How many millions has Fielder cost himself in the last month?

[brewizard]

LOOK HOW SKINNY HE WAS!!!

 

Can anybody find good comparison pics? Say, 2006 vs 2008? Something where we can really see the difference? I'm just not so sure.

[Thurston Fluff]

His weight is only one factor and has an unknown negative contribution to his ofensive and defensive performance.

 

I think it points more to not doing everything possible to make sure he playing at his best than the specific issue of his weight. That is the part I am disappointed in. Coming out of high school he had a reputation of being overweight and he worked very hard to control his weight. If he is not doing the same now then I think it is a legitimate complaint. My personal opinion is things might have come a bit too easy for him early on and he got a bit lackadaisical in his preparations for the season.

It's also why I think it's fair to criticize him now. I would have a lot more sympathy for him if I felt he did everything he could to make sure this sort of prolonged slump didn't happen.

[trwi7]

Prince from May 2006:

 

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/image/2006/05/18/015543125.jpg

 

Prince from April 2007:

http://homerderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/prince-fielder-cubs-hr.jpg

 

Prince from 2008 (Don't know what month)

 

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/photographer/20/20857_thumbnail.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[joepepsi]

And does the blame mob always have to find one guy to single out for every losing streak? It's so darn predictable. I'm sure you can find a number of underperforming players to blame if you felt so inclined. I know it's not as emotionally satisfying to not have a single person to direct your frustrations at but at least try to remain objective?

Honestly the most surprising/disappointing aspect of this season for me has been the offense as a whole. The whole team was pretty awful for the first 6-8 weeks. Braun has been consistently good since then; Hardy kicked it in June and is arguably their best player right now; Cameron's offense showed up after the All Star break, about the time Hart disappeared. Fielder has been pretty consistent until these last 20 games; a somewhat disappointing but overall solid season.

 

The team is 5th in the league in runs scored and 2nd in slugging. But they are 10th in batting average and 7th in obp. I didn't expect Braun and Fielder to repeat their numbers from 2007 necessarily, but I did expect the offense to be the team strength and much improved overall from last year. It's not. It's about the same; which makes me wonder if this is as good as the young core will get. There isn't an MVP caliber hitter on this team, which is pretty unusual for a team with the second best record in the league.

[endaround]

The Cubs don't have an MVP caliber hitter either. The Dodgers didn't until Manny went there. The DBacks didn't until Dunn showed up. The Angels didn't get one until Texeria went there (Vlad of course is very good, but not MVP quality this season). The Rays don't have one.

[jwill535]

But what those teams have are players that get productive outs rather then K's

[Thurston Fluff]

I don't know if it's productive outs as much as most of the players have the same weakness. The low batting averages and OBP make them pretty one dimensional on offense.

[JJHardy7]

Prince from May 2006:

 

It's amazing how 'baggy' his uniform has gotten over the past few years. They should have Prince wear a uniform that actually fits and we can then really tell how much weight he's put on. I have to think that is slowing down his swing, but I guess that's rather subjective without having some bat speed numbers.

[jhpc12]

I know that this a Prince arbitration post, but what do you think Corey and JJ can.expect. What do they ask for and what do you think the club will offer.Of course this could be a mute point if one or both of them sign a long term deal before next year.

[brewizard]

Thanks for the pics, Trwi7, but I still can't really see it. I was searching for pics myself, and I can't find them either, so you did a better job than I did, but I still can't see it clearly enough to believe that he's gained a significant amount of weight in two years.

 

EDIT:

 

Ooops. Now I see it. Ugly. No wonder...

 

 

2006:

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/292/princevy3.jpg

 

Aug, 2008:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/2008/08/05/300_Fat_Fielder.jpg

[fondybrewfan]

Wouldn't a relatively easy calculation of bat speed be an easy way of determining if his bat has slowed from his weight or other factors. Of course you probably need some equipment I don't have to accurately measure bat speed but one would think it could be easily done.

[crewcrazy]

The baggy uniform he's starting wearing the past year or two definitely doesn't help his look. If you catch a glimpse of Prince when the Brewers untuck their shirts after a win, his jersey nearly falls down to his knees. He looks like a 6-year old playing dress-up in his dad's clothes.

[brewmann04]

tharts the big problem Prince has also cost the brewers in his possible trade Value.

