Portrait of a Boras client

[nsimps]

I think Fielder is going to take his talents to South Beach.

[sveumrules]

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.

Maybe the world was handed to him on a silver platter, but when he went to go and eat off of that platter he and his mom were locked out of the house and once they did get inside half the food on the platter was already gone.

 

[topper09er]

I think he said he never had any job other than playing baseball a day in his life.

[crewcrazy]

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.

You're going to find very, very few free agency decisions that were made purely with championships in mind. Prince is far from unique in that regard.

[Roscoe Chill]

Prince went out of his way NOT to mention the city of Milwaukee or the fans. That's how I see it. Of course he has the right to free agency and whatever contract he can get. As others have pointed out, he's just not sentimental about the Milwaukee Brewers in the slightest, so the original post does have merit.

[rluzinski]

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?

If you want to be objective, you have to. If you don't care about that kind of stuff, crazy glue it on for all I care.

 

 

(fixed code --1992)

[Invader3K]

Fans like to cheer for guys who want to be on their team. Go figure.

 

Prince could have been a king here, but he's more interested in getting as big a payday as possible. He'll go be another fish in a big pond somewhere else. That is fine, and obviously he knows getting that huge payday just isn't possible in Milwaukee.

 

I hope he's prepared for when he goes to a big market, and gets in a bit of a slump. The Milwaukee media hasn't ridden him too hard over the years.

[Thurston Fluff]

I hope he's prepared for when he goes to a big market, and gets in a bit of a slump. The Milwaukee media hasn't ridden him too hard over the years.

 

All he needs to do is look at Ortiz to see how a slow start gets magnified in a big market. Every year he started slow, unlike here, every season he does so will

lead to questions about his size and whether or not he's breaking down. It will only get worse even if his starts don't get worse than they already have been.

[WV Brew]

Just as a point of reference, J. C. Bradbury at the Sabernomics blog, estimates Prince is worth about $104 million over 5 years. The Brewers were pretty close to that but I don't think they should go over what he's worth. For all we know, he already has a gentleman's agreement with the Yankees. Why else turn down the money when he could get injured and end up with nothing?

[Invader3K]

How are the Yankees going to be able to use him when they already have Teixeira under a long term deal? Please don't say "DH", either.

[Thurston Fluff]

He said he will look for a team who wants him as a first baseman when he hits FA. Given his desire to out do his dad and his stated desire to be a complete player I am willing to take him at his word on that. So no NY really isn't a fit for him.

[monty57]

A lot can happen in a year and a half. I wouldn't rule any team out of the Fielder sweepstakes at this point.

[FVBrewerFan]

Funny thing is, this whole loyalty thing works both ways. We want, or even expect players to be loyal to the team and be gratious when they leave. Yet, we the fans, are the first to run someone out of town if they don't produce. Bill Hall and Jeff Suppan loved Milwaukee, were very active in the community, and always had good things to say about Milwaukee and Brewer fans. Yet they were mocked, jeered, and in the case of Suppan even boo'd.

 

So we want players who produce to stick around, but the minute they stop producing we don't want them around anymore. Think about that. Prince's motives shouldn't matter. Maybe it's all about the money, maybe he wants to win, maybe he wants to play in the AL, for a certain team...who knows? Until the system is drastically changed it will be very diffiuclt for the likes of the Brewers and Royals to retain or attract the best players. Yet, we're foolish enough to keep going to games and provide oil to the machine we know won't work. Me? I can't help myself. I love MLB, and I love the Brewers. At some point I jsut hope MLB realizes they need competitve balance, but I certainly don't expect it.

 

I do get a little tired of Boras, Rosenhaus, etc. always taking the heat. They're doing their job, and doing whatever the player wants them to do. If the player doesn't like how he's being represented, there are plenty of other agents out there.

 

Finally, I do wish these guys would realize they could have something really special to look back on for the 40 years of their life after they retire by staying with one team. When you're 60 will it really matter if you made $300MM in your career or $250MM? I doubt it. Then again, I look back to when I was in my mid 20s, and I would probably have tried to get every last dollar I could.

[dlk9s]

Maybe the world was handed to him on a silver platter, but when he went to go and eat off of that platter he and his mom were locked out of the house and once they did get inside half the food on the platter was already gone.

Must...resist...fat...jokes...

[BillHall02]

While I do understand that Milwaukee has done a lot for Prince Fielder, we as fans sometime forget that we are not the only team that would have. He was a first round talent, and would have been drafted if not by us but by someone else. It's not like he was an undrafted free agent and we were the only team interested. It's also not like we let him struggle in his early years and weren't rewarded. He hit from the minute he entered pro ball, and likely would have for any team. We drafted his controlling rights for a number of years. Nothing more. If the circumstances were different I would understand the "we gave him a chance" sentiment, but in this case, I beg you to ask yourself, aside from Oakland which team wouldn't have? We were good to him, but I don't feel he owes Milwaukee more than most free agents hitting their first free agency. But Kudos to FVBrewerfan, I do agree that those that stay with one team have more of a connection to baseball after they retire.

[Roscoe Chill]

Yes, he owes Milwaukee nothing. He just went out of his way to say the ONLY thing he'd miss about the Brewers are his teammates. I really don't care, just interesting to hear him say that. If he says nothing like that, then there's nothing to read in to. If he says he'd miss Milwaukee (the whole enchilada--fans, city, teammates) but this is a business yada yada yada, fine. That's expected. He said the ONLY thing that he would miss was his teammates. Cool. But it's kind of dickish.

