Portrait of a Boras client

[markedman5]

The fans and the organization have treated Prince pretty well.

 

Show me the money

 

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/...and-willing-to-be-traded

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I've said from the beginning...I doesn't matter what amount of money offered, because it won't be enough. The Brewers could offer 200 million and Boras will still turn it down.

[Ando Calrissian]

I don't think there's anything surprising in this article. Fielder has a right to free agency and I don't think we can be shocked or offended at his decision to seek it. I thought his responses to questions were about as diplomatic as he could be. This is part of the game and has been for a while now. I'd love to have Prince in a Brewers uni for years to come, but since we won't, I won't dwell on it. I'll simply hope that when the time comes for his departure, we get a fair return for him and that if someday he becomes a Hall of Famer he'll go in with a Brewers cap. Prince was part of a wave of talent that made us a relevant organization again and for my part, I'm grateful.

[Invader3K]

I'd prefer to have guys on the team that actually want to be here. Prince apparently doesn't want to stay, so...adios, Prince. It was nice knowing you for a while.

[DocLuna7]

I'd prefer to have guys on the team that actually want to be here. Prince apparently doesn't want to stay, so...adios, Prince. It was nice knowing you for a while.

I'm not sure where you get that sense from this article. I think he merely is saying that if traded he would play hard for whoever he was traded to. He does have a right to see what his value is on the open market, and until he leaves or says something far more controversial than what he did in this article I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Invader3K]

He's never actually come out and said, "I want to stay here." He has turned down two extension offers in the past (one for over $100 million recently). If he really wanted to stay here and play on a competitive team, he wouldn't expect a franchise crippling contract. Since that is what he's apparently looking for, he does not want to remain a Brewer. Actions speak louder than words.

[rluzinski]

I just want to make sure I understand. In order for a player to prove his allegiance to an organization, it's not enough to just accept whatever he's offered. He also has to make sure the offer isn't too high?

 

Why should a player feel an allegiance to a particular tea,m anyway? Because the the franchise was given exclusive control of the player via a draft? Sounds like a good reason for a person to give up MILLIONS of dollars? I can't anyone really could believe that, provided they are willing to take their fan cap off and look at the situation objectively.

 

I think Prince has always been perfectly diplomatic about the whole situation.

[Invader3K]

Oh, I agree that he has a right to sign wherever he wants for whatever amount he can get. I am just not looking forward to the inevitable vocal angst when he does so. I don't want people to pretend he was driven from Milwaukee by a cheap owner or something.

[razzzorsharp]

“It’s part of the game, so I expect it. The only reason I’d be a little

down is because I’m leaving the guys I came up with. Other than that,

it’s a business. That’s the only thing I’d miss, is my teammates.”

 

He wouldn't miss me? Ouch, I am hurt.

[jerichoholicninja]

...if someday he becomes a Hall of Famer he'll go in with a Brewers cap.

If Prince gets into the Hall of Fame it will almost certainly not be as a Brewer.

[MNBrew]

I agree that Prince has been perfectly diplomatic about the whole situation.

 

I also remember a comment he made back in Spring Training that he'd be quite happy remaining a Brewer for a long time.

 

I think the guy's had to insulate himself against the possibility of being traded. And it was fairly obvious that the whole slant of the article was more "how would you feel if you got traded?" rather than anything about "would you like to stay in Milwaukee and how would you feel if that were the long-term scenario that plays out?" -- and to read anything more into it than that goes from fact to conjecture. Granted, the likelihood of the latter would seem to be not so great, but it's still a possibility.

 

...Even the whole thing about playing first base in 2012. He's not saying anything about the interim time because quite possibly until he hits free agency, he could well be a Brewer, and if that's the case, he knows for a fact he's playing first base through 2011. So he's not worried about that. It's when he would hit FA and have the chance to choose his team that one of his criteria clearly would be that he still be playing first base. The article doesn't dwell on his defensive position now through 2011, though, because more of its focus is on Prince either being a FA or being traded because he's seemingly bound to become a FA.

