Prince Fielder hit 38 homers with 120 RBI last season with the Brewers. (By Jeff Curry, US Presswire)
DETROIT (AP) — Free agent first baseman Prince Fielder and the Detroit Tigers agreed Tuesday on a nine-year, $214 million contract that fills the AL Central champions’ need for a power hitter, a person familiar with the deal said.
CBS first reported the agreement.
The person told the Associated Press that the deal was subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet complete.
Detroit boldly stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after the recent knee injury to star Victor Martinez. A week ago, the Tigers announced that the productive designated hitter could miss the entire season after tearing his left ACL.
The Tigers won their division by 15 games before losing in the AL championship series to Texas. Adding Fielder gives the Tigers two of the game’s premier sluggers, pairing him with Miguel Cabrera.
The move also keeps Fielder’s name in the Tigers’ family. His father, Cecil, became a big league star when he returned to the majors from Japan and hit 51 home runs with Detroit in 1990. Cecil played with the Tigers into the 1996 season.
Several teams had shown interest this winter in the 27-year-old Fielder, who had spent his entire career with Milwaukee. He visited Texas, and the Washington Nationals also got involved in the discussions.
The beefy slugger hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season. He is a three-time All-Star and was the MVP of last year’s event in Phoenix.
Fielder has averaged 40 homers and 113 RBIs over the past five years. He’s also been among the most durable players in the majors, appearing in at least 157 games in each of the last six seasons.
The deal is only the fourth $200 million contract in baseball history, following Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, A-Rod’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas and Albert Pujols’ $240 million, 10-year contract last month with the Los Angeles Angels.
Among current players, his $23.78 million average salary is behind only A-Rod ($27.5 million), Ryan Howard ($25 million), and Cliff Lee and Pujols ($24 million each).
Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said last week he felt finding a replacement for Martinez was a short-term problem, but he left himself some wriggle room, saying it depended who the player was.
Acquiring Fielder opens all sorts of possibilities, such as moving Cabrera to third base or having one of the two sluggers be the designated hitter.
|
|
|||
|
We are now in the month of October, which can mean several things. Major League Baseball is now into postseason play, the majority of NFL teams have played a quarter of their regular season games, and the chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title is nearing the end. Let’s pray to the higher powers that it isn’t Jimmie Johnson….again. Here are my Top Three Performances from NFL Week 4: 1. QB Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers): In a 49-23 beatdown of the Denver Broncos at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers not only stole the show through the air but he also looked stellar on the ground. To add to his performance of 408 passing yards and four touchdowns, Rodgers ran with ease on nine carries for 36 yards, and two rushing touchdowns. If only he would’ve had some recieving reps with backup quarterback Matt Flynn, this could’ve been the best performance of the 2011 season. 2. WR Hakeem Nicks (NY Giants): The more skepticism and criticism that seems to head in the way of the New York Giants, the better they play. Turns out that not only would Eli Manning show up but his fellow receiver Hakeem Nicks would play a factor in the Giants 31-27 road win against the Arizona Cardinals. Nicks would go on to tear up the Cardinals secondary with ten catches for 162 yards and one touchdown. 3. Baltimore Ravens Defense: On a chilly Sunday night in Baltimore, the New York Jets came in with alot of talk and confident swagger. Too bad that is all they could muster up, as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Jets in an ugly yet exciting 34-17 home win. The Ravens defense stopped the Jets on a total of 150 offensive yards and returned three of four turnovers for touchdowns. The MLB Postseason Divisional series took off on Friday night and continued throughout the weekend in excellent scheduling by TBS. Not only that but all games have been interesting to watch, including the Milwaukee Brewers early dominance in their divisional series versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only gripe I have with the playoff series so far is the suspension of the first game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers, as many baseball fans were denied of a classic ace pitching matchup between the Tigers Justin Verlander and the Yankees C.C. Sabathia. NASCAR driver Kurt Busch got a huge win this past weekend at Dover International Speedway, moving him into a tie for 2nd place with Tony Stewart. They both trail the Sprint Cup leaders Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick by nine points. With seven races left to go, it’ll be very difficult for defending champion Jimmie Johnson to bounce back with a thirteen point disadvantage, and the likes of Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick aren’t slowing down anytime soon. I am befuddled at the national media’s infatuation with the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo. It’s nothing personal, I just feel as if they do not deserve the recognition, especially with a 2-2 record. The Dallas Cowboys haven’t really accomplished anything relevant in the past several seasons. There are many great stories to cover at this point in the NFL season, mainly the surprise teams that have been performing at a high level (Lions, Bills, Raiders, etc.) but it is unfortunate that the overrated Dallas Cowboys are taking their publicity thunder. Until the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo accomplish something worth talking