[JJHardy7]

How are the Yankees going to be able to use him when they already have Teixeira under a long term deal? Please don't say "DH", either.

 

$$$ talks. Prince may want to play 1B, but if a team offers a lot more money he'll sign to play DH and maybe play 1B a few days a week.

 

He said the ONLY thing that he would miss was his teammates. Cool. But it's kind of dickish.

 

I agree, but it just one interview. It could've been an honest mistake. There just isn't any loyalty in sports. I recall Fielder being a questionable draft pick and the such, but now he's looking to rake millions. If he's smart he'll go to the American League so he can DH. If he had the year he is having in NY or another major market, he'd be getting ripped a bit. He's not having a bad year by any stretch, but he isn't having the type of year he's had in the past.

[endaround]

The Yankees already have ARod, Jeter and Posada to DH

[davego]

I dont think ballplayers in their early 20's need every media comment to be parsed like the State of the Union Address. From what I have observed, Prince has been nothing but a top-notch guy for his time in Milwaukee (Manny might disagree). If he chooses to leave...then I'll miss him and wish him well. I was kind of hoping my yet un-born grand-kids would be able to see his statue out in front of MP...but whatever.

[AJAY]

I really don't think Prince Fielder meant anything negative about the fans or the city of Milwaukee. I am sure he has had a great experience here and will value it for life. I wouldn't read too much into his comments.

 

Having said that, this whole situation really angers me. After seeing what Cleveland has gone through with LeBron James, Jim Thome, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, etc., I am becoming increasingly frustrated and disgusted with pro-sports. There just isn't any regard for the fans anymore. It's really horrible what sports has become.

 

I just wish there was a way that the players could get their money AND fans would be able to hold on to their favorite stars. I wish they would overhaul the system completely and start taking more care of the people who actually pay for the tickets. I wish the fans had a powerful union too. We don't have a voice at all right now.

 

I realize that if the system changed, players would be sacrificing the freedom to play where they want. But I believe they should be willing to do so considering how much money they are making and how important the feelings of millions of fans are. If the freedom is so important to them, then maybe they should not go into sports and should pursue a different line of work. But MLB needs to take care of its fans better, not just those in big markets.

 

Owners should just pay the players more in exchange for bringing back the reserve clause. Just give the union a big check, and let the players fight amongst themselves how they want to divide it up. But please stop screwing the fans who invest so much emotionally and financially to make you so rich.

 

Free agency is the stupidest thing ever created.

[TooLiveBrew]

I just wish there was a way that the players could get their money AND fans would be able to hold on to their favorite stars.

You mean like creating a salary exemption that the NBA already had in place, but LeBron bolted to Miami anyway? You can't make an athlete do what's best for you, the fan, if it's not what's in his best interest. I know we feel like we're part of the team, but as has been pointed out by others, as soon as Brewers players aren't producing, the fans are very quick to boo. Why should an athlete feel any sense of loyalty, when the only 'loyalty' from fans is that we cheer for players are producing? ('what have you done for me lately?')

Look at how people acted about Corey Hart's contract process -- it's just not objective to demand that players show us loyalty, when the reverse is most certainly not true. As fans, we want to see performance, and see it now, or we won't support whomever/whatever isn't producing. Why should Fielder, for example, support the Brewers when he can go on to a bigger salary & likely a better shot at the postseason somewhere else? Why does he owe 'us' loyalty when 'we' will most defiantly assert that we owe no such loyalty in kind?

Owners should just pay the players more in exchange for bringing back the reserve clause. Just give the union a big check, and let the players fight amongst themselves how they want to divide it up. But please stop screwing the fans who invest so much emotionally and financially to make you so rich.

As a mid- or small-market fan, I've learned that the old Seinfeld point is true -- cheer for the laundry. I think the best thing any small- or mid-market fan can take away from all this is to grow attached to the organization, but not the individual players. Braun will probably not finish his career in a Brewers uniform; Gallardo will probably not finish his career in a Brewers uniform. Better to get used to it than get burned by players leaving imo.

There just isn't any regard for the fans anymore. It's really horrible what sports has become.

Your only vote in this, then, is to stop paying money to watch/consume this sport. If you keep spending to support it, you're endorsing what it has become, just as you've been a part of helping it become what it is now (as have I).

[endaround]

I think people are a little blinded to what goes on. Since Fielders been here, he's seen Bill Hall go from a hero to a goat including being demoted, Hardy suffering something similar before being traded, Ben Sheets being booed despite being the best player the Brewers had for years, and TGJ being traded. Hard to see loyalty there.

[Invader3K]

I don't think Brewers fans are really any tougher on their players than fans in other cities.

[endaround]

They boo a lot more, But that's not really the point. The point is Fielder has a 1st person view of the loyalty in baseball. I'm not sayign the moves were wrong just that once you understand that everyone around you is a commodity its hard to get hugely attached.

[Invader3K]

They boo a lot more, But that's not really the point.

Not sure how you can really quantify that at all.

 

Anyway, Fielder isn't going to leave because the fans boo other plays when they're performing poorly. He's leaving because he can get a lot more money elsewhere.