Reflections

This quarter has been fun and interesting. It has been fun because it helped stretch my writing skills to make me a better writer but also with the interesting discussions we had in class about the various in-class readings or our essays and critiquing them. It was fun because it was only twice a week for class time and doing the blog as our major assignment throughout the quarter was interesting to do.

It helped having the blog to do our assignments on because when I finished each one I felt like I didn't have to really worry to much about the grade I would recieve and it helped bring some of the assignments in to class for peer reviews to do the editing for the next post. At first, for me, it was hard to figure out exactly how to post comments to help others with the blog to help them recieve the best grade possible.

It was interesting I thought because our major assignemnt was this blog and it was the first time I ever tried doing a blog. Once I figured out how to comment on peoples blogs and getting use to posting assignments on the blog instead of turning hard copies of the assignment in it became alot of fun. It was fun to be able to post pictures, such as the ones I used for the assignment I wrote about MLB free agency, for others to get an idea of what I was writing and to help the article more interesting.

Some of the blog posts were hard for me to write for many reasons. I was either unsure of what I wanted to write or not to incorporate bias or argument in the post. One I had trouble figuring out to write on was post #8 because I didn't know what to choose that didn't have more than three sub-categories for but when I choose to write about professional football in North america it was easy. Also, being able to write and post the assingments on our blogs at home was helpful. Even though for some it might be hard writing at home due to all the distractions we have at home, it helped me do better on my assignments. It helped me because when I knew it was crunch time and I knew I had procrastinated long enough, that was when I was able to put my music on and get to writing and finish what I had to write in one sitting instead of doing portions of each assignment on seperate days.

The one that I had the most fun writing about was my post on courage. That post was fun for me because it was really personal for me and it just really flowed as soon as I started writing it. I was able to incorporate a personal experience and a topic that I'm very familiar with that I like alot and write about courage through those two topics. One of my hardest ones was the post about the Detroit Lions starting their season 5-0 just because to get to 5-0 they had beaten my favorite team the Chicago Bears and it was hard not to include bias towards both teams but especially Chicago.

Overall, this course was alot of fun and helped my writing become stronger. It also helped me think more about who I was writing to and made me add some things in each post that people who don't know about the subject to know more about what I was writing about.

Professional Football in North America

                Professional football in North America is usually thought of as just the National Football League. But there are two other levels of professional football in North America. The two other levels are looked upon as inferior to the NFL and aren’t very well known. They are the Arena Football league and the Canadian Football League. Football in North America is a sport that is held in high honor and is practiced as often and as frequently as an individual’s religious beliefs.

NFL

The NFL is the big brother to the other two football leagues and the one that is thought of as superior. It is thought of as superior for many reasons. The NFL has been around since the 1920’s and has been willing to change with the times to fit what the nation likes and dislike s of the sport to be able please their fans. The sport was almost banned forever because it was called to violent when it started to be played. Some teams folded in the beginning because of bankruptcy or other various reasons. But teams like the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers were able to survive through things like the Great Depression and multiple wars throughout time to please their fans and become fan favorites throughout the nation. People throughout North America have become infatuated with football because there is room to root for the underdog with each game and each season especially when it comes to the championship game, the Super Bowl.

When the Super Bowl comes around people love to cheer for the underdog for various reasons but it all depends on who they face. The thing with the NFL and the Super Bowl there are some teams who have been able to win three or more titles. But there is never a team who is so dominating that they win consistently like the New York Yankees. The Super Bowl has been won by 18 of the 32 teams. The Super Bowl has been represented by 28 of 32 teams. The NFL is viewed as superior because not one team can dominate the postseason and most teams have a chance for the postseason and become super bowl champions. Everyone has a chance to win the championship but it is what they do with their season that will make or break their chances of winning. It is superior because everyone believes they have a chance no matter where they are in the standings.

CFL

The Canadian Football league is represented by only eight teams who are within about 200 miles of the American border. Their teams are located in cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. They play 18 games in the regular season, 2 pre-season and up to three postseason games if they reach the final. The championship game for the CFL is called the Grey Cup. This year the teams represented in the Grey Cup are the British Columbia Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. There a few reasons why people think that the CFL is inferior to the NFL. The CFL plays an 18 game regular season and people who play professional football don’t like that long of a season because of the wear and tear on the body that a football season takes.

