Prince Fielder

Brewers slugger Prince Fielder owes more than $400,000 in unpaid taxes, according to a published report. Fielder declined to comment on the report through a team spokesman before last night's game against Toronto. An Internal Revenue Service spokesman told the Associated Press that Fielder could have made payments or even paid it off, but that it might not be recorded yet. The Detroit News' Tax Watchdog blog published Tuesday a copy of the IRS' Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed against Fielder on Oct. 6, 2005.

DETROIT - Saying "dreams come true," Prince Fielder was introduced yesterday by the Detroit Tigers. Fielder appeared at a news conference at Comerica Park after finalizing a $214 million, 9-year contract, the fourth-largest deal in baseball history. "This is awesome," Fielder said. "I just never thought this could happen. " With Detroit desperate to win its first World Series title since 1984, the big first baseman will combine with Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers perhaps the most formidable Nos. 3-4 hitters in the major leagues.

As expected, Ryan Howard has accepted an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby on July 13 at Busch Stadium, in his hometown of St. Louis. Howard, who will be joined by fellow NL first basemen Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols, won the event in 2006 and competed again the following season. Howard is in one of the longest home-run droughts of his career. After last night's rout of Cincinnati, he has gone homerless in 13 games, covering 49 consecutive at-bats.

Phillies at Brewers, 1:05, Miller Park, Milwaukee. TV: CSN. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM), WUBA (1480) Spanish. Phillies LHP Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.79) vs. Brewers RHP Jeff Suppan (1-0, 4.13) Phillies update: The Phils have six come-from-behind wins this season, tied with the Cubs for third in the National League ... 2B Chase Utley and LF Pat Burrell rank either first or second in the NL in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage, and are both in the top 10 in batting average ... RF Geoff Jenkins is 9-for-43 (.188)

MILWAUKEE - Zack Grienke capped a perfect season at home to help the Milwaukee Brewers clinch home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Carlos Gomez, Corey Hart, and Jonathan Lucroy homered for the Brewers, who set a franchise record with 96 wins and open an NL division series at Miller Park beginning Saturday. If the NL Central champions had tied with NL West winner Arizona in the standings, the Brewers would have started the playoffs on the road.

MILWAUKEE - Jonathan Lucroy drove in the go-ahead run with a squeeze, and the Milwaukee Brewers showed they could bunt as well as bash, breaking away from the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-4, Sunday to take a two-games-to-none lead in their NL division series. Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer, and fellow slugger Prince Fielder added an RBI single for Milwaukee. But the brawny Brewers, especially Lucroy, also excel at the little things. Lucroy's safety squeeze keyed a five-run sixth inning and came right after Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler became angry about a balk call.

Ninety minutes before last night's game, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella sat in the visitors' dugout reciting a familiar mantra few believe. "There's no curse," Piniella said. "There's no curse. " Keeping say it, Lou. Eager to sew up the NL Central, Piniella's Cubs instead managed only two hits in eight innings against Dontrelle Willis and lost to the last-place Florida Marlins, 4-2. Willis (10-15) took a one-hit shutout into the eighth, then walked Geovany Soto and gave up a homer to Craig Monroe.

MILWAUKEE - An afterthought in early September, the St. Louis Cardinals are taking their wild ride all the way to the World Series. David Freese hit a three-run homer in the first and manager Tony La Russa again turned to his brilliant bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis captured its 18th pennant with a 12-6 victory over the bumbling Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday night. Albert Pujols and the wild-card Cardinals took out the heavily favored Phillies in the first round, then dispatched the division-rival Brewers on their own turf in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

DETROIT - Saying "dreams come true," Prince Fielder was introduced yesterday by the Detroit Tigers. Fielder appeared at a news conference at Comerica Park after finalizing a $214 million, 9-year contract, the fourth-largest deal in baseball history. "This is awesome," Fielder said. "I just never thought this could happen. " With Detroit desperate to win its first World Series title since 1984, the big first baseman will combine with Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers perhaps the most formidable Nos. 3-4 hitters in the major leagues.

