Not As Devastating As You Think

Like most of the pundits out there, I was fascinated in last night's Prince Fielder/Ian Kinsler trade. Partly because I see the potential for this trade to help both the Rangers and Tigers. In a vacuum, the Rangers get the player with the higher impact. But when it comes to roster construction and payroll, this could really help Detroit do some things that they wouldn't have been able to do with Fielder on the roster.

But as a Met fan, I find it fascinating that Fielder might have "Glavined" his way out of Detroit, coming up with this quote after losing to the Red Sox in the 2013 ALCS:

"It's not really tough for me," he said. "It's over. I've got kids I've got to take care of. I've got things I've got to take care of. For me, it's over, bro."

Someone suggested to Fielder that Tigers fans might not understand how it would be so easy for him to move on.

"They don't play," he said. "I mean, if you have responsibilities it should be, you know, you shouldn't take your work home, you know? I've got to still be a father and take care of my kids, so, you know, I've got to move on."

I don't know if Fielder was actually traded because he went all "disappointed not devastated" on the Tigers. But the bottom line is that I hope Tom Glavine never darkens our door step again. Damn you Tom Glavine.

Also, I would say that this trade hurts the Mets in that now they can't trade for Elvis Andrus to play shortstop, or pawn Ike Davis off on the Rangers. But let's face it: The Mets weren't going to trade for Andrus anyway, because the Mets haven't made a creative trade since Kevin Appier for Mo Vaughn. (I said creative … not good.) Hell, you could even go back to Lance Johnson and Mark Clark for Brian McRae and Turk Wendell. This fact is scary because now that the Mets only have maximum of $30 million to spend, Sandy Alderson is going to have to get creative to significantly improve the team in the next few months. (Funny how as the prices go up for free agents, the Wilpons put a cap on what Sandy can spend … thanks guys.) This is why this is a huge off-season for Alderson, and why he must find a way to creatively upgrade this team and not just sign somebody cheap like, say, Willie Bloomquist.