Braun's attitude vs. Fielder's attitude

[BREWCREW5]

Has anyone else besides me noticed the drastic difference between Braun's and Filelder's attitude. When the Brewers renewed their contracts in the spring, Fielder made a HUGE deal out of it saying that he would be "getting his payday soon, real soon". Wow. That is pretty lame.

Braun on the other hand stated that the Brewers were fair and now he ended up with a nice contract. He was asked by a reporter if he planned to buy anything new and big and Braun stated "nah, I'm happy with what I've got".

Truth be told, I dont think Fielder will be here one day after his contract is up. He will be hitting DH for an AL team, probably the Red Sox. If this is how is attitude is going to be, I could care less. Im glad to see the Brewers locked up Braun. He seems to be a class act.

[And That]

I have no issues with how hard Fielder plays on the field, and that's what counts to me right now. I'd like to see him in Milwaukee long term, but realistically we don't necessarily need him, even if his agent wasn't Scott Boras. LaPorta and Gamel could both play first base long term. I have no doubt that Fielder will play 100% til the day he leaves. Is he miffed he's not getting more money? Sure... but wouldn't you be too if you just hit 50 jacks in the big leagues and were getting paid about half a million dollars for it?

[brettac1]

The Brewers shouldn't have an interest in keeping Fielder when he hits FA, anyhow. Guys like him just don't age well, and like Toby said, they have replacements on the cusp. Braun, on the other hand, is a great athlete who can run, etc. and has a broader skillset than Fielder and will age gracefully. I just hope he learns how to take a walk once in a while.

[craigharmann]

but wouldn't you be too if you just hit 50 jacks in the big leagues and were getting paid about half a million dollars for it?

Yeah, but we don't know if the Brewers were offering $100 million over 7 years or what. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors. There's not a whole lot he can do about being paid a half a millions dollars, short of taking the offer that the Brewers offer. But we know that won't happen, because Boras wants him in a big market.

[endaround]

Braun had less than one year of service time. Fielder had over 2. Fielder felt he got screwed over the previous year when instead of getting a raise above minimum, he just the raise that all players making minimum got. Context matters.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I have no issus with Fielder. Its hard not to be upset about getting paid 500k after hitting 50 homers when a guy like Counsell makes 3 mil and is garbage. Really Fielder cant be mad at the team over Brauns contract because we have tried to sign him as well. As long as he has Boras as his agent he will chase every dollar which means he wont be long for Milwaukee. As for Braun he is the greatest thing to happen to this organization since Yount and Molitor. I hope Ryan plays his whole career in a Brewers uniform just like rockin Robin.

[2hoophead]

I like to believe that the days of having to deal a player like Sheffied will no hurt the organization like it did fifteen years ago. At the same time I have to be realistic and know that the Brewers would not resign all of their young players to long term contracts anyway.

 

Prince, in my mind, is the most likely candidate to be moved in part because he would bring the most in trade value. Also, a distant second, is that I cannot see him becoming a defensive player. He is becoming a liability at first base. I do not see his body staying like it is, either. Finally, as mentioned above, Scott Boras is his agent and I'd rather not see them deal with that bozo.

[endaround]

Yes and put in LaPorta, who is advised by Boras....

[olsonnet]

Yes and put in LaPorta, who is advised by Boras....

 

Well then he plays for 3-4 years and then we have someone else.

[LaprilOne]

Counsell makes 3 mil and is garbage.

 

BBC,

 

 

This is a tangent, but why use this post to throw a slam at Counsell?

 

As well, you often use inflamatory insulting words, like "garbage" to describe a player. C'mon, that is really no/low class.

 

Counsell has a role, he fills it, he will be gone soon. Why use a pejorative on one player to make a point you could have made otherwise?

[jjfanec]

I get that Prince was mad about only getting the normal raise because he just had a huge year, but how often to do young players get more than just the normal raise? I am seriously asking here, because ever since Prince's comments came out about the contract I have been a little put off by his attitude, but if other players have gotten an extra raise then I guess I understand a little more. I still dont like the way he talked about it to the media. He really seems to play the chip on his shoulder card a lot, and if that drives him to be better than I guess power to him

[kramnoj]

I think it's important to point out that Fielder is making $670k, not half a mil. $170k is still a lot of money, to both parties.

