PHOENIX -- Prince Fielder is frustrated about his contract.
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The Milwaukee Brewers renewed the slugger's deal for $670,000 on Sunday after finishing third in NL MVP voting last season.
"I'm not happy about it at all," Fielder said. "The fact I've had to be renewed two years in a row, I'm not happy about it because there's a lot of guys who have the same amount of time that I do who have done a lot less and are getting paid a lot more.
"But my time is going to come. It's going to come quick, too."
The first baseman will be eligible for arbitration after this season.
General manager Doug Melvin said he thinks the 23-year-old Fielder is making more money than any player not eligible for arbitration who doesn't have a multiyear contract. The Brewers base their offers to young players on performance benchmarks, not what other teams have offered players in similar situations.
"We view our system as more than a fair system," Melvin said. "You can't worry about it. It is what it is. You do it."
Melvin said Fielder hadn't talked to him directly about his frustration.
"You have to respect their scale," Fielder said. "But like I said, I'm not happy about it. But I'm going to do my job this year."
Fielder, who led the NL with a franchise-best 50 home runs last year and had 119 RBI, didn't let his frustrations show in the field or at the plate Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels.
He finished 1-for-1 with a single and was twice hit by pitches, just off the right knee by Chris Bootcheck in the fourth and a glancing blow off the right elbow pad by Matt Wilhite in the fifth.
Fielder also made a circus play at first base in the third inning when his glove was knocked out of his hand by a sharply hit grounder. But he managed to scoop up the ball with both hands and hustle to first for the out.
Melvin said he hoped the contract strife didn't affect the organization's ability to attempt to negotiate a long-term deal in the coming years with Fielder and his agent, Scott Boras.