[hawing]

“It’s part of the game, so I expect it. The only reason I’d be a little

down is because I’m leaving the guys I came up with. Other than that,

it’s a business. That’s the only thing I’d miss, is my teammates.”

 

He wouldn't miss me? Ouch, I am hurt.

No small wonder you're hurt. That's colder than the time CC turned you down.

[owbc]

I love that the article called the Brewers a "mid-market". I take that as a major compliment.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I love that the article called the Brewers a "mid-market". I take that as a major compliment.

Exactly what I was going to post about!

We know this: Fielder, 26, will become a free agent after the 2011 season, and there’s a very good chance that the mid-market Brewers will deal their first baseman between now and then.

 

We are stepping UP in the world!

[TooLiveBrew]

“It’s funny. If I was slim and skinny, people would say I play good defense. Because I’m a little thicker and chubby, I don’t play good defense, you know? That’s just how it is.”

I think that, maybe if you actually played good defense, Prince, people would say you play good defense.

[Ando Calrissian]

...if someday he becomes a Hall of Famer he'll go in with a Brewers cap.

If Prince gets into the Hall of Fame it will almost certainly not be as a Brewer.

This is more hope than expectation as I don't expect Prince to ascend to those ranks.

[Patrick425]

rluzinski[/b]]I just want to make sure I understand. In order for a player to prove his allegiance to an organization, it's not enough to just accept whatever he's offered. He also has to make sure the offer isn't too high?

 

Why should a player feel an allegiance to a particular tea,m anyway? Because the the franchise was given exclusive control of the player via a draft? Sounds like a good reason for a person to give up MILLIONS of dollars? I can't anyone really could believe that, provided they are willing to take their fan cap off and look at the situation objectively.

 

I think Prince has always been perfectly diplomatic about the whole situation.

Why should we take our "fan cap" off? That's what we are...fans. I know it's cliche, but without fans there are no professional sports. We are the customers. Today's players seem to forget that sometimes. Did Prince mention the fans of Milwaukee once in that article? Congratulations to all the fans in the handful of cities that will be able to afford Prince when he become a FA, you win! There is no competitive balance. The system is broke. But I guess that's a different topic for a different thread.

 

Yount had several chances to leave and make more money (yes, I know for a very brief period of time he was the highest paid player in the game), but he didn't. You could probably say the same thing about George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, Ozzie Smith, etc. Today's players are more narcissistic, but I guess that fits in with today's society as a whole.

 

I always have loved the way Fielder plays the game. You rarely see him not hustle up the first base line. However, I thought his comments were a little cold in this article. It's not always what you say, it's what you don't say. "That’s the only thing I’d miss, is my teammates.” Not the fans Prince? Not the City?

 

There is no doubt he will leave Milwaukee and never look back. The ink on his new contract won't even be dry and all thoughts of this city will be out of his head. Greed and personal fame trumps all else.

 

 

[Invader3K]

Well said, Patrick. I don't like when some people seem to think that fans don't have a right to get upset when a star player leaves. Just smacks of the whole Colin Cowherd/ESPN type mentality where the big markets are best, "what's good for them is good for the game", and small markets should be happy with whatever success they have, etc.

 

The Brewers drafted Prince, paid him a very handsome signing bonus (which his dad apparently stole a chunk of, but that's not the Brewers' fault), and we'll have enjoyed him for just five years (assuming he gets dealt this off-season). We won't get back what he's truly worth in a trade, because other teams know damn well that the Brewers have a 0.00% chance of retaining him beyond 2011. Maybe five years of service is enough, but it would be nice if a greedy agent couldn't force small market teams' hands in increasingly predictable fashion.

[monty57]

In the pre-game interview last night, Prince seemed kind of giddy at the possibility of being traded to a contender. It would be hard as a player knowing you may be packing up and moving the family and you have no control, but the interview last night made me think that in Prince's mind he'll be playing on a different team this season.

 

On a different note: General manager Doug Melvin will want to trade Fielder at peak value. For that to happen, multiple teams must bid up the price.

