All season long, the Milwaukee Brewers kept their collective fingers on the "ignore" button each and every time questions about Prince Fielder's future in blue and gold were mentioned.
As the Brew Crew sits 5 1/2 games in front of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central, their ignorance has been rewarded.
The Brewers are winning, fans are happy, and the team is playing a dominant brand of baseball that hasn't been seen in Wisconsin since the days of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.
Sure, Prince Fielder's pending free agency is bound to eclipse headlines and distract the ball club this winter, but that's after the playoffs. The Brewers have a chance to mirror their Wisconsin football counterparts and make a magical championship run.
At least, that's how fans felt up until Wednesday.
In an interview after the Brewers' 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Fielder told TBS that this season is probably his last with Milwaukee.
Talk about being blind sided.
It's no shock that Fielder will be testing the free agent market this winter. He's one of the premiere stars in baseball today and he has the opportunity to hit the jackpot in free agency.
But dropping that sort of bomb in the midst of the pennant race is the last thing the Brewers need. He distracted his teammates with his selfish garbage and it will be infiltrating the clubhouse for the duration of the season.
I'm not going to ridicule Prince for wanting to make more money. He's put up the numbers over the years, so he's deserving of a big time payday. If the Brewers can't pay him, another team gladly will.
Now, he's put himself ahead of the team. He's shown that he believes his part is bigger than the whole, and his situation should take precedence over what has otherwise been a delectable season at Miller Park.
Prince should have looked to his NL Central counterpart and taken a page out of his book. Yes, I'm talking about fellow All-Star and pending free agent Albert Pujols of the Cardinals.
There hasn't even been a whimper out of Pujols as to his destination for next season. He even went as far as to set a deadline during spring training for contract talks so that his teammates wouldn't be distracted with the daily questions during the grind of the season.
That's the course of action that Fielder should have taken. It doesn't do him or his ballclub any good by creating distractions, especially with the playoffs right around the corner.
Regardless, it's bound to be a memorable October for the Brewers.
Here's hoping that Fielder's selfishness doesn't make it one to remember for all the wrong reasons.
Email: scott.resnick@ubspectrum.com