Also, there is the fact that since there are only eight teams there are a couple teams since the CFL’s inception that have appeared in a total 67 grey cup and won a total 38 combined titles. There are only a few in the league and it just adds to the repetition of a few teams being dominating while the others have to settle for mediocre. None of their games are played in America, only Canada so there aren’t many chances for Canadian-Americans to watch the games unless they live close to Canada. Another reason is not many players like to go play in Canada unless their careers are almost over because the pay in the CFL is significantly less than that of current NFL players.

AFL

The Arena Football would by most North Americans be classified as the lowest of the three levels and least exciting. It is considered the lowest because the field is much smaller, combined scores that often reach over 100 points and it is where football players who aren’t good enough for the NFL or CFL and were most likely benchwarmers in college football. The pay is extremely low in terms of being paid for professional sports especially in football. The games are played in small arenas usually played in during the summer that are occupied by NBA, NHL, or minor league hockey teams. The games can be exciting but not usually just because the scores are high and the play is usually sloppy. They are also like the CFL in having an 18 game season with up to three postseason games if a team makes the Championship game.

                Even though football to some is like a ritual that’s practiced as often as their beliefs, professional football is held at a high honor to millions of people in North America. The NFL is the most dominate form of professional football for many reasons. It is also in the top two favorite sports among North Americans and is watched worldwide by many.

How Do Hurricanes Occur? Part II

Hurricanes
When someone talks about Hurricanes, what do you think of? Or which Hurricane comes to mind when the word is brought up? Those in New Orleans immediately think of Hurricane Katrina and the destructive force that came with it from just beyond the Bahamas and Cuba though much of the southeastern United States. For everyone though, they think of the storms that start in the Atlantic Ocean and find their way to the southern part of the United States or into Mexico after they pass through the dozens of tropical islands just south of Florida. It all starts between 23.5 degrees north of the equator and 23.5 degrees south of the equator. With these limitations of where they can form, they can become very destructive and frightening once they start to occur. Once a small tropical disturbance occurs, with the conditions being right Hurricanes can become a tropical storm and with the right ingredients they become a full blown, destructive machine known as a Hurricane.

Hurricanes, once formed, have the will to become an intense storm after they have started forming as tropical disturbances in the tropics. They can sustain winds that can reach 74 miles per hour or higher for long periods of time. They start to occur when the weather is perfect, the surface air pressure will be low, light winds, high humidity, water temperature in a vast area has to be 80 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. Most Hurricanes when they start to form start to occur just off the most western edge of the continent of Africa. They need to have a trigger to be able to form because Hurricanes can't form spontaneously. Hurricanes don't form right away when they are triggered. When they start to form, it is only after they started as a tropical storm. If there is a long stretch of warm water, a couple hundred miles, that is where the tropical storms will not only become a Hurricane but also it can become more destructive along the lines of what happened in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.

How they occur over a period of time is that they will formally start as a tropical disturbance such as a mass of thunderstorms with a little wind circulation. When the winds start to reach 20 to 34 knots (23 to 39 mph), it will become a tropical depression. The stage of tropical storm occurs when the winds are between 35 and 64 knots (40 to 74 mph). Once the speeds of the winds exceed 64 knots or 74 miles per hour then the tropical storm becomes classified as a hurricane and then it will recieve its name. Once it hits a patch of colder water then the hurricane will become weaker but it is hard to predict when it will happen because its to dangerous to get too close to the eye of the hurricane. The eye of the hurricane is the very middle of the hurricane where you can see right through the hurricane from top to bottom.

Naming of Hurricanes
At first Hurricanes were only named by where they were according to their longitude and latitude coordinates. Then during World War II, they were starting to be named like a company of men in the army such as Able or Baker with each letter in the alphabet. Then from 1953 to 1977 they were only named after females. In 1978 Hurricanes started to be named after men's names also and each hurricane named has alternated from a female name to a male name and back and forth for every letter in the alphabet since '78.They are not named only after english names, they also named after French and Spanish names as well. If there are more tropical storms or hurricanes in one year than there are letters in the alphabet, the people who name hurricanes start to name them after letters in the Greek alphabet such as Alpha, Gamma, and Omega. If that happens during hurricane season, the reasoning for that is that there have been more than 26 tropical storms and hurricanes in that one season. Due to their certain limitations of how and where they occur, Hurricanes are an act of nature that is to be taken seriously.

