Just two days into the Major League Baseball General Managers meetings down at the Pfister Hotel in the heart of downtown Milwaukee and the writing seems to be on the wall on Prince Fielder's future as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. With that, it has all the makings of being a rough offseason no matter who the team brings in to replace his production in the lineup.
Both owner Mark Attanasio and GM Doug Melvin are saying the right things, but with no offer on the table, it seems more like window dressing and the scenario we all knew would play out this offseason has begun. It has the makings of watching an ex talk to new people about moving on. Even though, you don't want them, you start comparing how great they'd be there or with you. And as Attanasio said "Milwaukee is Prince's home."
Just one month (to the day) after I sat in the 223 and watched the Cardinals celebrate their berth in the World Series (which they eventually won), it sure didn't take long for the feeling of desperation to get a little worse. As good as the season was to watch hearing all the rumors and reports out of the Pfister, we are being reminded that this is Milwaukee, home of the smallest media market in MLB and we must be out of our minds to think Prince will stay here.
Then again, that same media market is also the place that has the man many think will win the 2011 National League MVP award, Ryan Braun, under contract for $150 million through 2020 which has to say something about how great things are around here. This is the same franchise that also has Yovani Gallardo, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart sealed up through 2015. We're not as "small market" as it seems.
It's just a tad heartbreaking with the greatness of Prince playing here for the last six years and watching him develop. As I had talked with a fellow writer who was close to the Brewers when they drafted Prince, it was a bit of a surprise move. So much of a surprise that just days prior to the draft, Brewers brass was pretty set on not taking him. Something must have changed their belief in his size and the rest, as they say, is history as he scorched many Brewers team records in his (somewhat) short stay in town. Most everyone in Wisconsin is proud of what we have here (case in point the Packers for most that reside here) and to see him leave when given the chance is what makes some upset with the system. And understandably so.
Yes, Prince deserves his big pay day. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to go out and make the money he has earned when other players in the league are milking the market for all it's worth. As someone who has taken on the idea of changing careers and seeking jobs this year, Prince deserves every cent he can earn for what he will bring to a new team. He is a rare talent of power and average that makes him a force in any lineup.
The trick for Prince is going to be leaving his legacy in tact in Milwaukee. I'd say there is only one way he could really tarnish what he has done and the love the fans of the Brewers have for him and that would be to sign with the Cubs. There are 28 other teams he could sign with and save face and get standing ovations upon his return to Miller Park. I'm not sure that matters to him at this point, but it is an interesting thing to watch unfold.
As for the rest of the team, Prince's pay wouldn't do the team any favors. Looking at the business side of things, it would make more sense to split up the $25 million he wants per year among maybe three players and see what you can get out of them. That might even make the team a little more balanced as opposed to what it was like the last couple years at times when the bottom third of the lineup was a black hole at the plate.
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