Royals prospect John Lamb is climbing through the Kansas City Royals Minor League affiliates, spending this season at the Double-A level as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Our friends over at MLB Reports have had the opportunity to sit and discuss parenting with James Lamb. The following is directly from their website:

”What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent“, By James O. Lamb

I had the pleasure of meeting James Lamb through social media this year. As parents and through our mutual love of baseball, we have enjoyed several baseball discussions and debates. As a professional scout for the Florida Marlins, James is very active in Major League Baseball and is extremely knowledgeable on the sport. Many of our discussions though centered on parenthood, including being a baseball parent. James own son, John Lamb, is a prospect with the Kansas City Royals. Having been through the process of having a son drafted to a major league team, James’ story is a fascinating one. I learned about James also through his websites,http://pbdad.com and http://baseballpg.com. Being a father myself to a five-year son with another baby boy on the way, I started discussing with James the journey of becoming a baseball parent. That is where the concept of this article was born. We are very fortunate to have James Lamb as our MLB Guest Blogger today. For all current and future baseball parents, you will find James insights and tips extremely valuable. We proudly feature on the reports, James O. Lamb, with ”What Can a Parent Do: A Guide to Being a Baseball Parent“.

Drop by their site to read the full article, which is a very interesting look inside of the mind of people affiliated with professional baseball players.

The best kind of debates in sports are always hypothetical, because there is no winner or loser, no right answer and no wrong answer. It is strictly a matter of opinion.

So here is today’s hypothetical question: If you were the owner of a major league baseball team this winter, and could afford to spend $200 million and needed to sign a free agent first baseman, who would you rather sign, Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder?

Before you make an immediate response, consider some of the facts for both players:

The two biggest differences between the two are that Pujols hits right-handed, and Fielder bats left-handed, and the age of both players — Pujols will be 32 when the 2012 season begins, and Fielder will celebrate his 28^th birthday one month into next season.

The four-year difference in age might be the biggest single factor in this debate. As great as Pujols has been in his career, you can’t escape the fact that if both players sign seven-year contracts, for example, Pujols will be 39 when that contract is being completed and Fielder will be 35.

In baseball years, that’s a huge difference.

What owners will have to ask themselves is whether they think Pujols, between ages 32 and 39, can realistically come close to equaling the offensive numbers he has put up so far in his career. Or would Fielder, because of the age difference, be a better investment?

Both Pujols and Fielder made their major-league debuts when they were 21 years old. For his career, Pujols has averaged 42 homers, 127 RBI and a .329 average. In his shorter career, Fielder has averaged 38 homers, 106 RBI and hit .281.

For the past three seasons, between his 28^th and 31^st birthday, Pujols averaged 42 homers and 123 RBI, and one could easily argue that in those prime years of his career, Fielder could put up similar numbers over the next three seasons.

Another factor in this debate is the way Fielder has played so far this season, finally cutting down on his strikeouts – just 38 in .312 plate appearances through Sunday – while raising his average to .301. He hit his 20^th home run of the year Sunday against the Red Sox, tying with the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp for the league lead, and also producing his league-best 61^st RBI. Could an owner realistically expect similar numbers the next few seasons?

Pujols, before leaving the Cardinals’ game on Sunday with injuries to his left shoulder and wrist suffered in a collision at first base, hit his 17^th home run, driving in his 45^th run. His batting average, uncharacteristically low, nevertheless is now at a season-high .279 after his three hits on Sunday.

The Cardinals said they will know more about the extent of Pujols’ injuries after he completes X-rays and an MRI on Monday.

The biggest negative toward signing Fielder to a long term contract stems from concerns about his weight, now estimated at 275 pounds. Consider this, however: despite that weight, Fielder has never had any health-related problems, and has never been on the disabled list in his career. In his five complete seasons, he has played a minimum of 157 games. In the past three seasons, he has missed a total of four games.

Also consider that Fielder has always been a big man, or boy. When he was 12 years old, he already was big enough to hit the ball out of Tiger Stadium. When he was drafted in 2002, he reportedly weighed about 250 pounds. He was listed at 260 as a rookie in 2005.

Could his weight cause Fielder problems as he gets older? Certainly. But Pujols also has had some injuries along the way, as we saw on Sunday, and he could have some issues as he gets older too – once again considering the age difference between the two players.

Finally, an owner would have to take this into consideration as well: If he offers Pujols a $200 million contract, is Pujols’ roots dug so deep into the St. Louis community that he would just take that offer back to the Cardinals as leverage, having no intention of leaving St. Louis, just trying to use that offer to get as much money out of them as possible before he signs.

With Fielder, and his agent, Scott Boras, there is no doubt he is looking for the biggest contract he can get, and will sign wherever that leads him. The most common belief is that Fielder will end up in either Washington, which has a cozy relationship with Boras and some of his other clients, or Seattle, where the longtime Milwaukee scouting director is now the general manager.

Despite the well-documented close relationship between Pujols and Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry – which apparently dates back to a dinner when Pujols was a young player and was invited by teammate Alan Benes to join him and his college coach at Creighton, Hendry – most observers in Chicago do not expect the Cubs to pursue any long-term free agent deals this winter.

In all likelihood, both Pujols and Fielder will get $200 million or close to it in deals this winter, and the true answer about which was the better signing won’t be determined for several years to come.

Head over to RobRains.com and read Rob’s thoughts on Ryan Theriot, U2 and news around MLB and MiLB.

As the sun rose this morning, hundreds of people were already hard at work. They were checking the details. Like a parent on Christmas morning, they are making sure everything is in place.

Making sure the souviener stands are stocked and ready. Making sure the promotional material is ready at the gates. Seats are clean, aisles are swept, food stands are stocked. Meetings were held to ensure that everyone knew the game plan. All while you were still in bed.

As the sun rises this morning, grounds crews will ensure everything is perfect. The logos painted in the field are meticulously manicured. The grass is perfect. The field is dragged, kicking the sweet smell of the fine dust up and around the field.

The dew on the grass gives way to warmer temperatures. Downtown in your city, rallies are held for teams. People are screaming. Absenteeism at work and school will be at all time highs. Little kids, grown adults, elderly, and teenagers will converge on stadiums wearing team colors and optimism.

As the noon hour quickly approaches, all 30 teams sit in a tie for first place. Every fan has hope and optimistic views. This afternoon, everyone has as much of a chance as any other team. Your favorite player is as much the league MVP as mine or anyone else.

By the time you go to bed, the landscape is being laid. Debates will be held as to why the team won or lost. The division of baseball will begin. Optimism will reach higher, crash to the ground, or be adjusted. The local sports talk stations will break down every detail, every player change, every sacrifice and every error. Sports television will show highlights, low lights, errors, and amazing plays.

If you are reading this, you will love every last minute of it.

Happy Opening Day. It is the greatest day of the year for people like me. The love of my life returns. For the next six to seven months my life will revolve around the game. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.