Hurricane Katrina
When they gain enough speed and force, they are not friendly at all as the people of New Orleans, Louissiana know. With Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it had started in the Atalantic Ocean. Over time, it started to move north towards America and the dozens of tropical islands in the caribbean. Once it had barely reached the southern most tip of Florida and over Cuba it started to curve towards the Gulf of Mexico like it was going to go there to die out. But once it had hit the Gulf of Mexico instead of slowing down and dieing out it chose to gain steam and become more destructive. After that is when the unexpected came. It's path suddenly changed again and chose to move up towards to Louissiana with the most destructive part hitting New Orleans and the surrounding areas. After it hit New Orleans, it went further north and died out north of Louissiana, Hurricane Katrina caused an estimated $108 billion in damages with 1,833 dead. It hit three different countries, America, Cuba and the Bahamas, and hit at least five different states with the most damage coming the greater New Orleans area.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS361US362&biw=1385&bih=784&tbm=isch&tbnid=vmzne-jOz-5_NM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Katrina_in_New_Orleans&docid=6yD-cYV_rPY92M&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Navy_flooded_New_Orleans_20050901_trim.jpg/250px-Navy_flooded_New_Orleans_20050901_trim.jpg&w=250&h=176&ei=sHfETryAJaemiQL4iuHVBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=793&vpy=165&dur=569&hovh=140&hovw=200&tx=93&ty=99&sig=105542694726307034037&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS361US362&biw=1385&bih=784&tbm=isch&tbnid=IzVw7n7fcGRcYM:&imgrefurl=http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/&docid=Rps89gUmkgzsRM&imgurl=http://www.katrina.noaa.gov/images/katrina-08-28-2005.jpg&w=1920&h=1200&ei=sHfETryAJaemiQL4iuHVBQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=130&sig=105542694726307034037&page=1&tbnh=105&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=93&ty=43

How Do Hurricanes Occur?

When someone talks about Hurricanes, what do you think of? Or which Hurricane comes to mind when the word is brought up? For those in New Orleans would immediately think of Hurricane Katrina and the destructive force it brought with it and the destruction it made from the Bahamas and Cuba through much of the southeastern United States. For everyone though they think of the storms that start in the Atlantic Ocean and find their way to the southern part of the United States, into Mexico or the dozens of tropical islands just south of Florida. Those who have studied Meteorology know that there are many names for Hurricanes and that they don’t only occur in the Atlantic Ocean going towards the U.S. and Mexico. They are called Typhoons in the Pacific and they travel towards southern Japan, India, Taiwan, and the Philippines among others in that region. Then there are Cyclones that can reach New Zealand, the northern half of Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and go as far as Madagascar and eastern Africa. These are the three names for Hurricanes that occur in different regions of the world. For us in America though we know them as Hurricanes and this is how they occur.

It all starts between the 23.5 degrees north of the equator and 23.5 degrees south of the equator. They do no go outside of these limitations but when they form inside them they can become very destructive and frightening. Those in New Orleans and the surrounding cities and states near Louisiana know very well what the forces of Hurricanes can do to a city. Hurricanes are intense storms whose origins come from the tropics that can sustain winds that are 74 miles per hour for long periods of time and can reach much higher winds also. They start to occur when the weather is perfect, surface air pressure will be low, light winds, high humidity, water temperature in a vast area is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer.

The conditions for Hurricanes to occur can sometimes start somewhere near the Bahamas but most of the time the conditions are right just off the most western edge of the African continent. They need to have a trigger to be able to form because Hurricanes can’t form spontaneously.  Hurricanes don’t form right away when they are triggered. When Hurricanes start to form, it is only after they started as a tropical storm. Once the tropical storm has started and start to gain more speed and more destructive forces then Hurricanes start to form. If there is a long stretch of warm water, like a couple hundred miles, that is where the tropical storms will not only become a hurricane but also it can become more destructive along the lines of what happened in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.

