FREE AGENCY AND THE PRINCE OF DETROIT

The Detroit Tigers made the move that no one expected, signing Prince Fielder. But when you think about it, it made some sense and works out for Detroit, by signing Fielder, because they needed another bat with Victor Martinez down for the season. However, that being said, the amount of money for this guy, for what he does besides hit is… well that’s the problem, he is fat and out of shape for a young guy, can’t in spite of his name field, and can’t run. So what do the Tigers really pay for?

So let’s look closer at these free agent signings who don’t come free, in fact, they come very expensively.

Pujols

If the Angels win the World Series this year, it will be a very expensive World Series. When they got Albert Pujols they pretty much said, we are the next champions. That may be true, but then again it may not. The problem is the Angels are paying this guy $25 Million a year, for TEN YEARS!

Pardon me for getting emotional, but the last year of that contract, he is 41 years old! By year 7 probably, he will not be worth that money. No ballplayer is worth $250 Million, not even Babe Ruth in his prime.

Then there is the contract that will end all contracts; the Jose Reyes deal. Jose is a great player when he is healthy. The problem is he is never healthy, and for that money, they should be getting a full-time player. He is an impact player, but he can’t do it on those legs. The other thing to consider is Hanley Ramirez shifting to third base, and the fact that he will not play second fiddle to Reyes. Once his contract is done, he’s gone.

Here is a deal that just does not make sense, yet the owners are all responsible for, because they spend the money. Yu Darvish, unproven in the Majors, spending over $50 Million just to talk to him, and I doubt, even if he succeeds, he won’t succeed $100 Million worth.

Then there are the Josh Willinghams, Joe Nathans and Heath Bells, all mediocre, all probably will not live up to their contracts, all getting inflated numbers.

That’s all I wrote, folks!