Prince Fielder will be a BUST (opinion)

[Avenger]

Who cares about the Giants, they don't even make the playoffs in the AL East. Worry about who the Yankees and Red Sox have at First Base, i don't what this balance thing you keep talking about is but the Jays badly need a Mark Texiera or an Adrian Gonzalez of their own. Even if you plug the hole at 2B and got a decent mid rotation starter, the Jays are still the 3rd best team in teh division, they need another elite bat, that's not up for debate.

Even with expanded playoffs and/or balanced schedule, i don't want the Jays to settle for just making the playoffs and hoping things go their way. The plan should be to be better than the Yankees and Red Sox and adding a Fielder or Votto is almost a must to accomplish that.

[SharoneWright]

Even if you plug the hole at 2B and got a decent mid rotation starter, the Jays are still the 3rd best team in teh division, they need another elite bat, that's not up for debate.

LOL. k. But I betcha this is the exact debate AA has with himself on a regular basis.

[Schad]

Well, you're more familiar with stats than me, and so I guess I'm forced to defer. But I think that's quite formulaic. The Cards will miss this year with Pujols. Why? Well he started very cold, and going forward he's probably already on the downswing. Lucky for them, they don't have 5 more years on a contract. You might say they'd be lucky to have him for 5 years at 120 MiL..... And I fully recognize Lind remains a potential weak-link. But you don't need to look past last year's Giants to see a team without a 25MIL bat who can win it all. Heck, the Jays won back to back with Joe frickin Carter hitting cleanup. It was because of WAMCO and more ie. 'team'). I vote for balance. jmho

The Giants had arguably the best pitching staff in baseball and a weak division to help them; they wouldn't have even sniffed the playoffs in the AL East. That's the reality that we're living with...to make the playoffs, even if an extra wild card slot is added, we probably will need to be one of the six best teams in the majors. And to be such, we're going to need to have an unimpeachable offense...we're (remarkably) much of the way there, but we'll need one massive bat at 1B/DH and a reasonable one at 2B if we're to have a chance.

[SharoneWright]

^
New idea. Let's just make a trade with the Pirates for a cheap random scrub first baseman...

[BigLeagueChew]

Derek lee is injured and Overbay signed with the d'backs.

[Strav]

him moving to the AL means splitting time at DH and 1B as he ages. Far less wear and tear so I don't think that's a concern. And yes, he's worth that kind of money.

no chance. its still a team game. too expensive. too rotund.

sign an above average 2B and get a #2/3 starter. that's a balanced squad. Lind@1B and EE@DH next year is more than sufficient.

Esco
Rasmus
Bau
Lind
Lawrie
Snider
EE
New 2B
JPA

Looks remarkably like our team this year, granted Lawrie will come in with a bit of experience and Rasmus will be accustomed to playing here. So you'll slot our new 2B in at 8th - I'm assuming you're thinking he'll only be marginally better than Hill offensively? And now you're relying on the Snide again, Lind at cleanup and the first 3 months of EE not being able to hit a beach ball. You're wasting JB if you do that. This off season is perfectly set up for AA to strike it big in free agency. Read from any baseball writer around the league, and they're all saying the same thing. It's obvious. It would be shocking if AA didn't throw money around.

[Eve]

him moving to the AL means splitting time at DH and 1B as he ages. Far less wear and tear so I don't think that's a concern. And yes, he's worth that kind of money.

no chance. its still a team game. too expensive. too rotund.

sign an above average 2B and get a #2/3 starter. that's a balanced squad. Lind@1B and EE@DH next year is more than sufficient.

Esco
Rasmus
Bau
Lind
Lawrie
Snider
EE
New 2B
JPA

You don't get it brother. Fielder bring fans to the ballpark, he's exciting, has a eccentric personality, is a likeable guy, and big figure. He brings in the dollars a million times over what an average 2B and a #2/3 starter would garner. It's an investment, if you only knew how much money he makes the Milwaukee Brewers you would say that is underpaying him.

[sule]

him moving to the AL means splitting time at DH and 1B as he ages. Far less wear and tear so I don't think that's a concern. And yes, he's worth that kind of money.

no chance. its still a team game. too expensive. too rotund.

sign an above average 2B and get a #2/3 starter. that's a balanced squad. Lind@1B and EE@DH next year is more than sufficient.

Esco
Rasmus
Bau
Lind
Lawrie
Snider
EE
New 2B
JPA

You don't get it brother. Fielder bring fans to the ballpark, he's exciting, has a eccentric personality, is a likeable guy, and big figure. He brings in the dollars a million times over what an average 2B and a #2/3 starter would garner. It's an investment, if you only knew how much money he makes the Milwaukee Brewers you would say that is underpaying him.

exactly....top players get paid tons of money not just b/c they can perform, but b/c they bring fans to the games and are marketable...they make the team more money in areas off the field than any of the other players...it's why basketball has become so star-driven.

The Jays need names they can put on posters, not just pretty good players who work hard. By getting the Fielders and Pujols' to play in Toronto, you're ensuring the team survives and are ensuring Rogers will put the money and effort into a team that will at least try to win.

A team with Fielder, Lawrie, and Bautista as our main hitters, basically guarantees extra wins, more marketable merchandise, and possibly better TV deals b/c of the ratings they can generate...all this means that once Rogers spends; if it generates the money and buzz from the fandom and winning, then they'll be likely to continue spending or increasing the budget further.

a middling team that has potential will only generate interest for so long...and that's not gonna ensure Toronto is a player in the division in the long-run

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Not sure I understand your reasoning. Because he eats too many donuts?

[aj11]

I see Prince Fielder as similar to Carlos Lee with more power. I would be willing to pay him a higher salary for a shorter deal. No way I do more than 7 years with him.

[Skin Blues]

Prince Fielder is not like Carlos Lee. He's 50 points higher in both OBA and SLG over both their careers, and that gap is much bigger now that Lee is so old, obviously. If Prince stays this good for 3-4 years and then has 3-4 years of a 350 OBA and 500 SLG, or even a bit worse, I'd still be OK with it. It's expected that you pay for a few crappy years of a player that is in such high demand. Maybe it sucks that the DH spot will be plugged for that long, but it'd be nice to make a go of it while the planets are aligned and we have a ton of blossoming talent along with the best hitter in baseball.

[Weems]

Yeah, Fielder has put up significantly more batting runs above average (218.6 to 164.7) than Lee in 7 less seasons. He's in another stratosphere as a hitter.

Fielder career avg wRC+: 140
Lee career avg wRC+: 113