How they occur over a period of time is that they will formally start as a tropical disturbance such as a mass of thunderstorms with a little wind circulation. When the winds start to reach of 20 to 34 knots it will become a tropical depression. The stage of tropical storm occurs when the winds are between 35 and 64 knots. Once the speeds of the winds exceed 64 knots or 74 miles per hour then the tropical storm becomes classified as a hurricane and then it will get its name. Once it hits a patch of colder water then the hurricane will become weaker but it is hard to predict when that happens because its to dangerous to get too close to the eye of the hurricane. The eye in a hurricane is the very middle of the hurricane where you can see right through the hurricane from top to bottom.

At first Hurricanes were only named by where they were according to their longitude and latitude coordinates. Then during World War II they were starting to be named like a company of men in the army such as Able or Baker with each letter in the alphabet. Then 1953 to 1977 they were only female names from A-Z. Starting 1978 though hurricanes started being named men’s names also. They were not named only after English names, but also after French and Spanish names also. If there are more tropical storms than letters in the alphabet they start to be named after the Greek alphabet, such as Alpha, Gamma, and Omega.

Courage

Courage

When someone mentions courage to me, most of the time when someone mentions the word to me what imagery comes to mind about courage is that of the brave men and women sacrificing themselves in the military for our freedom here at home in America. To me, it takes alot of courage to do what the people of the military do by sacrificing their lives daily on the front lines with people shooting bullets or explosives towards them in battle. What they do to keep us safe is unbelievable when America is danger and the milatary of America had repeatedly done that time and time again from the American Revolution all the way through the current Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. There are many other ways to show courage too when faced with danger or something that tests how courageous we can be. For courage to show itself, someone is going to have to be mentally tough to withstand or to go through something that can and will be difficult or unknown, it also can bring out your biggest fears for you to face.

With a word like Cancer, someone might not think of courage but of death when it is mentioned. But With the subject it actually takes alot courage to fight the disease and to swallow the news when you here someone you know or you, yourself, have the dreadful disease. My father had it twice in a four year span and both times it was the same kind of cancer, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. For him it took alot of courage to fight through something as horrible as cancer. My family and I through this difficult time and unknown future, it took alot of courage for all of us to go through this trial because one of our biggest fears was shown through my dad's treatments and it was not knowing if he was going to be alive each day. We did not know what to expect because we did not know how he was going to respond to treatments especially the second go around because he had to go through a bone marrow transplant. So each day was a test for everyone in the family of our courage and our faith in not knowing what the future held to know that he could make it. Through my dad's couage and faith he was able to make it and beat cancer twice and be able to tell the story still to this day about how he beat something as scary as cancer.

There may not be any way to physically show how courageous someone is because it is something that is a mental toughness to things that can be difficult or unknown. When someone is faced with a diffcult or unkown situation, such as how to deal with having cancer, it will show itself in the persons composure in how they deal with that difficult situation. Everyone is different when faced with the same difficult situation but when they have someone to lean on it helps them get through it by being able to talk about what they are dealing with.

Cancer is something that people instinctivally afraid of because when they hear the word they immediately think of things like death and decay or people with tubes and IV's shoved in them looking like they have been starved to death while clinging to any last hope of living among other things. For me and my family through the experience we had with my dad having cancer, it was our courage, faith and encouragment to each other that helped everyone make it through. It was that mental toughness we had to fight the unknown and fear of what might be that made our courage shine for others to see.

When it comes to the military, it takes alot of courage just to join it because once your in the military your stuck there until your time is up whether it's the required minimum four to five years of service or serving your country for thirty or forty years. Then you have to go through all the rigourous training just to see if your fit for combat which takes alot of courage with all the harsh treatment and words you face during training to see if your the best of the best. Where courage shows up the most though with people in the military is when they are in combat. One of the best examples for courage showing its true self in battle is during World War Two, from June 6th, 1944 a.k.a D-Day to V-E (victory in Europe) day on May 7th, 1945. Those dates in particular is the amount of time that the 101st airborne of the U.S. military was in action. They had time off to get some rest so they wouldn't get worn out when they weren't in battle. But it was the 101st, particularly Easy Company of the 101st, that showed how much courage they had. Easy Company had complete trust in each other and no matter what happened to any member of the unit they fought courageously and bravely for their country throughout their time in Europe. Since their time in Europe, they have become famous for their courage and for their bond to each other to never let each other down. They have many books out about different members of the group and also a television series calle 'Band of Brother' about their experiences in the war.

