Well, Pujols is. Fielder, as good as he is, isn't really all that rare a player. Right. Fielder is being way overhyped. Guys as good as him are available most years. Pujols is definitely a rare case. Rare in terms of the cost too (I think it's safe to assume). Who are these guys who are as good as him and when are they going to be available? And do they play 1b? I'm certainly not suggesting that Fielder is an elite player that the Cubs absolutely cannot pass up on, but who fits the Cubs biggest need next year or the year after that? And what are the chances that they will still be available at that time? He's going to cost and he's probably going to cost more than he's worth over the life of his contract. But, that's the price one has to pay for not developing those true talents from within and having to sign them away from other teams. This is nothing new. Right. Fielder isn't as rare as Pujols, but he also likely isn't as common as dave thinks, and given how well he fits the Cubs' needs and the resources they have it's foolish for them to act like they have a strict budget crunch.