Comments on: Nationals pursue Prince Fielder for first base

By: foreverchipper10

foreverchipper10 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:45:36 +0000

I was also curious about Morse. Dudes numbers went through the roof when he moved to 1B. I wonder if putting him back in the OF means a drop in offensive production. I would much rather play him at 1st and ditch LaRoche.

By: dcfan4life

dcfan4life — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:52:32 +0000

Fielder is not what the Nats need right now. They need an outfielder who gets on base. Morse had a great season, and played solid defense in the outfield and first base. Laroche is a tremendous defensive player and if he bounces back with his bat, that could bolster the lineup. I like the idea of the Cuban defector. And im not sure how such a smaller price tag is such a higher risk, but there definitely could be a bigger payoff. Add a speedy center fielder who actually gets on base (im looking at you Nyjer Morgan), and this team will contend all year.

By: unclemosesgreen

unclemosesgreen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:48:27 +0000

That “portly slugger” (hmmm … because he bats from the port side??) is surprisingly light on his feet.

Fielder wants $200 million, C.J. Wilson wants $100 million, Cespedes wants $50 million. Agents really like round numbers with lots of zeroes, don’t they?

By: dan1111

dan1111 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:08:04 +0000

“the Nats are a year away from serious contention.” I disagree. They will have a rotation fronted by Strasburg and Zimmermann, complemented by lots of other solid pitchers. Their pitching was already pretty good last year, even without Strasburg. This year it could be dominant. Offense is the problem; someone like Fielder could vault them into contention, especially if they could make a few smart marginal improvements at other positions.

By: dan1111

dan1111 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:50:13 +0000

Players almost always choose a longer contract with a higher total value over a short contract, even if the latter offers more dollars per year. The long contract is generally the better deal for them, because the team bears all of the risk of their decline. And this risk is considerable. Many, if not most, players are not worth the money they are paid by the end.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:11:52 +0000

How hard can it be to pursue Prince Fielder? As long as there’s no broken glass in your sneakers, it shouldn’t take long to overtake him.

By: crankyfrankie

crankyfrankie — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:54:27 +0000

As hard as they were after Upton I don’t think that Rizzo and company view Werth as a CF solution.Can’t see Fielder as the Nats are a year away from serious contention. Zimmerman might be the best 3rd baseman in the NL right now so signing him long term, to me, seems like the kind of commitment the Nats fans could get behind.

By: mojosmagic

mojosmagic — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:04:20 +0000

That Worth contract will end up being their undoing.

By: natstowngreg

natstowngreg — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:36:43 +0000

Return from an Internet-less week, and this is the first thing I see.

If the Nats sign Prince, I will cheer for him. But I’d still rather see Rizzo spread that cash around to fill more needs, and throw some of it at Ryan Zimmerman to keep him around for the longer term.

No surprise that Michael Morse was overlooked, I’d still like to see him returned to 1B and left there — though it might not be until 2013, or when Harper is deemed ready, or if LaRoche gets hurt again, whichever comes first. He’s not as good as LaRoche defensively, but he’s not bad.

If all that leaves Werth in CF, OK, but I’d hope Rizzo can get someone who can do better, and move Werth back to RF.

Of course, given Prince’s opinion of his value, this all may be academic.

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:19:13 +0000

Great point about Morse, he must’ve been overlooked in the article, but how long can Werth play a decent CF?

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:40:46 +0000

Werth is capable of playing a decent CF. If they sign Fielder, Werth will end up playing there anyway in 2013…with Harper and Morse at the corners.

By: mianfr

mianfr — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:37:20 +0000

I’m kind of anticipating some big but short contracts for the first basemen. Realistically, there’s no sense in being locked up long term at a highly competitive price when you can max out on one year (~$25-30M) and then wait until next year to pursue a contract one year shorter in length.

Prince isn’t going to do a 7/$126M deal.