Uh....wow. It's done. I'm flabbergasted. The local radio guys were talking about pursuing him... maybe a one-year deal. You know, just take a flyer on him. This is... WOW.
Gawd forbid V-Mart actually makes it back by the end of the season. That lineup would be ridiculous. So nice to see a team other than the usual suspects land a star like Prince.
Just an absolutely stunning move. It looked like Fielder would have to take a 'relative' discount without the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers or Mets in the market, but nope, here comes Detroit.
Cabrera at third base will be an adventure, but his bat will more than make up for his shoddy defense. The only question is if he'll be able to stay healthy playing a tougher position.
Victor Martinez is still signed through 2014, by the way.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
If the goal is to move Fielder and Cabrera back and forth between DH and 1st Base this looks like an excellent deal for the Tigers. If Cabrera is playing 3rd base, then things could get dicey. Team with a legit ace in a division that is there's for them to dominate, it is the right move. Probably will suffer on the back of the contract, but, if you win 1-2 championships on the front end, you accept the pain on the back end.
Prince very much wanted to be the first baseman for whatever team he was going to, and will be for the Tigers. He's got to DH some and he will be one full time at some point, but not soon.
Miguel says he's moving to third base. That's going to be challenging defensively, but if they can get a good late inning replacement, there are some cheap veteran bats they could plug in the DH spot while V-Mart is out for the year. This is going to be a frighting lineup.
This deal is going to be very bad for the Tigers at some point, but if they win a championship in the next few years, it'd be worth the bargain. If you're the other teams in the division, don't you want to start targeting 2014 right now?
Originally posted by Reverend J Shaft Cabrera HR at Comerica in 2009-2011: 51 Cabrera HR in away games in 2009-2011: 51
Sheesh.
(edited by Reverend J Shaft on 24.1.12 1653)
So, who has the next highest amount of HRs at Comerica? I don't really follow the Tigers much, so I couldn't begin to tell you, all I know is Fielder is declining, and there aren't a ton of lefties hitting HRs there on a regular basis.
Fielder isn't declining at all. It's very fair to presume he WILL start to decline in a few years given his body type and the fact that he'll pass 30, but I'd say Fielder will still be a superstar through at least 2015.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
I don't think the Prince signing is going to haunt the Tigers as much as people seem to think it will. Miggy Cabrera's been in the center of trade rumors for years and I can see Detroit shipping him out if the pairing with Prince doesn't work out.
If nothing else, this team's going to be very fun to watch in the short term for both power hitting and trainwreck defense.
Originally posted by It's FalseI don't think the Prince signing is going to haunt the Tigers as much as people seem to think it will. Miggy Cabrera's been in the center of trade rumors for years and I can see Detroit shipping him out if the pairing with Prince doesn't work out.
Yeah, I think people are forgetting that Cabrera probably has only so much goodwill left with the Tigers after all the recent alcohol problems in the past couple of years. I can see them trading him before too long, whether or not he gets in trouble with the law again.
As for the deal itself, it always good if you can get a slugger like Fielder. I don't get the questions about durability: he lead the league in games played last year and has never missed more than 5 games in any year since his rookie season. So I think the Tigers got a real good, dependable player for several years to come. I just don't see how it really makes them that much a better team. They were already the team to beat in the AL Central by a ton but to get to the World Series, I think they needed a lead-off hitter more than a slugger. At the very least, they need to improve on the likes of Austin Jackson and Brandon Inge. Yikes to both of them.
Oh, and I have to point out the hilarity in Prince going to Detroit and everyone playing up his dad's time there when he and his father haven't even gotten along for years now.
Originally posted by It's FalseI don't think the Prince signing is going to haunt the Tigers as much as people seem to think it will. Miggy Cabrera's been in the center of trade rumors for years and I can see Detroit shipping him out if the pairing with Prince doesn't work out.
Yeah, but how many cents on the dollar is Detroit going to get back for Miggy in that scenario?
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! Owner of one (1) share. Let's Go Riders! Owner of one (1) share.
Originally posted by Reverend J Shaft Cabrera HR at Comerica in 2009-2011: 51 Cabrera HR in away games in 2009-2011: 51
Sheesh.
(edited by Reverend J Shaft on 24.1.12 1653)
So, who has the next highest amount of HRs at Comerica? I don't really follow the Tigers much, so I couldn't begin to tell you, all I know is Fielder is declining, and there aren't a ton of lefties hitting HRs there on a regular basis.
Comerica is a hitters park:
Under BaseballReference's park factors, 100 = average. Great than 100 = a hitter's advantage. Comerica was a 103 last year, 101 multiyear. So it isn't Coors Field, but still--an average park.
Prince's OPS+ was 166 and 2nd in 2009, he dropped off a little in 2010 but was still great, and his OPS+ was 164 in 2011 and that was a rank of 4th.
Are you sure when you talk about declining 1B you didn't just confuse PrinceF Fielder and Ryan Howard? Both are massive, massive, black dudes who jack HRs, it happens to the best of us.
The team still doesn't know the season still goes on after the All-Star break. With the NY Skanks running away in the weak ass AL East and Oakland A's doing their usual late season comeback, BoChokers aren't going to the playoffs again.