It has and will always stand in the test of time among each individual. It was shown for everyone to learn from by the 300 spartans in the battle of thermopalyae or by the 101st airborne a.k.a 'the battered bastards of batsogne' in the Ardennes forrest in the winter of 1944 during World War II. It will be shown by those in any military in the future in whatever war may come next wherever it might occur. It will show up in those fighting a disease, such as cancer, and those loved ones of the one fighting a life threatening disease. It will always show up in a persone when dealing with something that is unknown, something which is difficult or something that can bring out your worst fears. Courage has affected me because it has shown me that through times of difficulty or being faced with the fear of something that is unknown, with the help of family and friends, I can become a better person because of the test that I am facing.

2011 Free Agency Part II

2011 MLB Free Agency

            Every year when the playoffs start for Major League Baseball I look forward not only to who plays in the World Series, but who is going to be a free agent when the five day waiting period is over; when the World Series ends. After the waiting period is over with, teams have about three weeks to sign their own free agents. When those three weeks or so are over, any free agent left that has not signed with his previous team can sign with any baseball team he wants that is willing to pay the price.

            Sometimes theses free agents do not live up to their deals, such as Daisuke Matsusaka or Carlos Silva to name a few. When they don’t perform up to their expectations, teams just try to move on as quickly as possible and try to forget about their signing. Then there are some, who once they sign their deal, are worth every penny and help out their teams tremendously, such as Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.

            Some of the deals I agree with, can be steals and pay a player less than they should be paid. One of those deals that were worth the money is Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, who signed before the 2004 season. The deal he signed in 2004 was for seven years and worth 100 million dollars with a possibility of making another $16 million for the 2011 season if he signed a contract extension for a one-year deal.

Albert’s deal is one of many throughout Major League history that proves someone can be underpaid for his skills and how much he means to a team and outperform his deal. He has a career batting average of .328, he averages 42 home runs, 126 RBI’s, 93 walks. He is a nine time all-star, three time NL MVP, Rookie of the year winner, six-time silver slugger winner, and two-time gold glove winner. I’m not sure what else he needs to do to prove how valuable he is the St. Louis Cardinals but if those kind of stats and awards aren’t screaming the words “Show Me The Money” I’m not sure what is.

Albert Pujols is one of three coveted free agents this year when the World Series ends. The other two free agents are Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers and C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers. If all three leave their teams for other teams the Rangers, Brewers, and Cardinals will feel the loss of their star players deeply for a long time. But I hear that their teams will make a hard push to keep them. They will definitely have to dish out the money to keep players of that caliber because Fielder who is a First Baseman just like Pujols and has put up similar numbers in terms of statistics. Fielder is not as accomplished though when it comes to awards. C.J. Wilson who is a starting pitcher who has done well in Texas with the help of Hall of Fame Legendary Pitcher Nolan Ryan, who is the president of the Texas Rangers, but when it comes to pitching on a big stage like New York or Philadelphia who knows what might happen if he is lured there.

I don’t think it will be hard for Texas to keep C.J. but when it comes to Pujols and Fielder that is where it’s going to be hard to say if they will stay with their original teams. If they want to pay them massive amounts of money most likely at least 10 years/$200 million minimum but probably more than that, they also have to think of how they want to spend their money for future free agents. If the General Manager of the Cardinals knew how much Pujols means to St. Louis outside of what his stats say, he should definitely hand out whatever kind of contract Albert Pujols wants because he is worth the money. Prince Fielder on the other hand, a National League GM should not pay the money to him just because of how big the man is and no one knows if he can hold up his stats if he is not playing for a team where his stats can be cushioned by the players he is with like when he is with the Brewers. As an American League GM though they should definitely pay Fielder what he wants because he would be able to play First Base and Designated Hitter. Playing DH would extend Fielder’s career and with many teams in the AL with money to spend this off-season, they could pay him to play both positions for the next ten or so years.

