Prince Fielder gained his 1000th hit in Detroit, 996 of them were in a Milwaukee uniform. In Motor City it was just another hit. Had the hit been accomplished while a Milwaukee Brewer, that City would have stopped all of the steam downtown in tribute; the Miller sign atop 633 W. Wisconsin Avenue would be spinning wildly; every man, woman and child would have been on their feet applauding their hero; bratwurst would have been named in his honor; and a shadow boxing match with Braun would have been on display and replayed worldwide on ESPN. But it happened in Detroit. There is no connection there yet.
A hero in the city that adored him since he was an up and coming player in the Brewer’s minor league system, is no longer that. He, unlike Yount, took the money from the carpetbaggers and left. Like Molitor, there will be no statue of him outside Miller Park.
Now the citizens of Cream City look to another to fill the void left.
Mat Gamel has been ‘the hope’ since he entered the minor league Milwaukee Brewer system in 2007. This year, a starting assignment to replace the former first baseman is in place. So…how are they doing after 6 games and one week of the season?
PLAYER AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI AVE BB SO OBP E Fielder 22 8 6 0 0 2 4 .364 2 3 .423 0 Gamel 22 6 4 1 1 0 1 .273 0 5 .304 0
One down, 24 weeks of the regular season to go.
At this rate, Fielder will get 200 hits, smash 50 home runs, drive in 100 RBI and not commit an error the entire season. As for Gamel, he will have 150 hits and strike out 125 times.
Now for Moneyball. The price per base per game …….that will come later.
For the record: Detroit had a record of 5-1. Milwaukee was 4-2.
overtheshouldermlb 
Apples to oranges. A true statistical test is comparing Fielder & McGahee (last year’s corners) to this year’s corners, Ramirez & Gamel. Fielder will cool off (only slightly) and Ramirez will warm up once we hit June (as he always did as a Cub). Let’s take this measurement at the All-Star break.