Some things to read while counting the head lice on the highway.
We're 24 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, and one of this offseason's biggest questions is finally answered: Prince Fielder will be a Tiger in 2012 after signing a nine year, $214 million contract yesterday (FanShot). Jon Heyman says the deal has no opt-out clauses and the salary is pretty evenly spread out over the course of the contract. The Brewers will receive the Tigers' first round pick in the draft (#27) along with the 38th overall pick as compensation. Here's some reaction from around the web:
- Adam McCalvy has a story on the Brewers moving forward from this. Doug Melvin told him Fielder was "the key to the Brewers' resurgence."
- Jaymes Langrehr of the Brewers Bar wrote that "It's tough seeing Fielder go, but for most fans, I imagine this is a near-perfect situation."
- Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker adds, "For three months, we avoided reality and flirted with fantasy. Prince Fielder is gone now, and $214 million says there was no chance he was ever coming back."
- Big League Stew made a list of winners and losers in the deal. The Brewers aren't on either side, but somehow Prince Fielder ended up on both.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says the Tigers now have "very real World Series expectations."
- Mike Bauman of MLB.com says Fielder is "worth every penny."
- Miller Park Drunk says "The reason Prince Fielder is a Detroit Tiger is because of the money and that's pretty much the only reason he is a Detroit Tiger."
- Fielder's deal is one year shorter and has a slightly lower average annual value than Albert Pujols' new contract with the Angels. Fielder's deal isn't as backloaded, though.
- Fielder will make about
$75,405$65,145 each day for the next nine years. - The Tigers now owe Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez a combined $338 million.
- Bill Petti of Beyond the Box Score wonders what the Tigers will do with Fielder, Cabrera and Martinez once all three are healthy in 2013.
- Cabrera has reportedly agreed to move to third base, which should be interesting.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo says Fielder "finds his perfect fit" in Detroit.
- We're only four days removed from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski telling the fans Fielder "is probably not a good fit" for Detroit.
- Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation has a look at how Fielder's deal would have turned out if it had been given to various other 27-year-old sluggers.
- The Baseball Historian says Fielder's deal is an enormous risk.
- Rob Neyer has a look at various reactions on Twitter, and the comments of the post have an extended discussion of pineapple on pizza.
- Jeff Sullivan of Lookout Landing is just happy all of this is over.
- I can't believe yesterday is the first time I ever saw someone refer to him as "Prince S. Fielder."
- Howie Magner shared a favorite Fielder memory.
Meanwhile, there's not much actual Brewer news to report today. Adam McCalvy says the Brewers haven't made any progress in negotiations to avoid arbitration with Shaun Marcum and Jose Veras.
Francisco Rodriguez faces a significant uphill climb to become the sixth current or former Brewer to acquire a new nickname this winter: As of this writing he's fourth in NotGraphs' voting for "The Call Is Coming From Inside the House."
In the minors:
- Wisconsin Sports Tap has a list of the best second basemen in the Brewer organization
- Francisco Rodriguez allowed a solo home run but got the save anyway in La Guaira's 4-2 win over Aragua to even the series at 1-1 in the Venezuelan finals. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Notes.
As of this writing Logan Schafer leads Jorge Lopez by 50 votes for the #7 spot in our Community Prospect Rankings. The voting will remain open until 1 today, and the balloting for #8 will open at 2.
If you'd like more Brewer content today but you're sick of reading, the View From Bernie's Chalet podcast is up. This week's topics include Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Norichika Aoki.
Around baseball:
Astros: Designated infielder Angel Sanchez for assignment.
Athletics: Signed pitcher Bartolo Colon to a one year, $2 million deal.
Blue Jays: Signed pitcher Francisco Cordero to a one year, $4.5 million deal.
Diamondbacks: Signed pitcher Brad Ziegler to a one year, $1.795 million deal to avoid arbitration.
Giants: Signed pitcher Tim Lincecum to a two year, $40.5 million deal to avoid arbitration.
Indians: Pitcher Roberto Hernandez Heredia (formerly Fausto Carmona) is expected to miss spring training with legal issues.
Rays: Designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment.
Yankees: Signed catcher Russell Martin to a one year, $7.5 million deal to avoid arbitration.
- High Heat Stats used wins above replacement (rWAR) and Baseball Reference's user-powered "EloRater" to create a list of history's 60 most overrated pitchers. Rollie Fingers, Trevor Hoffman, Jerry Reuss, Jesse Orosco and Jim Lonborg are all on it.
- Athlon Sports has Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper and Bud Selig on the Brewer Mount Rushmore.
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History celebrates Derrick Turnbow's 34th birthday. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also the second anniversary of Mark Loretta's retirement.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take pictures of South Dakota.
Drink up.