Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Miguel Cabrera takes grounder to the face because of Prince Fielder

Miguel Cabrera was nice and comfy at first until Prince Fielder had to come along and screw it up for him. Because of Prince, Cabrera had to go back to playing third and now he has a busted up face as a result.

Miguel Cabrera left today’s game with a bloody face after a hard grounder from Philadelphia’s Hunter Pence hit him near the right eye.

Cabrera was wearing sunglasses and it’s uncertain whether the wicked one-hopper hit the right lens or just under it. The Tigers’ All-Star wiped blood off with his hand and held a towel to his face as he walked off the field.

I wouldn't want to see Fielder in New York, but too bad this didn't happen there. Too cold?

Your Morning Dump...where we'll take Adrian

Every morning we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump...

It’s become popular sport to ridicule the notion of the so-called mystery team, but suffice it to say that at the start of the offseason, no one anticipated that Prince Fielder would end up signing a nine-year, $214 million deal with the Tigers. Few thought that Albert Pujols would leave St. Louis in order to sign a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Angels.

Would the Red Sox have been able to afford either Fielder or Pujols on the sorts of deals that they signed, or Gonzalez for whatever he might have commanded on the open market? Maybe, maybe not. But what the Sox knew was that they could take the three-prospect needed to trade for Gonzalez and that they could afford his $6.3 million salary in 2011 as well as the seven-year, $154 million extension that will kick in next year and run through the 2018 campaign.

The Sox knew that they had a comfort level adding Gonzalez for his age 29-36 seasons at the value they established in negotiations with him. Whether they would have been similarly confident in the return on investment if they had to sign him through, say, his age 38 season, or if they had to pay Pujols through his age 42 season or Fielder through his age 36 season (given the likelihood that erosion of his somewhat limited defensive skills will turn him into a DH at some point in his deal) is not as clear.

WEEI | Prince Fielder and the challenge of building through free agency

Alex Speier brings up a great point in mentioning the mystery team. And had Adrian Gonzalez been part of this crop, there may have been even more teams willing to go overboard.

Gonzalez surely would have gotten nine years and $200+ million on the market. We got Gonzalez at eight years and $160.3 million (since he made $6.3 million last year). Are Casey Kelly, Raymond Fuentes, and Anthony Rizzo (whose stock has dropped, perhaps somewhat unfairly, after a disappointing time in San Diego) worth $40-50 million?

I say yes. I became infatuated with Gonzalez pretty early on, but I think rightly so. He's the complete package, and somebody you absolutely build around. For the extra cost of prospects to get the certainty of bringing him in -- and saving a bunch of money -- we got a franchise first baseman who for my money is more likely to keep playing at a high level throughout his contract than Prince Fielder (fat) or Albert Pujols (senior citizen). 

Besides, think about how little financial flexibility we've had this offseason. Take away Gonzalez's $21 million salary, and then picture us getting in bidding wars but having the same constraints. We likely would have had to trade off more salary (either by dumping Lackey and eating the majority of his contract rather than hoping he can give us something in the final two years, or by selling off Youkilis Marco Scutaro-style), or just lose out on all three and hope that Anthony Rizzo was really going to be something.

So if you've spent the offseason criticizing Red Sox ownership and management, give them kudos for this move at least. These days, you don't often acquire a franchise player below market value.

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Marlins now chasing Fielder

Absurd contracts to match their absurd uniforms? Check!

Looks like yesterday's panic over Prince Fielder taking his bat to Toronto may have been a little premature.

The NY Daily News is now reporting that the Marlins are trying to reel [or any other witty fishing pun you prefer] Fielder to Miami:

Sources told the News Wednesday that Pujols and the Cardinals are believed to be "a few million dollars apart" on a 10-year contract, and that the Marlins, after pursuing the 31-year-old three-time NL Most Valuable Player vigorously the past two days, have concluded his preference is to stay in St. Louis. They have now begun pressing heavily to sign Fielder, who hit .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers last season.

It is believed that both players will wind up signing 10-year contracts in the $215-220 million range.

I don't want to say Prince-to-Miami is a done deal, but I don't see anybody competing with the Marlins come contract negotiating time.  They're spending money like the funds are coming out of George Steinbrenner's bank account.  And 10 years $200+ million for Prince Fielder?  Seriously? 

I wouldn't trust his body to hold up for 7 years, let alone 10.  I would have expected him to get something in the 7 year, $150 million range like every other All-Star caliber 1B not named "Pujols".  But 10 years $200 million?  Good luck, Marlins.

Who'd think that less than a year later, Adrian Gonzalez's contract would be an absolute bargain?  Guess he probably should have held out a few more months.

Keeping an eye on the Prince

(Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

Everybody who cares about the Red Sox, even the tiniest bit, should be paying close attention to Prince Fielder's free agency.  Because, right now, it's looking more than likely that he's not only going to wind up in the American League, but possibly the American League East.

