.................

How much would these teams pay for Fielder?  Well...

Whether you're a Bill James fan or not, you will concede that he is now a certified MLB(TM) front office executive.  You can scoff at him honey, if you think it's funny, or at Dan Duquette if you like.  John Hart, Bill Bavasi, pick one.  But these guys can tell us what to expect from the owners.

James has been part-and-parcel of the Red Sox' free agent bidding for 10 years now.  He knows rather more about MLB(TM) front office thinking than we bloggers do.

Bill put a number on Fielder.  This number came down, I thought, like an anvil.

A reader at BJOL asked him, "What about $130M for Fielder?"  The reaction, "At that price you'd have to consider it; he might come down to that, and at that price he'd even be a bit of a bargain."

With that assessment in mind, and taking into account everything else that teams have said this winter, you can fairly confidently set that $130M price point as the pivot at which the Rangers, Nationals, and Orioles start submitting firm offers.

...........

Every team in baseball, other than the Mariners, has told Boras "No Way," and has done so publicly.  The Mariners stand, arms folded, with $200M slung over their shoulder and unamused looks on their faces.

You remember when ARod was stuck in Texas, and the third 90-loss season got under way, and Boras (publicly) scolded ARod a bit.  "It might be time for us to re-think our willingness to play third base.  A move to a contender, with this contract, only happens if we change positions."

Boras is undoubtedly in the Mariners' corner, but he's got to manage Prince Fielder's fantasies about playing in Chicago NL or in Texas.  It says here that this is what the delay is all about.  Boras is slow-playing Fielder and his pipe dreams.  You'll notice that Jay-Z has also been pointedly referring to "some players," not agents, who are going to have to make up their minds.

I dunno, I'd say about a week for the Texas thing to fully sink in now, and then Fielder should come around to getting back with Capt. Jack.  The GM should provide just enough comfort zone to produce a sigh and a signature.

Somebody needs a hug,

Dr D