Trading Fielder isn’t the answer

The Brewers have a lot of moves to make this offseason to improve a team that failed to live up to expectations.  Fans learned a valuable lesson this season.  Just because you make the playoffs last season, it doesn’t automatically mean you will the following campaign.  Nothing is promised and you have to go after it when you have the chance.  General Manager Doug Melvin dropped the ball this season, period.  Stephen Colbert would put him on notice if he were a follower of the Crew.  There has been a lot of public discussion about trading Prince Fielder for pitching because he’s going to leave in a few years anyway. 

Trading Prince Fielder for pitching is not the end all solution to fixing the Brewers problems.  When you trade a stud player, you’ll get good prospects in return if you do your homework.  Unless a team is willing to trade me their 3 or 4 best young arms in the organization, then I have no interest in moving Prince.  He has the highest single season home run total in team history and will eclipse the runs batted in milestone.  Prince Fielder is having the greatest power season in the history of the franchise.  Fielder puts on a vulgar display of power, but also has a terrific understanding of the strike zone.   Fielder has a .409 on-base percentage, 120 strikeouts to go along with 93 walks, 38 Homers and 125 RBI as of this post.  In 2001 and 2003, Richie Sexson hit 45 homers and fell just sort of breaking Cecil Cooper’s single season RBI record.  Gorman Thomas hit 45 in 1979 and Ben Ogilvie hit 41 in 1980.  Sexson and Thomas struck out more than Prince and didn’t hit for as high of an average.  Oglivie’s 1980 season is the closest to Fielder’s in terms of the batting average .304, .362 on-base percentage 41 homers, 118 RBI, 70 strikeouts and 54 walks.  On a side note, Oglivie works in the Tampa Bay Rays Farm system as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast Rays. 

I understand that Fielder’s value may not be as high because of the year left on the contract and the arbitration years.  I still don’t see where trading your best player for a bunch of magic beans is worth it in this instance. Trading Adrian Gonzalez for the Padres makes sense because the cupboard is empty.  The Brewers have a lot of talent and the team just needs to tweak it, not a complete overhaul.  Selling Fielder for pitching won’t help the team right now.  With the collection of players the Brewers have the team is constructed to win right now.  What team is willing to give up all of its good young pitching to acquire a monster slugger?  The Brewers don’t have another decent young pitcher to pair with Fielder to even out any deal.  Having Braun and Fielder gives the Brewers a leg up on many of the teams around the league because they have two studs.  The Brewers need to make moves to fix the starting rotation, but trading Prince Fielder isn’t the answer.  I will address how I would fix the Brewers throughout the offseason.  Right now watching Fielder put his mark on the team record books is reason enough for me to turn in every night.

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Fielder puts on a vulgar display of power

Prince Fielder cemented his place as one of the game’s elite power hitters with his exhibition in the Home Run Derby.  The home run he hit in the second inning of the Thursday August 12th game against the Padres is one of the best home runs I’ve ever seen.  That ball was still rising as it hit the scoreboard and broke out a light.  It was measured at 465 ft, but I have to question that measurement.  I understand it was 65ft in the air when it hit the 400 ft mark, but it just seems to me the ball would have gone a little farther.  The ball hit off the scoreboard to the left of the Johnson Controls sign on the scoreboard and bounced halfway back to the infield. 

It’s too bad he wasn’t miked up for that monster shot.  I’d love to know what it sounds like to hit a ball that hard and far.  I know when golfers hit the sweet spot it sounds like a gun going off. I recorded some players at the U.S. Bank Championship a couple of years ago.  I enjoyed listening to sweet sound of those 300 yard bombs from Charles Howell III.      

Russell Branyan’s rocket off Greg Maddux in 2004 was measured at 480 ft and was hit to right center field.  To compare Fielder’s blast to the one from Russell “The Muscle” is difficult because the scoreboard stopped Fielder’s blast.  I watch nearly every televised Brewers game and I’d argue that Fielder’s was more impressive because of how high it hit on the scoreboard.  Fielder’s shot drilled the scoreboard and bounced back half way to the infield.  D-backs outfielder Justin Upton’s 450 ft blast on May 2nd off Braden Looper was a sight as well.  Adam Dunn’s laser into the Dew Deck of 467 ft a couple years ago was breath taking as well.          

There are many things I enjoy watching in sports, like a Tiger Woods smashing a drive, Dwayne Wade posterizing someone, and Prince Fielder putting on a vulgar display of power. It could be because he’s a member of my fantasy baseball team, Fall Guy Stuntman Association.  Now all I need to do is teach my girlfriend’s 5 yr-old daughter how to do Braun and Fielder’s home run celebration.   

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Prince Fielder loses cool after bean ball

One of the biggest changes in the game of baseball the last 30 years is the view of players getting hit by pitches.  With the players making more money, intentionally hitting players has become a taboo.  Back then, hitting batters was a way to police the game and brush hitters off the plate.  Joe Torre is an old school baseball guy and if his star gets hit, he’s going to hit yours.  That mentality was common place in previous eras of the game.  Now anyone gets hit and it’s taken personal.  I support batting practice pitches that are thrown at a fleshy part of the body.  There is absolutely no place in the game for headhunting. 

