RtB Reacts: Fielder to the Nationals?

As I trudged myself out of the pond of slumber this morning, I reached for my phone.  This is a very common occurrence in the Olsen household.  As I turned it on, Twitter was a flutter with tales of Prince Fielder having a date with the Washington Nationals.  This news was most disturbing.  Of all the teams that I thought would be real players for Prince…I had never really considered the Nationals.  My brain was caught off guard.  Could I have been so blind?  The Nationals threw all kinds of mystery money at a big name free-agent last season (Jayson Werth, 7yrs and $126M).  You know who Prince Fielder and Jayson Werth have in common…Scott Boras you sneaky, sneaky butt hole.

I got out of the shower and brushed my teeth for…well, entirely too long for a grown man to be brushing his teeth.  Does he really want to play in Washington D.C.?  There is nothing going on there!!  They have been in the league for a decade and have almost nothing to show for it.  While I have not been to the Nationals new ballpark, I assume it is nice.  So at least they have that going for them.

Then I asked myself, through more “fog” in the shower than a grown man should have after a shower, is it really JUSTabout the money?  Because Jayson Werth is going to be making $20 million a season, starting in 2014.  Then, three years later that dude will be 38 yrs old and making $21 M.  If that is what they paid Jayson Werth, they can probably scrounge up a little extra change from the couch cushions to make the push for Fielder.  This is a team that has a very small payroll (just shy of $58M in 2011), but something tells me that they can easily afford a big fluffy contract, for a big fluffy guy. 

Prince Fielder is a guy who will put fans in the stands.  That is a fact.  But, this is the type of deal that makes or breaks a smaller franchise.  He would be the biggest ticket in town, no doubt about it…tough breaks Ovechkin (Hockey reference, sorry.  He’s a big deal over there).  Sometimes one player going to a team, gives that team instant credibility on and off the field.  My only question is, can Prince handle that pressure.  He was a very big deal here, but we had Braun, Gallardo, Sabathia (one glorious summer), Greinke, and Axford.  The man will do some damage in D.C., there is no doubt about that.  Nationals park has a 335 ft. fence in Right Field, whilst Miller Park’s is much more impressive 345 ft.  That’s a few more pop-fly home runs a season.

You know what though, as I was driving to work I listened to the local sports radio station.  During one of their sports update segments, they talked about Prince Fielder going to the Nationals.  You see, I live in Seattle and the Mariners seemed to have great interest in Fielder.  While listening to this segment, they mentioned some the pieces the Nationals have.  Stephen Strasburg, a very good pitcher, who could be one of the greatest we have ever seen, but who is also working back from Tommy John surgery.  Ryan Zimmerman is a very good player, but not what I would call a superstar.  The Nats did acquire Gio Gonzalez about a week back, giving them a solid young starting pitcher.  And Mike Morse, an up and coming superstar  (31 HR, 95 RBI, .303 BA) .  Maybe Prince would give this team a little shock and get it moving in the right direction. 

That line of thinking lead me to realize, that this pairing makes sense.  Initially, that was hard to admit.  No way around it though.  This, makes, sense.

At least Prince will be able to enjoy his favorite sporting event, idiots running around the field dressed as sausages errr…I mean,

Dead

Ex

Former

Past Presidents, 8o times a summer.  I would like to think that he picks Polish Sausage/Teddy Roosevelt, but I am a dreamer.

On the bright side, I am thrilled that he will not be a member of the North Side Baby Bears.  If this deal happens, I will have temporary respect for Scott Boras.  Not because of his absurd ability to drive up prices on used goods, but because of his ability to throw everyone off the trail.  That man knows how to work these GM’s and owners.  It is amazing, but that doesn’t make it right.

The only thing I do not quite understand is, where are the Nationals going to get this money from?  But, then I realize that in baseball Bud Selig is in charge…so it’s just best to not ask questions.

In the end, if this deal goes through, I think it is pretty good for both sides.  Prince deserves to get paid and Nationals fans deserve something to cheer about…plus, on a self-serving note, I will not have to either a) see him 18 times a season b)have to hear about how great he is from all of my Seattle friends for the next 6 years or c) feel bad for paying attention to the Nationals.  In my opinion, this is probably the best case scenario for Brewers fans. 

We’ll see what happens.  Happy Hump Day…soon!!