Witrado says Fielder has slimmed down

[OldSchoolSnapper]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/39666662.html

 

I'd like to see some pictures. Made me very happy to see this.

[Patrick425]

Saw him at the winter warm up and didn't really notice a huge difference. But then again, I wasn't that close.

[homer]

Small point, but it was actually Witrado that reported this.

[YostInfection]

Not to hijack, but thought it would be appropriate to post here. Watched the voluntary workout of the position players yesterday and noticed a few things:

 

Braun looks like he added some good weight. To that point, of the 30 or so swings he had in BP, I think 12 to 13 cleared the LF fence. (Hardy had 1 or 2 and that was it for homers). Granted it is BP, but the guy looks locked in on February 15th. Good God.

 

Hart had some nice swings - I'm of the belief that he's not a BP-type of guy since his swing isn't pretty - but for the most part he looked good.

 

Weeks' hair was grown out - I loved it. New year, new look, new results?

 

Billy Hall was walking around just fine, as has been reported.

 

Brad Nelson was mashing the ball.

 

Great to see that everyone but 6 position players reported early.

[GormanHarvey]

I must say that reading that post by AW on the js blog put a big smile on my face. Not only because he said it was quite apparent that Prince has shed some lb's (which is great news!), but also because it was like getting smacked in the face with a big dose of reality for me that baseball season is just about upon is fellow bfnetters! T minus 24 days before I head to Maryvale!

[bullox]

Hate to be the negative Nancy as I wish for nothing but the best for all things Brewers, but these two statements seemed awfully contradictory:

 

He doesn't know how much he weighs because he said he "hates" scales

 

he sounds and looks committed to keeping the weight down.

 

C'mon Prince, if you are really committed you may have actually looked at a scale.

[GormanHarvey]

C'mon Prince, if you are really committed you may have actually looked at a scale.

That may be true, but people that I have known that have had battles with their weight tell me that they have learned that it is all about how you feel, not what the scale says. Here's to hoping he feels like hitting about 50 bombs this year!

[nate82]

C'mon Prince, if you are really committed you may have actually looked at a scale.

Actually stress can cause weight gain and if looking at the scale makes you stressed out why would you look at it?

[Dmiles23]

I'll attest to this, as I mentioned in the Winter Warm Up thread. Prince and Rickie walked right by me on their way to the autograph stange, and Prince was definitely slimmer. Both my friend and my first comments were "Prince has definitely slimmed down." And in my opinion, it was quite drastically.

[Thurston Fluff]

I wasn't surprised he gained some unwanted weight last year nor that he has taken it off this year. I thought being the youngest player to hit 50 bombs and have such a great year at his age was going to make him a little less inclined to do what he did previously to get to that point. It isn't uncommon for younger players who do well early, seemingly without effort, to think they will automatically get better with age. That he slimmed down from added workouts just seems to me he learned a valuable lesson from last year. I'm glad he went through it last year and learned from it. Dude could be awesome this year if he is really has rededicated himself to constant improvement vs resting on his natural abilities.

I am so pumped for this year I can hardly stand it.

[Invader3K]

Haudricourt had a similar report in his blog today. He said the difference was "noticeable," and that Prince seems dedicated to keeping his weight down.

[thablingster]

I can second Dmiles' comments in regards to the Brewers on Deck event. Fielder and Weeks walked by us on their way to the podium, and while standing not even 3 feet from him Fielder was looking lean. It was good to see.

[Bring Back the Stein]

AWESOME. Prince has done an outstanding job during his pro career keeping his weight down, especially given what he played at early on and, frankly, how much everyone is obsessed about it. His comments only reinforce the fact he's got a good attitude about it. He could take a different tack altogether and say, "You want to make veggie jokes instead of focus on my superlative early-career numbers? Okay. I'm off to Arby's." Instead, the shy guy with a chip on his shoulder, who is growing more-and-more into a leader, owns the issue in the period when it''s easiest to do something about it - the off-season.