Unfortunately, the mentality of the opposing manager isn’t taken into account before bean balls are ordered.  Brewers’ pitcher Chris Smith hit Manny Ramirez with a pitch in the 7th inning and R.J. Swindle hit Juan Pierre in the 8th.  Dodgers Manager Joe Torre didn’t take into account that Brewers Manager Ken Macha didn’t order the hits.  Those two pitchers are just awful and don’t belong in the majors.  After watching two of his players hit late in a rout, Joe Torre had Guillermo Mota hit Prince Fielder with a bean ball in the left thigh with 2 outs in the 9th inning of a 17-4 loss. Guillermo Mota started walking off the mound after the bean ball hit Fielder’s left thigh.  Ramon Troncoso came in to finish off the final 1/3rd of an inning.

Fielder tried to storm the Dodgers clubhouse and had to be restrained by teammates.  Fielder went to the locker room looking to confront pitcher Guillermo Mota for the bean ball.  Fielder is a very passionate fiery player that gives 100 percent all the time.  Fielder runs out sure fire outs as hard as a potential double.  Fielder’s actions after the game were Milton Bradleyesque.  I don’t think Fielder is a hot head like Bradley, its one isolated incident where he lost his cool. 

I chalk up the incident to frustration with the team losing 17-4 and the stress of this season.  The 2009 season hasn’t gone as planned for the Crew as their starting rotation has been awful.  3 out of the 5 starters have been bad and have had to be replaced due to injuries or demotion.  The replacements haven’t faired better and the team seems to show signs of being worn down.  It’s tough to go play loose when your pitchers don’t give you a chance to win. 

I would anticipate some sort of suspension for Fielder, but nothing too extravagant.  The Brewers are frustrated because they’re getting destroyed 17-4. Even if players were hit I don’t think a bean ball with 2 outs in the 9th inning is the right place.   Throwing a batting practice fastball at Fielder or Braun the first at-bat of the next game would have been more acceptable.

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Brewer beats Former Brewer in Home Run Derby

Brewers slugger Prince Fielder wins the 2009 Home Run Derby 6 to 5 over the Rangers Nelson Cruz. Fielder hit 23 homeruns with 11 in the 1st round, 6 in the 2nd, and 6 in the final round. Fielder put on a vulgar display of power to the deepest parts of Busch Stadium with 11 homeruns over 450 feet.  Prince’s longest blast went 503 feet to right field, but he had shots of 497 and 488 as well.  Prince’s home runs averaged 438 feet.  Nashville Sounds hitting coach Sandy Guerrero served as Fielder’s pitcher. Now, here’s how Nelson Cruz rose from being roadblocked in the Brewers system to the All Star Game as a member of the Rangers.  

In July of 2006, Cruz was sent by the Brewers along with Carlos Lee for Francisco Cordero, Julian Cordero, Kevin Mench, and Laynce Nix.  Cruz was added to the trade because the Rangers wanted insurance just in case Lee left in free agency.  Cruz is a late bloomer finally receiving regular playing time at age 29 with the Rangers. Last season, Cruz was the PCL Most Valuable Player with the Oklahoma City RedHawks with a .342 avg, 37 HR, and 99 RBI’s.  At the time of the trade, the Brewers had a log jam at the corner outfield spots throughout the organization and felt Cruz was the one to deal. Strikeouts held Cruz back throughout much of his career, but improved plate discipline has helped Cruz become an All Star Outfielder.   

Tonight was another example of how far the Brewers organization has come the last few seasons.  This performance elevates Prince even more on a national spotlight.  Fielder is one of the best hitters in the game and he plays in our back yard.

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Braun and Fielder selected to NL All Star team

The all star selections have been made and the Milwaukee Brewers will have two representatives in the mid summer classic.  Outfielder Ryan Braun led NL outfielders in fan voting and first baseman Prince Fielder was a selection of manager Charlie Manuel.  Braun and Fielder are the best combo of 3-4 hitters in the game today. Braun is one of the best all around players in the game and should be the leading vote getter among NL outfielders.  Fielder has tough competition with Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ryan Howard.  Fielder’s monster numbers merit the NL squad carrying four first basemen.  Braun and Fielder also have a great celebration.   

Pitchers Yovani Gallardo and Trevor Hoffman were each deserving, but were left off the team.  The fact that each team needs to have a representative made it difficult for Gallardo and Hoffman to make the squad.  The Chicago Cubs lone representative is starting pitcher Ted Lilly.  This is the biggest error I see in the NL all star roster, but I understand that it happened because each team needs to have one representative.  Gallardo has a lower ERA 2.75 to 3.35, more strikeouts 114 to 88, and a better opponents’ batting average .193 to .242.   

Hoffman had tough competition with Bell, Broxton, Cordero, Franklin, and K-Rod selected to represent the National League.  Those five closers have all been really solid this season.  The selections of Bell, Broxton, and K-Rod should have been made without question.  Ryan Franklin of the Cardinals may put off some fans at first, but he’s 20 of 21 in saves with a sparkling 0.84 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.  Cordero has 20 saves out of 21 chances and an ERA of 1.80 along with a 1.14 WHIP.   Hoffman has pitched less than Cordero and the numbers are close.  Hoffman is 18 of 19 in save opportunities with a 1.93 ERA and a miniscule 0.94 WHIP.  Coco is the Reds lone representative and that forces out Hoffman.  Hoffman didn’t make the team, but he still has the best entrance in baseball.

 Hopefully Gallardo and Hoffman can get added to the squad if someone backs out.  Both pitchers deserve to make the squad and unfortunately fell into a numbers game this season.  Hoffman has been selected to the all star team six times and Gallardo will appear in a number of all star games before his career is finished.

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