Another Bold Prediction

Prince Fielder

On March 2, 2011 I made a rather bold prediction. In my blog, “SPOILER ALERT”, I stated that Boston Rob Mariano would be the winner of Survivor: Redemption Island, the 22^nd season of the award-winning reality show. 

That prediction was made after only the third episode of the season and with only one contestant having been eliminated. On May 15, 2011 this gutsy prognostication came to fruition when Mariano did indeed become the Sole Survivor, winning the $1,000,000 that went along with the title. Now more than three months after making that bold prediction, I am prepared to make yet another prophesy. Thing is, this one might be even a bolder.

As many of you know, Prince Fielder is my favorite baseball player. Some have accused me of having a man-crush on him. So what if I do? Truth be told, Prince is my favorite athlete in any sport, including football.

That is why it greatly concerns me that the slugging first baseman may be leaving my beloved Milwaukee Brewers after this season when he becomes a free agent. 

Fielder is currently making $15.5 million. Once his contract is up, rumor has it that über-agent Scott Boras will seek a contract at or above the infamous $200 million range.

Longtime baseball scribe, Bob Nightengale of USA Today, agrees that he could get a $200 million deal in free agency if he keeps hitting like he is. Currently, Prince leads the NL with 50 RBI and is hitting .291 with 15 long balls.

Even with those numbers, that kind of money for a franchise with a 2011 payroll just a shade under $85.5 million is seemingly out of reach.

So the burning question is, after locking up Ryan Braun through 2020, can the Milwaukee Brewers actually compete for Fielder’s services next season?

(Here comes the bold prediction)

A resounding YES!

No matter what anyone tells you, Prince Fielder is a valuable asset to the Brewers and they really do not want to lose him. 

In baseball there are many different factors that can determine if a player stays or goes. Prince would like to be paid what he is worth, but he may find out that is not as much as he had hoped for. 

While it’s true that Prince’s numbers are as good as of the other top first basemen in the league, the problem that he will run into is that all the teams who have deep pockets are already set at first base. This means he would have to select a “second tier” team that doesn’t have as much money as the Yankees and Red Sox do.

This means Prince may have to think long and hard about where he wants to play and the kind of money he will be offered. Surely there will be teams that will offer him big money as a free agent. However, with the Yankees and Red Sox most likely being out the bidding, I feel the Brewers have a fighting chance to keep him.

Here is another point to ponder. Last night on facebook, Scott Wisniewski, a veteran of the Milwaukee sport talk scene, wrote that the Brewers drafted Scott Boras’ son in the 30th round of the MLB draft.

Wisniewski, after wondering if Boras would play hardball with his son’s first contract, speculated that the Brewers might have drafted Boras’ son as a favor in hopes of getting the agent to talk Prince into a home team discount. Sounds feasible to me.

With all of this in mind, should the horrific happen and Prince does leave the Brewers, I would have two wishes. The first is that he doesn’t go to a west coast team. I want to be able to follow my favorite player and late night games make this rough to do.

The second wish is hard to even consider. It would be unbearable if he ended up with the Chicago Cubs. That would be indescribably appalling and leave me very disgusted.

Fortunately, I honestly don’t think there is much chance of this happening. While Prince wants to cash in on a big payday, he is also driven to win. That fact alone should keep the Cubs out of consideration if Prince doesn’t resign with the Crew.

Let me make it clear to my friends that happen to be Cub fans that I am very serious about that last statement. I am not merely taking a cheap shot at their Cubbies. Like I said, Prince wants to win and with the current disarray that the Cub organization finds itself in, there is very little chance that they will be a winner anytime soon.

Hopefully I won’t have to worry about this happening because my bold prediction materializes and Prince Fielder remains a Brewer for years to come. Until next time…from the booth.