 

I dedicate my meatball sub to you, Prince. And maybe any negative weight comments could be tempered if the height and weight and slugging percentage of the poster were required (5 10, 180, .000).

[Fatter than Joey]

Prince has done an outstanding job during his pro career keeping his weight down

 

Really? -- I thought he did a poor job of it last year.

 

He could take a different tack altogether and say, "You want to make veggie jokes instead of focus on my superlative early-career numbers? Okay. I'm off to Arby's.

 

I think if he had to do it all over again, Prince wouldn't have mentioned his vegetarianism.

 

Instead, the shy guy with a chip on his shoulder, who is growing more-and-more into a leader, owns the issue in the period when it''s easiest to do something about it - the off-season.

 

Absolutely. If he is able to get a handle on his weight, my hat is off to him. Certainly it is something I struggle with, and I know demonstrates leadership.

 

I think most people are obsessed about his weight, because they don't want to see him flame out at the age of 32 like his old man did -- or become a career DH.

[Bring Back the Stein]

I don't believe any of the numbers put on the record, but just eye-balling him from Beloit to now, I'd say Prince is playing at 50 pounds lighter. And probably even more weight down from his earlier high school iteration. He put on some pounds late in the season last year, but he also had some pretty good production down the stretch. To what do you attribute that to weight gain and not the ten thousand other factors that go into a batting approach in the big leagues, I don't know. I just know that he's stayed fit, especially given his body type, and he's in a position to mash. He gets a lot of credit in my book. (5 10, 185, after my meatball sub, .000.)

[GormanHarvey]

I am anxious to see photos of Prince version '09. Has anyone seen any on the web anywhere?

[eanelson4]

Holy moly! I just saw the video of him on Brewers.com and he looks soo much skinnier to me. I bet he dropped at least 20-30lbs. It is really evident in his face and belly (obviously). I like the size he has reported to camp at.

 

 

http://milwaukee.brewers....ws_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil

 

 

I like what I see. Hopefully he can keep the weight down and knock another 50 HR's out.

[Brian the Automator]

Wow, he looks really, really good. I just hope he's able to be disciplined about everything once the season starts and his wife isn't there to nag him.

[Fatter than Joey]

DFA Mrs. Fielder.

[Invader3K]

Now if he could only stop saying "you know" every three seconds.

[cwolf2012]

"who is growing more-and-more into a leader"

 

-------------------

 

The shoving match with Manny Parra will always make me think he isn't a leader type.

[Bring Back the Stein]

"who is growing more-and-more into a leader"

 

-------------------

 

The shoving match with Manny Parra will always make me think he isn't a leader type.

Respectfully, I think in the clubhouse the dynamic may have gone the other way. Time will tell.

[lukevan]

I agree Stein. I would bet money that Manny has no ill will toward Prince (if it were somehow a legitimate bet). Guys that play sports on the same ball squad will at times get heated toward each other and I believe Prince's teammates know that he is a team player and is ultimately the leadership presence.

 

I do have an odd optimism for this year's team. It could be one of those perfect storms; we might could (sic for hick) have 2-4 players break out and lay waste to the NL.

 

I think it's pessimistic to think that this team can't win at least 85 games on average. From there, who knows? I would hate for us to move toward the Yankee/Red Sox/Cubs/White Sox/Mets/Angels(?)-type of fans, as if we feel entitled to the playoffs, the type of fans that we detest. Only eight teams get there and we're at a disadvantage every year. Prince is our guy.

[BrewCrewForever]

Prince looks good. Hopefully being slimmer and not having to worry about the "business" side of the game the next few years he can go back to raking and improving on his horrendous defense from 2008.

 

And as far as being a leader, I think he is a leader of the team but to me Braun is THE leader of the team.

[southpaw121505]

I've read a few times how Prince has trimmed down and kinda shrugged it off. Finally saw an actual picture and that video and WOW, he looks tremendous. Really excited to see what he can do this year.