Five Star Radio Show

On the Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Daily website, they have an extensive audio archive of a show called Five Star Radio. It's not my favorite, but it's something to listen to while playing hour upon hour of competitive chutes and ladders. Now Five Star radio does not solely deal with MMA/Wrestling. It branches out into...well other sports which I guess isn't really branching out so much as spreading roots, but in any case. I was listening to one episode when, right after the guy I was playing rolled three 6's in a row, the host claimed that Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune was the worst columnist out there. His reasoning was that every year, Phil proposed trades involving players that were completely unrealistic and would never happen in a million years. Like:

Milwaukee Brewers: Look for Prince Fielder to be on market

As opposed to "at the market". HA! Cause he's fat.

Gulp.That was the sound emanating from Milwaukee on Tuesday, when the Phillies announced they are stinking rich. The twice-defending National League champs made the proclamation by signing first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, moving quickly so Albert Pujols wouldn't set the bar.

I'm not going to weigh in on the Howard debate. Probably too long to to sign him for, but he is the face of the franchise, that's worth something extra.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin must want to vomit.

That would be a bit of an over reaction.

That's because the shrewd deal they put together for Prince Fielder two years ago ends after this season. He can't go to free agency until after 2011, but the Brewers can't wait that long to decide what they're going to do with him.

He doesn't give a reason why they can't wait, he just leaves it there. The worst that can happen is you get another year of great production from a premier young player. Well the WORST that can happen is they get AIDS. But that has nothing to do with Prince.

Don't be surprised if the homer-hitting first baseman is playing for the Red Sox or someone else by the end of July, maybe even the White Sox. Attanasio would love to keep Fielder long term, but assuming he keeps hitting the way he did from 2007 to 2009 (an average of .286-33-123 with 95 walks),

Still using RBI's and batting average huh Phil? Did you use your 56K modem to look those stats up while you were back in 1995?

...he will be in line for a bigger deal than Howard. At 26 in May, he's 4 1/2 years younger and as a five-plus arbitration guy he can compare numbers with anyone in the game next winter, including Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Howard. Then he can demand his own supersized long-term deal as a free agent. Does it make sense for the Brewers to pay $25 million-plus a year to keep him? Probably not, considering three factors — they are 25th in the majors in revenue, according to Forbes; they have the equally productive Ryan Braun signed through 2014;

That's kinda true. Braun and Fielder. Where Braun is a god-awful fielder, Prince is just awful.

...and they have been only a .500 team the last couple of years thanks to a pitching shortage.

Well, in '09 they were a .500 club. In '08 they won 90 games with a .550 winning percentage. You can definitely blame their pitching for last year though with an 84 ERA+.

The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez, yet another run-producing first baseman, has generated a ton of trade talk over the last year, most of it coming out of Boston.

My friend in Chicago has talked about Gonzalez. He said Peavy has encouraged the idea of trading for his former teammate. Considering the Sox have more pitching than hitting, I wonder if Peavy would support BEING TRADED for Gonzalez.

But unlike Fielder, he's signed to a team-friendly contract through 2011. It seems more likely Fielder, not Gonzalez, will be the biggest name available before the July 31 deadline.
Like the Red Sox, the White Sox have the parts to do a deal if they decide they're not going to re-sign Paul Konerko. What about Fielder to the White Sox for a package built around pitching and Triple-A first baseman Dayan Viciedo?

They might be willing to do that, unless they read this.

John Danks certainly would get Melvin's attention.

Yes, for being a mediocre prospect that he would never trade Prince Fielder for. This is like one of those fantasy baseball trades where someone offers you Orlando Hudson, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Kaz Matsui, and Peralta for...well...Prince Fielder. "Look, I'm giving you Huff to replace him, plus 4 other guys! Why won't you do this?"

Gavin Floyd might to a lesser degree, and both Daniel Hudson and Sergio Santos have a ton of value.

Hudson looks like a good prospect, K's a lot of people and doesn't give up HR's. Sergio is having a great start to the season.

Hudson gives the Sox the flexibility to deal a big-league starter, assuming he doesn't have to be in the package himself.It's hard to see the Sox having the will to keep Fielder long term, however, which makes it a huge risk to give up young talent for 1 1/2 seasons of his mashing. But what if the Brewers are interested in Alex Rios, who is signed through 2014 at a level just beyond what they have paid Fielder?

Why on EARTH would they take a player whose OBP last year was under .300. Yeah, you read that right.

Trading for a veteran is easier than signing a proven player through free agency.

It's cheaper. I don't know if it's easier. You have more people involved in a trade.

If Rios went to the Brewers in the deal, the Sox might be able to sign Fielder to a Teixeira/Howard contract long term.

Yes, I'm sure the Brewers are dying to take on his overpriced contract as he descends into Cory Patterson-level production. Just what they need.

Case Closed.