[trwi7]

Ooops. Now I see it. Ugly. No wonder...

Wow, that's a huge difference. That's at least 20 pounds difference imo.

 

This is really a horrible situation for the Brewers to be in. With the way he's trending, he could/should be a DH perhaps as early as next year. Problem is, other teams will know this and if he keeps up this .830 OPS stuff we're not going to get much value at all.

 

So would it be best to go through arbitration this year and hope he rebounds next year to hopefully a .375/.525 guy or risk him putting up the numbers he has this year with the same terrible defense?

[senorjerm]

http://www.gettyimages.co...p;phrase=prince%20fielder

 

hopefully that link works. 17 pages of Prince images from gettyimages.com Chronological order to boot.

[trwi7]

http://www.gettyimages.co...p;phrase=prince%20fielder

 

hopefully that link works. 17 pages of Prince images from gettyimages.com Chronological order to boot.

 

That's a great link and it definitely shows that he's gotten much bigger, even from last year to this year.

[brwrsfan]

Anyone else see the clip last night of the 5 HR inning? They showed Prince hitting the final one and all 3 guys I was with exclaimed the same thing:

 

LOOK HOW SKINNY HE WAS!!!

 

He's easily added 40 pounds since then and it's obviously hurting his production. He's killing us right now.

So you're saying he weighs 300 pounds now? I can't buy that, but I bet next Spring we will hear stories about how much weight he lost over the winter.

Pretty much, yes. I don't know what he was listed at in 2006, but after looking at those pictures, it's pretty clear that he's MUCH bigger now than he was then...just look at his gut. Maybe he's not over 300, but he's definitely 40 pounds heavier than in 2006 (IMO).

[Mr QL]

I really hope we cash out on Prince this offseason. His worth is only down hill from here. He's a fatso with an attitude problem to boot.

[Hammer]

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:XVhFizOXeL1S-M:http://sportswrap.berecruited.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/fielder.jpg

 

All joking aside, didn't we all pack on a couple of pounds when we hit the 23-25 age? That is the load of crap explanation that I got from a journalist from the Journal/Sentinel when I asked him about Princes weight when I ran in to him before a game in July. I was pretty ticked at his answer because it doesn't make a lot of sense to compare the average "I drink a lot of beer" weight gain to a professional "athlete" gaining 40-50 lbs...

[trwi7]

All joking aside, didn't we all pack on a couple of pounds when we hit the 23-25 age? That is the load of crap explanation that I got from a journalist from the Journal/Sentinel when I asked him about Princes weight when I ran in to him before a game in July.

You should've asked how much weight Hardy, Hart, Braun and Weeks put on since they're all in that age range.

[MJLiverock]

I aggregated the stats for the main offensive players for August and September to date and it appears the criticism of Prince is warranted. He and Hart have become out machines so any rally started by the top is quickly killed. Cameron has been amazing but likely leading off a lot of innings after Fielder and Hart make outs. Third base production has been non existent and Kendall hasn't been bad, gets on base but with no power. Too bad, his singles will leave him stranded since Weeks has lost all power in the short run.

 

 avg. obp slg Weeks 0.252 0.353 0.398 Hardy 0.280 0.347 0.530 Braun 0.298 0.365 0.538 Fielder 0.205 0.308 0.378 Hart 0.279 0.294 0.464 Cameron 0.321 0.393 0.661 Hall 0.208 0.296 0.319 Kendall 0.280 0.351 0.373 Counsell 0.246 0.354 0.323 

[Roscoe Chill]

Why is it so hard to believe that Prince might weigh somewhere close to 300 pounds? He's LISTED at 270...just look at him!

[jwill535]

Well I am 6'1 250 and if I stood next to him you would notice more then a 20lb difference.

[rluzinski]

I can't speak for anyone else but I'm not contending that Prince hasn't gained weight. I just don't think the 20ish lbs of weight he might have gained from last year has had much if any effect on his offensive performance. Just my opinion.

[RockCoCougars]

I don't care what anyone says, Prince is EASILY three bills. I also could care less about what his OPS is, when is the last time he has gotten a clutch hit in a big situation (e.g. not down 8-1 or up 6-0). He seriously needs to lose the attitude and about 40 pounds or he will not be an effective player in this league anymore by the time he's 30. Dude literally and figuratively "got fat and lazy" after his big season last year.