 

I'm not bothered by what Prince has done so far. He hasn't really said anything remarkable as far as I'm concerned, and I don't see his attitude affecting his play or that of the team. I would be in favor of him signing an extension that buys out a year or two, but if he wants to go year to year and we need to trade him a year from FA, I'm okay with that too.

[OOOverbay]

-jjfanec

 

The chip on his shoulder card hasn't been working to well for him this year. Granted, I love Prince's on field effort, winning attitude, and perseverance, but he has definately been playing below most fans expectations so far (I acknowledge performances such as last years can inflate expectations)

[jjfanec]

-jjfanec

 

The chip on his shoulder card hasn't been working to well for him this year. Granted, I love Prince's on field effort, winning attitude, and perseverance, but he has definately been playing below most fans expectations so far (I acknowledge performances such as last years can inflate expectations)

I know that he has not been having a great year, and maybe the contract stuff is distracting him. I do not think he is a 50 hr a year kind of guy, because I dont think that kind of guy even exist in this league. I think 40 home runs is a reasonably expectation for Prince, and he is not nearly on pace for that but I think he will pick his pace up. I do think a lot of fans over value Prince, but at the same time I think he is a great player and he will go on a little tear soon.

 

[And That]

It would take a fairly significant pace, even by Prince's standards, to hit 40 HR by the end of the year. At this point I'd be thrilled with 35.

[tigerbrew]

Braun won the ROY award and Prince didn't, so Braun deserves to get more money for year 2 than Prince.

To me, the $670k that Prince received for year 3 is a fair amount. If Prince wants to get paid like Howard did as mentioned by his agent, first he should have won the ROY award and next he should have won the MVP award.

I find that Prince is a lot more greedy and money minded than Braun, and I'd much prefer to lock up Hart than Prince.

[DrWood]

Braun said that the contract negotiations had been bothering him. I wonder if that's what Fielder is dealing with, and it's affecting his performance, effort notwithstanding. Because right now he is hitting like a below-average 1b, and he ISN'T going to get his big payday if he keeps it up. I really think he could do better than last year (maybe not increase HR, but have a more Pujols-esque average). I don't know what's going on.

 

Regarding Fielder not holding up, Ruth didn't look like a guy that would hold up, and he was a hard-drinker, too, but performed at a very high level until his last couple of years. I'd settle for 700 HR from him. Guys that GAIN a lot of weight during their career don't hold up; guys that maintain themselves, albeit at a heavy weight, hold up better. We don't know which Prince is.

[dlk9s]

Braun won the ROY award and Prince didn't, so Braun deserves to get more money for year 2 than Prince.

This is a terrible argument. You don't base contracts on what sports writers think.

 

 

(pared back quote --1992)

[rluzinski]

Fielder complained and then didn't mention it again, just like last year. It didn't seem like a very big deal to me.

[RU Rah Rah]

During the rain delay, FSN ran that piece on Braun, and what interested me most was the side-by-side shot, with Braun's swing mirroring Prince's. The contrast was really striking -- compared to Braun, who was really balanced and fluid, Prince almost looked like a guy swinging from the heels with a massive uppercut in a beer league softball game. To me, that's probably the most significant difference between the two, not attitude.

[Team Canada]

I have no issues with Fielder. Its hard not to be upset about getting paid 500k after hitting 50 homers when a guy like Counsell makes 3 mil and is garbage.

Well when you don't take service time into consideration, yeah that seems absurd. But that's how the system works, fair or not. You get your pay day when you're older.

Really, it's not even worth the effort to be upset about your contract before you get to arby. If you're decent, your paydays are going to quickly (like, less than a year) outstrip any "slights" you received your first 3 years.

[Nottso]

For $670,000 per year I'll play first base in all 162 games + playoffs, clean the clubhouse, drive the team bus AND keep Ned in fresh coffee.

[jeffy]

Fielder did get $2.4 million as a signing bonus in 2002, more than many people earn in a lifetime and enough to live pretty comfortably for few years while he waits for free agency...or is he a dope like his father, who pissed away all his money?

[nikegolf6]

I don't know all the specifics but I believe Cecil pissed away a good share of Prince's bonus too.

[Invader3K]

I don't know all the specifics but I believe Cecil pissed away a good share of Prince's bonus too.

"But why does he hate his daddy so much?" :P