I haven’t heard any mention of this in the mainstream media, but word on the virtual street is that Prince Fielder is eating meat again.

During a recent chat, someone with the screen name “Prince Fielder” jokingly asked ESPN’s Keith Law, “Which vegatables (sic) are good with ketchup and mustard?” To which Law replied, “I was told Fielder’s back on the carnivorous side of the fence. And welcome back, Prince. Life’s better over here.”

First of all, Keith, you’re not fooling anybody. Eat all the meat you want, that won’t change the fact that you are a Jane Austen fan.

Personally, I was excited to hear about Prince’s vegetarianism. I offered him some tips on living a meat-free life and I defended his diet when people were attributing his home run decline to a lack of protein. Now I’m bummed that he’s gone back to the dark meat side.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Fielder’s inability to keep his hands off the dead animals is indicative of a player and a team without discipline. Milwaukee showed some patience at the plate in their Game 3 win over Jamie Moyer, but as soon as Game 4 rolled around they were back to hack, hack, hackin’ away. I’m not aware of any vegetarians on Philadelphia’s roster, but you can rest assured that if Pat Burrell ever decided to go veggie, he’d go all the way. Every time a meat craving attacked, he’d patiently foul it off until he saw the salad he wanted and then — wham! — he’d devour that salad until it was back, back, back, gone!

Yahoo! fantasy “expert” Brandon Funston (whose teams always seem to finish last) weighs in this week on Prince Fielder and his lack of power this season:

Folks, I hear your concerns about Fielder’s new vegetarian lifestyle. Last year’s 50-home run hitter has just six long balls through 43 games this season. Milwaukee doesn’t employ a dietician on staff, like some teams, but you’d think that that would have been the first thing they would have done when they heard their prize slugger had sworn off dead animals.

That’s one way to look at it. Me, I think the Brewers might have investigated hiring a dietician the day they drafted a 280-pound first baseman (Prince is listed at 260, but who are we kidding?). Prince’s new diet shouldn’t be cause for concern, it should be cause for celebration. True, his power numbers are down slightly, but there’s no reason to think it has anything to do with his diet. Ryan Howard’s numbers are terrible. As recently as last week he had the lowest batting average in baseball. Are we blaming his struggles on his diet?

If Prince starts dating Jessica Simpson, then there will be cause for concern. But eating more vegetables is a good thing.

Prince Fielder was once the spokesperson, along with his father, for the McDonalds triple cheeseburger. But those days are long gone.

Yesterday, Prince announced that he has become a vegetarian.

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal:

It wasn’t always this way. 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.

…”After reading that, (meat) just didn’t sound good to me anymore,” Fielder said. “It grossed me out a little bit. It’s not a diet thing or anything like that. I don’t miss it at all.”

Fielder is a begginner vegetarian. He’s still just getting his feet wet. So I’m here to offer a few tips, from one vegetarian to another.

1. The secret craving of every vegetarian is bacon. Fight the temptation. And remember, if you really want a BLT, there’s always facon!

2. Quinoa is a great source of protein. I like to make curry quinoa mango salad. Big Papi says mango gives him power, so this should be a staple of your diet. I know you’ve had some friction with your own dad, but it’s always a good idea to do as Papi does.

3. Tofu is your friend. Bake it. Fry it. Live it. Love it. It is admittedly a texture that takes some getting used to. Start out with the extra firm tofu and then ease yourself into the more silken stuff.

4. Foreign foods are often very veggie friendly (except for those damn Koreans). Indian food and Ethiopian food are both great for meat avoiders. Chinese food can be tricky, but there are more and more Chinese restaurants with vegetarian menus, many with a lot of faux-meat options. When I lived in Atlanta I used to get the vegetarian sesame beef at Chinese Buddha on 10th Street and … well … fuhgettaboutit. It was the bomb.

5. Buy a wok. Then buy the book “Breath of a Wok” by Grace Young. It’ll change the way you look at cooking. There’s nothing more fun that getting your wok super hot and tossing your dinner up in the air. And the sound the soy sauce makes when it hits the hot cast iron … so sexy.

6. Pasta is still your friend. My girlfriend makes a great puttanesca sauce, only she skips the anchovy paste. You don’t need it. The capers and the kalamata olives make the sauce plenty salty. And the red pepper flakes add a great spice. And if you want to really get crazy (and healthy), you can substitute spaghetti squash for pasta. Just bake the squash for 40 minutes and then scrape it into a bowl with a fork. You’ll love it.

There’s nothing wrong with Boca Burgers, Prince. But hopefully these tips will help you expand your vegetarian horizons. Remember, the best part of being a vegetarian is — you guessed it — the vegetables! So don’t be afraid to try something new, whether its broccoli rabe or rutabaga. And congratulations on embracing a lifestyle that is the most important thing anyone can do to save the earth.