"The (pipe) dream of the Mariners signing Prince Fielder has ended. As the world knows by now, he's ending up in Motown, having received a whopping nine-year, $214-million contract from the Detroit Tigers.

To beat that deal, the Mariners would have had to put forth an investment, in both years and dollars, that even the most avid advocate of signing Fielder would have to agree is dangerous territory. And that's ignoring the essential question of whether Fielder ever even seriously considered coming to Seattle, which now appears dubious. His friendship with Jack Zduriencik, in retrospect, wasn't going to trump the distance from his Florida home, the pitcher-friendly ballpark, the unproven (and recently non-productive) lineup he would have joined, and the Mariners' recent history of losing."