 

I understand supply and demand, but why does there absolutely have to be multiple teams bidding up the price in order to attain peak value? Granted, more teams increases the potential that one of the teams will make an offer you like, but I don't think a limited marketplace this season means you can't get the best deal. What about the increased supply of available talent in the offseason? What about less time under team control? What about the emotional aspect of the GM fighting for the playoff spot this season (and the potential that the GM's job could hinge on making the playoffs)?

 

We don't need multiple offers, we just need one team to make a fair offer, and Melvin to see that as a fair offer and not assume that he'll automatically get a better offer in December.

[razzzorsharp]

“It’s part of the game, so I expect it. The only reason I’d be a little

down is because I’m leaving the guys I came up with. Other than that,

it’s a business. That’s the only thing I’d miss, is my teammates.”

 

He wouldn't miss me? Ouch, I am hurt.

No small wonder you're hurt. That's colder than the time CC turned you down.

CC and I are still not on speaking turns (though on a side note I did name my son Colton Cooper with two Brewer referenced) and kudos to you, you seem to have a great memory as I even forgot about that post.

[markedman5]

I think its pretty reasonable for fans to appreciate the players who can leave but don't more then those who view the game as "just a business".

 

Clearly Prince has every right to take his services to the highest bidder.

 

I just find it sad that he has apparently no feeling for a city or a fan base that has been his home for his entire professional life.

 

I have heard Hank Aaron talk about his love for Milwaukee and its fans. It was heartfelt and real.

 

To each his own.

 

I don't wish him any ill will but as a fan he will never be one of my all time favorite Brewers........not that he cares.....

[Thurston Fluff]

Did Prince mention the fans of Milwaukee once in that article?

 

Funny I thought the same as I read the article. No mention of how the fans. Fans BTW who support their team on a better per capita basis than the Yankees do. Fans who support this team even when it's below .500 and their prized first baseman is once again treated April like it was still late February. Dude wake up. If it wasn't for the fans you'd have to have paid to go to college or be working on a factory floor somewhere. Maybe, just maybe, you should show a little gratitude to them. At least enough to mention you'll feel bad to leave them behind. Even if you don't mean it.

 

“It’s funny. If I was slim and skinny, people would say I play good defense. Because I’m a little thicker and chubby, I don’t play good defense, you know? That’s just how it is.”

 

If you actaully scooped a ball out of the dirt once in a while we'd think you were a good first baseman. Dude it isn't your size that makes us think you aren't that good. It's watching you day in and day out that makes us think so. Soon that will be another team's problem.

 

I don't think he's a bad guy at all. I like the way he plays the game. I think his teammates genuinely like him. All that said he just seems like a guy who has no idea at all what it's like not to have the world handed to him on a silver platter. If he did he certainly wouldn't have forgot to mention those who made his easy life possible. In a time when so many are struggling to get by that gets a little irritating. Good luck where ever you land, I won't hate you but I'm not gonna cheer for you either. I'll save that for someone more deserving.

[logan82]

At least enough to mention you'll feel bad to leave them behind. Even if you don't mean it.

 

That's true. Almost every other player who leaves does. I never believe them but at least they say they want to stay in Milwaukee. Even Hart has.

 

I don't begrudge Fielder going to free agency. He earned it. I am not really upset that he wants to play for a winner. Every player does.

[pitchleague]

All that said he just seems like a guy who has no idea at all what it's like not to have the world handed to him on a silver platter.

I'm sure there is a bit of truth to this, since he came from a rich family as the son of Major League Baseball superstar in the late 80s and into the 90s.

 

If his name was Prince Jones and he came up from some poor family somewhere, he'd probably be a completely different person.

[nohopspanther]

At least enough to mention you'll feel bad to leave them behind. Even if you don't mean it.

 

That's true. Almost every other player who leaves does. I never believe them but at least they say they want to stay in Milwaukee. Even Hart has.

 

I don't begrudge Fielder going to free agency. He earned it. I am not really upset that he wants to play for a winner. Every player does.

At no point has Prince's FA been about winning. It may be the way he plays the game and feels, but his contract will NEVER be about winning. Follow the money, it's ALWAYS the money.