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 Brewers Fielder confident power will return

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GoGetEmTigers
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PostSubject: Brewers Fielder confident power will return   Brewers Fielder confident power will return Icon_minipostedFri Apr 11, 2008 7:12 pm

04/10/2008 6:24 PM ET
Fielder confident power will return
First baseman has yet to hit home run in young season
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers' big fella had a plane to catch, but first he needed a few minutes of deep thinking after going oh-for-the-series against the Reds. If looks could kill, the bobblehead doll in Prince Fielder's locker would have keeled over.

When he turned around to answer reporters' questions, Fielder did not waste time sugarcoating his slow start. He was 0-for-4 in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Cincinnati, and made it abundantly clear he's not happy with the way he's swinging the bat right now.

"Come on, dude," he said to a veteran TV reporter. "What do you think?"

We think you're upset, Prince.

"Of course I'm not OK with it," he said. "You've seen the scoreboard, it's God-awful. If I want to be in the middle of the lineup, I've got to do a little better than that. Keep going out there, keep swinging hard, you might run into one."

He has not run into one yet. No one panicked when Fielder hit just one home run in Spring Training, but now he has yet to go deep in 33 regular season at-bats. He left for the Brewers' three-city road trip batting .242 with only two extra-base hits in nine games.

This comes after a 2007 campaign in which Fielder led the National League with 50 home runs and ranked third in the circuit with 87 extra-base hits.

If you're wondering whether his well-publicized switch to a meatless diet is the culprit, don't even ask. The fact he's a vegetarian has nothing to do with the fact he's not hitting home runs, Fielder said.

"I just want to hit the ball hard first," Fielder said. "You can't worry about hitting home runs when you can't make solid contact. I'll just try to hit the ball hard and see what happens."

Fielder is only 23 years old, but he already holds himself to terribly high standards. And why not? He made the All-Star team last summer, won the Player's Choice Award as the league's top player, the Hank Aaron Award as the league's home run champ, and a Silver Slugger Award to boot? He also finished third in MVP balloting, the highest showing for a Brewer since Robin Yount won the award in 1989.

Fielder also admits to being driven by the accomplishments of his father. Last year, when Fielder hit his 50th home run and became the youngest player in Major League history to reach that plateau in a season -- beating out Willie Mays, no less -- he said that he had his sights on hitting 52. That would be one more than Cecil Fielder's career high for homers.

Yes, Prince Fielder's temper is running a bit high these days, but Brewers manager Ned Yost could not have made his take on the issue made any clearer Thursday.

"There's no concern," Yost said.

Against Reds ace Aaron Harang, Fielder grounded out in the first inning, flew out to left field in the third and then hit a high fly-out to right field in the sixth. He just missed that last one, according to Yost.

"When you're facing good pitching like Aaron Harang, you're hoping you can get one, maybe two pitches all day," Yost said. "You're battling and fighting the rest of the time. He got a pitch that he just missed, and he skied it to right field. We're talking about a half-inch, a quarter-inch more [on the barrel of the bat] and that ball is in the seats."

Even before the game, Yost defended his young slugger.

"He's doing more than enough to help us win baseball games, and that's the one thing we have to remember," Yost said. "We always focus on individual performances. ... Prince has been very, very beneficial to our fast start."

The responsibility of managing Fielder's angst falls partly to hitting coach Jim Skaalen, who is entering his second year with the team, and has a handle on what makes each hitter tick. Like everyone else, Skaalen can see that Fielder is hurting.

"He's frustrated, there's no doubt about it," Skaalen said. "He takes a lot of pride in helping this team, and at times, carrying this team. He's frustrated because it's not happening at this time."

But...

"He'll be fine, honestly. He'll be fine," Skaalen said. "He's just a little bit off. The key is staying in control of his approach, not trying to do too much, and good things are going to happen for him. You just know it. He's just too talented of a guy."

As teammates began filing out of the clubhouse to catch the bus to the airport, Fielder was still sitting there, staring into his locker. He knows that he has to keep his temper in check, but it's difficult.

"I'll worry about that when I retire," he said. "That's just the way I am."

Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: Brewers Fielder confident power will return   Brewers Fielder confident power will return Icon_minipostedTue Apr 15, 2008 1:34 pm

GoGetEmTigers wrote:
[He] won the ...Hank Aaron Award as the league's home run champ

Yet another stupid reporter that can't check their facts. The Hank Aaron Award goes to the top hitter in each league as voted upon by fans (30%) and broadcasters (70%). It does not require the player to lead the league in home runs.
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