Gator's Blog: Tigers Sign Prince Fielder; Pigs Fly
Be on the lookout for flying pigs, hockey in Hades and don't forget about those blind squirrels hitting the buffet early and often, the Tigers have agreed to terms with Prince Fielder! Yes, THAT Prince Fielder, the same one who supposedly would never play in the same city where his father held court, apparently will don the olde English D proudly for the next nine years, according to reports.
It's taking me 10 times longer to write this blog because my fingers and hands are shaking in excitement. Speculation has run amok for the last week as to what the Tigers would do to fill the void of the injured Victor Martinez. Underwhelming names like Johnny Damon, Carlos Pena, J.D. Drew and others would come up on an hourly basis despite the big kahuna sitting right in front of us as a viable option. To be clear, I did NOT think Fielder was a possibility, though the idea of a one-year deal had just a sliver of sense given the lack of action on the slugger in free agency. NEVER did I expect the Tigers to reel him in for nearly a decade of commitment and close to a quarter of a billion dollars.
All along, the best fit in terms of who would fill V-Mart's shoes was Prince, though to utter that possibility was a pipedream. Here's a guy in the prime of his career, a left handed power machine with a familial history that would seemingly be impossible to land and yet...BOOM! I think it's safe to say that he will protect Miguel Cabrera just fine, now the questions abound as to where the two will play on the field.
The hero in all of this is Mike Ilitch, he just gets it, and by it, I mean he truly cares about the fans. I shouldn't speak on behalf of Tiger Nation, but I think there's a collective "Thanks" in the works for ownership making this happen. Stay tuned, this season is going to be quite fascinating with new storylines already in development. So, this is 2012?