DETROIT - Power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder, who said it was "a dream come true," was introduced Thursday by the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park after finalizing a $214 million, nine-year contract, the fourth-largest deal in baseball history. "I just never thought this could happen," said the son of former Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder. Fielder recalled hanging around Tiger Stadium when his father played for Detroit. "For me, it was always Sparky saying I was going to pinch-hit - and I really believed him," Fielder said, referring to former managerSparky Anderson.

MIGUEL CABRERA told a Venezuelan newspaper that he's moving to third base to accommodate the Detroit Tigers' newest slugger, first baseman Prince Fielder. "It was something we were talking [about at the Tigers'] fan fest [last week]. Return to third base, that is my natural position," Cabrera told Lider en Deportes . "Fielder's arrival will benefit us. " Fielder, on Tuesday, agreed to a 9-year, $214 million contract with the Tigers, multiple media outlets reported. MLB.com, citing an unnamed source, reported that the Tigers agreed to sign the former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman only after they talked to Cabrera first and received his approval.

Free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder and the Detroit Tigers agreed yesterday on a 9-year, $214 million contract that fills the AL Central champions' need for a power hitter, a person familiar with the deal said. CBS first reported the agreement. The person told the Associated Press that the deal was subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not complete. Detroit boldly stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after designated hitter Victor Martinez tore his left ACL during offseason conditioning.

DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers responded to a jarring injury with an audacious move. Free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder and the Tigers agreed Tuesday to a nine-year, $214 million contract that fills the American League Central champions' need for a power hitter, a person familiar with the deal said. Detroit stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after a recent knee injury to star Victor Martinez. A week ago, the Tigers said that the productive designated hitter could miss the entire season after suffering a torn left anterior cruciate ligament during offseason conditioning.

Speculation over the Prince Fielder sweepstakes continued Saturday, but about the only certainties at the end of the day were: The Texas Rangers remain interested in the slugger; the Chicago Cubs are not; and those two stances could change, lickety split, before a deal is done. Rangers president Nolan Ryan acknowledged Saturday that the AL champions met Fielder and his agent, Scott Boras, in a Dallas-area hotel Friday afternoon but downplayed the discussions. "It was very preliminary, and it's very early in any type of negotiation process to even say if there's anything that's going to come of that or not," Ryan said.

FORMER PHILLIES centerfielder Aaron Rowand signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins and will contend for a job as a backup outfielder. Rowand, 34, hit .233 with four homers in 108 games for San Francisco last season. His best year was in 2007 with the Phillies, when he hit .309 with 27 homers and 89 RBI before leaving as a free agent. If Rowand is added to the 40-man roster, he'll receive the major league minimum $480,000, which would be offset from the $12 million owed in the final season of 5-year, $60 million deal from which the Giants released him in September.

DALLAS - Ron Roenicke has no trouble envisioning Jimmy Rollins in a Brewers uniform. "He'd look good," the manager said, a smile spreading across his face. Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't want to picture it. "It's hard to do," the Phillies general manager said. Whether it gets to that point remains to be seen. Amaro met with agent Dan Lozano yesterday at the Hilton Anatole hotel, where baseball's annual winter meetings are under way. If the face-to-face yielded any progress, Amaro did a good job disguising it. The Phillies have not given up on re-signing their longtime shortstop, but there are no indications that negotiations have progressed past the point of a staring contest.

THE YANKEES have made a contract offer to ace CC Sabathia, who has until today to decide whether to opt out of the 4 years and $92 million remaining on his current deal. The offer was made over the weekend, a source told the Associated Press yesterday. Sabathia agreed to a 7-year, $161 million, before the 2009 season and has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA during the regular season for New York. If he opts out, the 31-year-old lefthander would become the top pitcher on the free-agent market.

MILWAUKEE - An afterthought in early September, the St. Louis Cardinals are taking their wild ride all the way to the World Series. David Freese hit a three-run homer in the first and manager Tony La Russa again turned to his brilliant bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis captured its 18th pennant with a 12-6 victory over the bumbling Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday night. Albert Pujols and the wild-card Cardinals took out the heavily favored Phillies in the first round, then dispatched the division-rival Brewers on their own turf in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.