Last season Prince Fielder almost won the MVP award and looked like he was going to be a very rich man going into arbitration before next season. Fielder crushed 50 HR and was the youngest ever to do that in a season. His complete numbers looked like this:.288/.395/.618, 50 HR and 119 RBI
Those are fantastic numbers, now I sure didn't expect Prince to put up those kinds of numbers every year. It is very hard to hit 50 HR in a season. But for him to drop to these numbers:
A .471 SLG%? That is just not going to cut it. Not when you slugged .618 a season ago! And he has now been stuck on 28 HR for well over 20 games. Where is the power stroke?
But perhaps the thing that has disappointed me more then anything about Fielder's game this season has been his defense. I thought he improved quite a bit from 2006 to 2007 and expected more of the same in 2008. But he has been horrendous, maybe the worst defensive 1B in all of the NL. He has 15 errors this season and probably could have more if not for generous official scorers. I can't even count how many times this season I have wanted to throw a brick through my HD TV after Prince made a bonehead play in the field.
Before this season started, Prince grumbled about not getting a big contract and only getting his contract renewed for the minimum. Well he wanted the type of money Ryan Howard got in arbitration which was 10 million. Well with Prince headed to arby before next season with the numbers he has put up this season I doubt he gets 10 mill. Maybe between 5-7 if he is lucky.
This is kind of a joke, but with the way CC Sabathia handles the bat and fields his position as a pitcher. Could CC play 1B on the days he isn't pitching? Just a thought, kidding of course. Or am I?
.262/.361/.471, 28 HR and 84 RBI
A .471 SLG%? That is just not going to cut it. Not when you slugged .618 a season ago! And he has now been stuck on 28 HR for well over 20 games. Where is the power stroke?
But perhaps the thing that has disappointed me more then anything about Fielder's game this season has been his defense. I thought he improved quite a bit from 2006 to 2007 and expected more of the same in 2008. But he has been horrendous, maybe the worst defensive 1B in all of the NL. He has 15 errors this season and probably could have more if not for generous official scorers. I can't even count how many times this season I have wanted to throw a brick through my HD TV after Prince made a bonehead play in the field.
Before this season started, Prince grumbled about not getting a big contract and only getting his contract renewed for the minimum. Well he wanted the type of money Ryan Howard got in arbitration which was 10 million. Well with Prince headed to arby before next season with the numbers he has put up this season I doubt he gets 10 mill. Maybe between 5-7 if he is lucky.
This is kind of a joke, but with the way CC Sabathia handles the bat and fields his position as a pitcher. Could CC play 1B on the days he isn't pitching? Just a thought, kidding of course. Or am I?
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