about instead of Romo’s cracked rib and latest girlfriend, they will get no writing from me unless they perform at their supposed “potential”. There were a few things I did enjoy about last night’s WWE pay-per-view “Hell In A Cell”. I enjoyed the fact that Mark Henry retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton, Beth Phoenix defeating Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship, and Alberto Del Rio winning the WWE Championship in the main event against CM Punk and John Cena. But my favorite moment of the night goes to Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes for his unveiling of the classic Intercontinental title that was worn by the likes of Ricky Steamboat, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Even if wrestling fans don’t consider Cody Rhodes a top talent, the fact that he appreciates those that came before him truly earned points in my view. Thank you for reading my blog this week! Surely next week we will be looking at the American and National League Championship match-ups in baseball, more NFL talk, and a possible look at some Heisman hopefuls. Feel free to check me out on Facebook (Joshua Collins Hall) or e-mail me at y2joshua85@yahoo.com for any information regarding my blog and future projects. Enjoy your Monday night, I am out.  St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina argues with home plate umpire Rob Drake after being called out on strikes during the 10th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) I was sitting at home last night taking full advantage of my MLB Extra Innings package when I flipped the channel at the perfect moment. I casually flipped the channel and saw the St. Louis Cardinals/Milwaukee Brewers game and Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina was batting in the top of the tenth inning. A few seconds later, he was called out on strikes after a border line pitch. Just as he was called out by home plate umpire Rob Drake, that’s when all hell broke loose. Yadier Molina bumped – and apparently spit on – home plate umpire Rob Drake after arguing a called third strike. Drake wiped his face at least twice during the argument. Molina, who was ejected, had to be held back by teammates and coaches before finally being ushered to the clubhouse. The umpire declined to comment after the game but Molina spoke to reporters. Molina said he didn’t intentionally spit at Drake and believed the umpire bumped him first. “He was pushing at me, I would never spit on any face of a man. That’s not me. I was so sweaty, my face was so sweaty and I was yelling, yelling at him. I would never spit on anybody’s face.” Whether it was spit or sweat, Molina is likely to face a suspension for bumping the umpire. Interestingly, the incident comes just ten days after Roberto Alomar – the most famous spitter in baseball history – was elected into the Hall of Fame. This got me thinking: What are some of the most infamous spitting incidents in sports? Here, have a look for yourself. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa – one of the most intense managers in the game – took things one step further by saying Brewers fans went too far when a fan told him he hoped he would get shingles again and that others took insults too far in St. Louis’ 8-7, 11-inning victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The 66-year-old La Russa struggled with shingles for over a month earlier this season, missing six games because of the condition.
The Royals, in exchange for Greinke, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million, will receive shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain, right-hander Jake Odorizzi and a player to be named later, FOXSports.com has also confirmed. That was a heavy price for the Brewers to pay but this move almost certainly puts them on the map as legitimate contenders in the NL Central. In my opinion, the Brewers have always boasted an impressive offense but lacked in pitching. This move for Greinke certainly solidifies the Brewers rotation with the likes of right-hander Yovani Gallardo followed by left-hander Randy Wolf and recently acquired righty Shawn Marcum and either left-hander Manny Parra or Chris Narveson. After finishing last season with a 4.58 staff ERA — good for 14th in the National League, the need for starting pitching was evident. As I mentioned, Brewers GM Doug Melvin had to give up an awful lot from the farm system in order to land Greinke. Cain was considered the front-runner to earn the starting job in centerfield after impressing down the stretch in 2010 while Carlos Gomez, acquired last winter for shortstop J.J. Hardy, struggled to get on base. Escobar was the “shortstop of the future,” and paved the way for Hardy’s move to Minnesota for Gomez. Jeffress finally made it to the big leagues in 2010, his minor league career stalled at times by suspensions for violating baseball’s drug policy. He went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 outings for the Brewers. Odorizzi was one of the Brewers few pitching prospects and went 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 23 appearances (20 starts) for Class A Wisconsin this season. He combined with reliever Adrian Rosario to throw a no-hitter against Cedar Rapids in August, striking out 10 in eight innings. Greinke was the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner after going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA with the Royals. But playing for a perennial also-ran took its toll on Greinke, who was made available by the Royals heading into the off-season and earlier this week, officially requested a trade out of Kansas City. In seven major league seasons, Greinke is 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA. He signed a four-year extension prior to the ’09 season and will earn $27 over the next two years. *Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.Scout.com contributed with stastistics for this post. |
 |
||
|
© 2011 On Point w/ Sean Napfel. Powered by Wordpress | Configured by 
|
|||
