Eric Thomas: Hail To The Prince
"Hey, wasn't Prince Fielder supposed to sign somewhere?"
This is a phrase I started hearing in mid-December. It was muttered in bars in between friends devouring chicken wings and draining vats of foamy draft beer. I heard it in the stands at Ford Field while fans attempted to entertain themselves during that week's halftime yawn fest. My uncle asked me the question while I sipped egg nog that burned like whiskey. Every time I heard that phrase I would fish for my phone and slide a thumb across the screen. Like most fans I expected the news any minute.
The Yanks. The Cardinals. The Rangers. The Marlins. One of the franchises whom were known to foolishly radiate money in all directions would announce that Prince would be emblazoned with their logo for the 2012 season. I was kind of surprised when the festival of riches rained on CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols, Heath Bell and Jose Reyes that Prince was not among them.
News traveled like a thunderclap. This was big even for the Twitter verse. Someone sent me a text... saying "Prince Fielder?", and I assumed he signed with someone. It hadn't even occurred to me that he signed with the Tigers. People who asked that question where dismissed as fools by every sports pundit in town. Jeff Riger scolded me this weekend when I wondered aloud if the purported patriarchal issues were overblown by the tabloid press.
"Hey, wasn't Prince Fielder supposed to sign somewhere?"
He did. He signed with the freaking Tigers. I cannot imagine the last time that Detroit landed a free agent this big. In my life I don't think that Detroit has landed a fish this large who did not play hockey. Those memories are history and Prince Fielder is now. He is the biggest free agent on the market and he will be wearing an olde English D. Granted, the Yankees passed on him and that might dissolve the luster of it for some -- but not for me. Brian Cashman passing on a free agent is among the reasons to belly up to the bar.
We finally know what it feels like to land a big-time free agent. We get to know what it felt like when Eagles fans landed Nnamdi Asomugha. We get to experience the thrill that the Phillies felt like when they signed Cliff Lee, or when Redskin fans cheered to usher in the Albert Haynesworth era. Maybe this is what Yankees fans felt like when their team closed on Alex Rodriguez or Johnny Damon. OK, I think I have made my point. But then again, turning the Red Wings into an All Star team worked for them.
Signing a big name player is a great boost for your fan base, but the cold bucket of reality never can live up to the celebration in January. Prince Fielder makes the lineup one of the best in baseball, but for the money they are paying him it would be nice if he could also play second and third base and pitch left-handed. Why was Jose Reyes out of the question again? Couldn't he play infield and turned out to be … cheaper?
Was this a good signing for the Tigers? I don't know. But it's fun, isn't it?
