean exactly though? Seems to me that could mean they will not break the bank or do a long, potentially franchise crippling contract.

[AdvantageSchneider]

I hope that is exactly what that means.

[logan82]

I hope so as well. Bottom line is that I am a Brewers fan, as are most people here. I am not a Fielder fan. I like Prince, but my loyalty lies with the Brewers' franchise, not the players. I don't want to see anything done to cripple the franchise. In my mind a long term contract with Prince has much more potential to harm the team than help. Prince is a very good player, but being a power hitting 1st baseman who plays below average defense isn't exactly a rare skillset.

[danzig6767]

The comments by Attanasio about trying hard to resign Prince at some point struck me as a non issue, what else was he going to say? Attanasio wasn't going to say to the media, enjoy Prince the next few years because we aren't going to even bother trying to keep him long term.

 

I'm sure a time will come that the Brewers will offer Prince a large contract that would leave him an extremely wealthy man, but odds are it won't be enough to keep Fielder/Boras from shopping the slugger around the the rest of the league and that likely will end his stay here.

[craigharmann]

Just to know that the Brewers offered Prince a contract does my heart good. There really hasn't been a time where we could even think of making that offer to one of our own players, let alone think there was a chance that a long-term contract was even possible. We've heard Bud and Wendy crying and whining about how much money they didn't have and how uncompetitive they were. But here comes an owner who wants a winner and is willing to put out his own money to make it happen. Yay Mark!!

[dvoiss]

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'

Are you suggesting the Brewers owe him something or they should give him "pity pay" because his Dad ripped him off? That's ridiculous. I really don't think giving him a couple million now will have him in a Brewer uni in five years anyway. So why set a precedent that is going to be hard to go back on with future kids?

[aracko]

Dont pay him - no way. He wont be a Brewer forever thats for sure. Let him work on being the best and making the most and then trade him when his value is highest. After the season we will take Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberland, and Jose Tabata - we will be a better team with 3 guys making up 15 million than one guy makeing 20.