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Sveum loves what he sees from Prince

There was just no ignoring the 275-pound Prince in the room.

Shortly after the Cubs introduced Dale Sveum as their new manager, talked turned the Fielder, with whom Sveum worked in Milwaukee in his role as the Brewers' hitting coach. The two are said to have gotten along famously.

It also just so happens that the wide-bodied Fielder is a free agent, and the Cubs have an opening at first base. Whether they open their wallets is another story.

Fielder, 27, came off a season in which he hit 38 home runs, drove in 120 and had an OPS of .980. The Brewers are unlikely to come up with either the years or the money to satisfy Fielder, who is represented by super-agent Scott Boras.

“I hate to comment on individual guys in free agency,” said Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer. “I will say that (Sveum) speaks incredibly high of him. We talked about him a lot during the interview process. It was all very positive. One of the things he likes most about Prince is this guy plays hard, runs every ball out every single day. It's not something a lot of superstars can say.

“As far as him coming to Chicago, I won't comment. They have a great relationship. I think he really respects the way Prince plays the game.”

Those who've seen Fielder play regularly say that he never wants to come out of the lineup, perhaps in reaction to criticism of his weight. He played in all 162 games this season after playing in 161 in 2010 and 162 in 2009. His defense is poor, and he won't save many errors with scoops at first base, but he'd likely put up huge offensive numbers at Wrigley Field.

Boras alluded to such this week at the GM meetings in Milwaukee. As one person put it, if the Cubs don't call Boras, he's certain to call the Cubs.

“It's nice to watch a guy play and want to play every single day,” Sveum said. “The last six years, I've seen the guy play the game exactly the same every day. If he hits the ball to second base, he's running as hard as he can. If he pops up to the infield, he runs every single day. Catchers, look out if he's going to score.

“We were very fortunate for the most part. We had two of those guys: Rickie Weeks and him. They played the game as hard as anybody who ever played the game. He definitely plays harder than anybody who plays the game now. When you get one, two, three, four guys who play that way, everybody falls into the way you want to play the game.”

The Cubs have holes all over the diamond, including first base. They also need to find at least two qualified starting pitchers for their rotation. Team president Theo Epstein said the Cubs will look at 2012 and the long term.

“It's competitive landscape out there,” Epstein said. “If we're forced to choose between something that furthers our long-term interest or maximizes our short-term at the expense of the long haul, I'm going to usually defer to the big picture.”

Given Fielder's relative youth, he could fit both scenarios. Let the speculation begin.

#376; Follow Bruce's Cubs reports via Twitter @BruceMiles2112.

Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers gets a hug from batting coach Dale Sveum after the teamÂ’s last home game in the 2010 season. Sveum is now the manager of the Cubs, a team with a lot of needs, including a run producer. Associated Press/2010 file
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