From yesterday:
So Prince Fielder is a Tiger. It's still stunning to type that. We put together a list of the best tweets in the aftermath of the bomb being dropped, with my favorite being: "PRINCE IS GONNA PLAY SECOND - IT WILL BE NO WORSE THAN RABURN REALLY"
I looked at a few areas in which Fielder's signing will impact the White Sox, leading off with a hope the team hits a bunch of ground balls to Miguel Cabrera at third base for the next three seasons (until the contract of Victor Martinez runs out). But Ryan McGuffey isn't sold on Detroit's rotation behind Justin Verlander, or Jose Valverde, who won't be perfect again in 2012.
Fornelli looked at the big picture, saying by the time the White Sox are ready to compete again, Detroit will be on the decline. James is similarly patient, although not as enthusiastic about it. And MarkU-God examined what the Fielder deal means for the AL Central, White Sox included.
Agreeing to that nine-year, 214 million contract with Fielder means Detroit is probably out on Yoenis Cespedes, who established residency in the Dominican Republic and was declared a free agent in the span of a few hours Tuesday. On Monday, it was reported the Cubs, Marlins and Tigers were showing the most interest in Cespedes, so in theory, it's down to the Cubs and Marlins for him -- but the Sox may still be lurking.
Joe Girardi jumped on Chicago Baseball Hot Stove to discuss Prince Fielder and a few Yankee-related topics. Strictly speaking as a baseball fan, 2012 is going to be an incredibly fun year to watch Texas, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Boston and Tampa Bay jockeying for playoff spots. With those six teams looking strong, I'm actually pretty glad that second wild card was added.
Over at Cubs Talk, Tony Andracki has a nice writeup of how the Fielder signing affects the Cubs' chances of dealing Matt Garza to Detroit. If Jacob Turner is off the table, I have to image a deal for Garza is, too. Nick Castellanos and Drew Smyly are both good, but not the return Theo Epstein is likely looking for.
MLB
Enough about Fielder. Robin Ventura showed up at the United Center for the "Shoot the Puck" contest. If you missed how he did, here's the video. I was at the game, and was glad to see a warm reception from fans. For the record, I bet Ventura could play a better third base today than Cabrera.
Kyle Williams told the Dan Patrick Show: "When it comes to social media, theres a line and some people crossed it. That's, unfortunately, a nice way of putting it. Reading some of the tweets at him after Sunday's NFC Championship made me want to throw up.
And finally, what's your favorite baseball movie?