There are so many ways to go with this story I'm not really sure where to start, so this will be kind of a rambling post.  But let's start from the start: Prince Fielder has decided to drop all meat from his diet and become a vegetarian.  Yes, the "260 pound" slugger has decided to eschew animal flesh, in favor of salads, pastas, and soy products.

Prince decided that he didn't just want to be known as an "all-power, no-glove" first baseman, and after committing 14 errors last season he thinks that a more slender physique might help improve that.

Now, the improved glovework might be a boon for the Brewers.  But, from a fantasy perspective, this is something to keep a very close watch on.  Making a change to his diet as significant as this could seriously impact his power output.  Fielder says he has more energy with his new diet, and his body is cleansed "in more ways than the public should know" (thanks Journal-Sentinel, that's way too much information for our fragile psyches).  How that will translate into on-the-field performance remains to be seen.

There's another aspect to this story that deserves some mention as well.  Fielder's reason for going vegetarian isn't totally to improve his game; he had outside influence as well:

Fielder used to enjoy a stacked burger or a juicy steak as much as any carnivore, but a few weeks ago he received a book from his wife, Chanel, that changed his outlook on what he puts in his massive frame. The book described how certain animals are treated and slaughtered for food.

So, this was a decision his wife pushed him towards.  This is clearly a potential Doug Christie situation.  Keep an eye out to see if he starts blowing kisses or making secret hand gestures to her.

But...there's a gem at the end of the article as well.

But there is a catch, warned Fielder.

"My wife said that if I lose some power, she's cooking me a big steak."

So, shorter Chanel Fielder: "Honey, I don't want you to eat any meat because it's animal cruelty, but if this vegetarian diet gets in the way of you signing that $300 million contract with the Yankees in 2011 I'll personally take you to the slaughterhouse and you can pick out the cow you want to eat."

Well, so long as she's committed to the cause that's what's important.

Non-sports related post here, so stop reading if that bothers you, but this is guy-related, so what the heck. Anyway, I was out with some friends last night and wasn't in a beer mood (I did have one Japanese beer at Benihanas). But when we went to the bar, I was ordering Vodka with cranberry juice all night. I personally think this is plenty manly, it's not like I was ordering Pina Colada or Daiquiris or such. There's no umbrellas in Vodka-Cran. I happen to really like this drink. But the people I was out with were giving me a hard time and questioning my manhood. So, I'm bringing this to the blog. Do I need to man up and order a more masculine drink or is this type of mixed drink perfectly acceptable and leaves my manhood in tact?