How does a 1-2 punch of Jose Bautista and Prince Fielder sound to you? Know what it sounds like to me?  Nothing.  Because I can't hear a thing over the sound of my fear. 

Over the weekend, CBS Cleveland reported this:

First baseman and possible DH if he lands in the AL Prince Fielder has narrowed down his teams to three according to reports, with the three teams being the Toronto Blue Jays, the Texas Rangers, and his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Reports say that as of right now, the team that resides in the lead for his services – the Jays.

And, today, the Chicago Tribune is reporting this:

The market for Fielder isn't that much better. He appeared to lose one suitor Monday with the Nationals dropping out (they are focused on Mark Buehrle, the White Sox ace who is a free agent) but gained two more. The Orioles, according to multiple reports, have contacted agent Scott Boras about him, and the Mariners also have interest.

There seems to be a little confusion over exactly which teams are involved, as is typically the case this time of year where the rumors come from all directions, but here's who appears to be legitimately pursuing Fielder: Blue Jays, Orioles, and the Mariners.

The Brewers are either out, or just really tough negotiators.  Here's what Doug Melvin, their GM, said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Though the market for first baseman Prince Fielder seemed to be shrinking by the minute Monday, there was no indication the Milwaukee Brewers had any plans to try to keep their free-agent slugger.

Asked if he thought he'd meet with Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, at the winter meetings, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said, "I don't know. I don't have plans on it."

Anything is possible right now, especially with the market for Fielder being much smaller than anticipated, but the Brewers don't seem like they're interested in playing Boras' free agent games.

And the dark horse in all this?  The Yankees, of course.  Logically it makes no sense for them to bring Fielder aboard: he'll need to full-time DH, and they'll need that spot to rotate the many many overpaid aging stars on their roster.  But there have been rumblings about Fielder going to New York since last season.

He would absolutely destroy pitches in that stadium, and would take over some of the offensive burden from their many many overpaid aging stars.  I could easily see them pulling the "Screw it, we're the Yankees" card, signing Fielder and worrying about how the roster shakes out another day.

But if I had to put my money on someone right now, it'd be the Blue Jays.  They make the most sense. They have the cash.  They have some talent to compete.  Fielder gets to go to a big market.  And the Jays get another slugger to ease some of the burden on Bautista.  It's really a win-win for both parties. 

Plus, no one signs with Baltimore and Seattle is the place where sluggers go to hit singles. But man, I really don't want to have to face Fielder for 60+ at bats a season.

Yankees should "get" Fielder

"If you build it, a few will come..."

One of the most annoying aspects of the "Yankee Mystique" (among a long, detailed list of annoyances) is the misconception that all players inherently want to come to the Bronx, and that they only sign elsewhere if the Yankees don't extend an offer.  Not only do you get to play in The Greatest City In The History Of Cities, you get to share a lockerroom with Derek Jesus, er, Jeter.  Plus wear pinstripes! 

Oh, and you'll get a shit-ton of money too.  It's nearly too good to be true.  How could you say no?

Just ask Cliff F'n Lee. We watched Yankee Nation nearly implode on itself last offseason when Lee turned them down to head to Philly. I imagine Cliff is still scrubbing the horse head blood out of his bedsheets from that decision.

Which brings us to the new object of Yankee obsession: Prince Fielder.

John Harper, of NYDailyNews.com simply states that the Yankees "should get" Fielder.  As if they have the first pick during recess.  "Fielder, you're on our team."  For Yankee fans, they truly think it's that simple.  We want you, therefore you are ours.

The fact that they literally don't have anywhere to play him except DH (and that they'll need the DH spot to accommodate their aging players) doesn't matter.  They'll figure that out later.

It has to be a tempting thought for the Yankee brass, even at $25 million a year. Not only is Fielder's lefthanded swing made for the Stadium, but the free agent-to-be would add more of the star power this franchise both craves and needs to continue selling its outrageously-priced seats.

On the other hand, GM Brian Cashman probably would be leery about tying up the DH spot for several years, considering that Alex Rodriguez has six years left on his contract and surely won't be able to play third base regularly for that long.

Still, as we found out last winter, when Cashman was overruled on the signing of Rafael Soriano, selling tickets sometimes supersedes critical thinking.

Granted, putting Fielder in that lineup scares the holy bajeezus out of me.  I don't know how many years he's going to play at this elite level before his size and weight betray him, but that ballpark will surely extend his shelf life.  So let's be clear here - I'm against this purely for personal reasons.

But this sense of entitlement that the Yankees have is aggravating.  Will he be happy being a full time DH?  Doubt it.  But Prince Fielder's wants, hopes and desires are irrelevant.  Because the Yankees have chosen him.  He can't say no.