Needless to say I am looking forward to this years free agency and the wars that will be going on between the teams who are willing to show the big three, among the many other free agents, the money. My thoughts on the free agency pool this year is if Pujols stays with the Cardinals, Fielder will leave for whatever team wants to pay. But if Pujols joins the Chicago Cubs, another team that is linked to trying to pay Pujols, the Cardinals will most likely be the winners of the Fielder bidding wars. C.J. on the other hand my thoughts are that he stays is Texas until his next turn at free agency whenever his next deal ends after he re-signs a new deal with Texas this off season. I’ve been looking forward to this off-season for a while because I’m curious to know where Pujols might end up if he isn’t re-signed by St. Louis.

2011 MLB Free Agency

Every year when the playoffs start for Major League Baseball I look forward not only to who plays in the World Series but most of all, who is going to be a free agent when the five day waiting period is over when the World Series ends. After the waiting period is over with, teams have about three weeks to sign their own free agents. When those three weeks or so are over any free agent left that has not signed with his previous team can sign with any baseball team he wants that is wiling to pay the price.

            Sometimes theses free agents do not live up to their deals, such as Daisuke Matsusaka or Carlos Silva to name a few. When they don’t live up to their deal teams just try to move on as quickly as possible and try to forget about their signings. Then there are some who, once they sign their deal, are worth every penny of their deal and help their team out tremendously.

            Some of those deals, can be steals and pay a player less then they should be paid. One of those deals that was worth the money and was a steal is the deal that Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals signed before the 2004 season. The deal he signed in 2004 was for seven years and worth $100 million dollars with a possibility of making another $16 million for the 2011 season if he signed a contract extension for a one-year deal.

Albert’s deal is one of many throughout Major League history that proves someone can be underpaid for his skills and how much he means to a team and outperform his deal. He has a career batting average of .328, he averages 42 home runs, 126 RBI’s, 93 walks. He is a nine time all-star, three time NL MVP, Rookie of the year winner, six-time silver slugger winner, and two-time gold glove winner. I’m not sure what else he needs to do to prove how valuable he is the St. Louis Cardinals but if those kind of stats and awards aren’t screaming the words “Show Me The Money” I’m not sure what will make them pay up.

Albert Pujols is one of three coveted free agents this year when the World Series ends. The other two free agents are Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers and C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers. If all three leave their teams for other teams the Rangers, Brewers, and Cardinals will feel the loss of their star players deeply for a long time. But I hear that their teams will make a hard push to keep them. They will definitely have to dish out the money to keep players of that caliber because Fielder is also a First Baseman like Pujols and has put up similar numbers in terms of statistics. Fielder is not as accomplished though when it comes to awards. C.J. Wilson is a starting pitcher who has done well in Texas with the help of Hall of Fame Legendary Pitcher Nolan Ryan who is the president of the Texas Rangers but when it comes to pitching on a big stage like New York or Philadelphia who knows what might happen if he is lured there.

Many people don't think it will be hard for Texas to keep C.J. but when it comes to Pujols and Fielder that is where its going to be hard to say if they will stay with their original teams. If they want to pay them massive amounts of money most likely at least 10 years/$200 million minimum but probably more than that they have to think of how they want to spend their money. If the General Manager of the Cardinals was smart he would definitely hand out whatever kind of contract Albert Pujols to him because he is worth the money. Prince Fielder on the other hand, for National League GM's they should not pay the money to him just because of how big the man is and no one knows if he can hold up his stats if he is not playing for a team that is as good as the Brewers. Any American League GM should definitely pay Fielder the money because he would be able to play First Base and Designated Hitter, for many years. Playing DH would extend Fielder’s career and with many teams in the AL with money they could pay him to play both positions for the next ten years.

Needless to say the fans are looking forward to this years free agency and the wars that will be going on between the teams who are willing to show the big three among the many other free agents the money. Many believe with the free agency pool this year is if Pujols stays with the Cardinals, Fielder will leave for whatever team wants to pay. But if Pujols joins the Chicago Cubs, another team that is linked to trying to pay Pujols, the Cardinals will most likely be the winners of the Fielder bidding wars. C.J. on the other hand will most likely stay in Texas until his next turn at free agency whenever his deal ends after he signs a new deal this off season.