That was so strange to type. I don’t know what to think of it. Still, fuck the Yankees and all, but fuck them a little less on days when he’s playing.
Yes, he’s past his prime. And yes, this will give him a chance to play in the post season, and maybe the World Series, while freeing his position in the lineup and salary for the Mariners. He hasn’t played as well this season as he has in the past. He’s pushing 40, and those infield hits don’t come around like they used to. Management didn’t really know where to put him in the lineup, and maybe there was nowhere to put him in the lineup.
Still, so much of the Mariners’ recent past revolves around him. It’ll be tough to see him in a Yankee uniform.
Bummer…hate to see him go, but hopefully it will get him into the post season.
I would love for Ichiro to get back into the postseason. He got there in his first season, and has mostly played for terrible teams since.
But I don’t want to see him do it this year, because that means he’d do it as a Yankee, and that means the Yankees were in. If the Yankees went 1-161 one year, I’d be irritated that they won a game.
I don’t like the Yankees trying to buy a championship every year any more than I like it when some insanely rich vulture capitalist tries to buy the White House. They both ooze the exact same sense of entitlement.
Ichiro is arguably the best player to ever wear a Mariner’s uniform and will likely be the first to get to Canton.
As long as we’re posting hot headlines, let’s not overlook this:
Latest Elway poll shows Inslee leading McKenna
“The latest survey by Seattle pollster Stuart Elway shows Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee leading his GOP challenger Rob McKenna by 7 points – 43 to 36 percent. The poll … has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. …
“It represents a sharp turn from earlier polls, which has raised questions about whether this survey is an outlier. Elway … noted that Inslee has been running television ads … [and] also noted that all the polls indicate McKenna losing ground to Inslee.
‘I think there’s some kind of trend here …,’ he said.”
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/.....g-mckenna/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Maybe voters are finally figuring out McKenna is a Republican. Or maybe people are just plain pissed off that Robbie is picking on The Stranger and its star reporter, Goldy.
@3 – Baseball’s hall of fame is in Coopersville. Canton is for football, although it would be an amazing achievement to see Ichiro make it there!
With Ichiro now gone, I don’t know who I going to blame for the sorry state the M’s are in with losing all the time. Hell, I blame him for the viaduct project and global warming!
@4
do you ever not fuck up a thread? cant you just leave some things be?
limp dick asshole.
For once, the Mariners made a good move. I love Ichiro and wish him the best, even if he might be with the hated Yankees. He has a chance for a pennant, the Ms have a chance to see what their kids can do.
@3:
Not even close. Ichiro couldn’t carry ARod’s jock, much less Edgar’s, and waaaay much less Junior’s.
He’s much less valuable than Seattlites imagine him to be. No power, no walks.
For his Mariner career, Ichiro compiled an OPS+ (a good indicator of offensive ability) of 113 (100 is average). Of Mariners with at least 3000 plate appearances for the club, six had higher values — Edgar 147, Junior 144, ARod 138, Alvin Davis 128, Buhner 125, Boone 116. Ibanez had the same OPS+ as Ichiro. Olerud just missed 3000 PA, compiling a 121 OPS+ in 2976 plate appearances.
In his “MVP” season of 2001, Ichiro was the fourth-best hitter … on the Mariners. Boone, Edgar, and Olerud were better, Cameron about the same. He no more deserved that trophy than I did.
@5 “who to blame for the sorry state the M’s are in with losing all the time”
The owners of course! When a team loses it’s always the owners’ fault! The only way to fix it is fire the owners and get new owners!
@6 I did it just because I like to piss you off.
I heard a rumor that that Seattle is getting Jeremy Lin in trade….
@9 yeah its the owners. They traded Ichiro for pitching even though hitting is needed. They always make trades and transactions for pitching. For the past 3-4 years hitting has been desperately needed and EVERY major move involves the mariners getting pitching in return.
Ichiro would have much better stats is the Mariners had better hitters to back him up. His forte’ wasn’t to swing for the bleachers, but to get on base with consistency. The problem is, that’s were he was usually left – stranded on base, without anyone hitting him home.
As a marketing move, signing Ichiro was a mark of genius. Visiters from Japan during the Baseball season would invariably attend a Mariner’s game just to see Ichiro play (although they were often puzzled that the fans didn’t seem to care about the team, with little cheering). In the early years, Ichiro brought quite a few visitors from Japan to Seattle.
When the pinstripes appear next time here in Seattle, I hope the fans give Ichiro a standing ovation. That would show N.Y. what it means to be a “class act”. Ichiro didn’t go to New York to follow the big bucks, like A.Rod did. He was traded, it wasn’t his decision. So a show of appreciation would be appropriate.
I’ve long believed that Mariners ownership, in dealing with the Yankees, look like country bumpkins being sold a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge. I’m hard pressed to think of anybody significant we ever received from N.Y. in a trade.
@ 3
will likely be the first to get to Canton.
Players aren’t eligible until they’ve been out of the game for five years, and Griffey has a two-year head start on Ichiro, 600+ homers, and no positive drug tests that I can recall.
Griffey goes on the first ballot. Probably in a M’s uniform.
As an aside, anyone remember when Steve Garvey was going to be a US Senator in CA?
Ichiro was once a great slap-hitter. But folks get way too excited by all the infield singles. Often not much difference between an infield single and a walk gamewise.
Here are the stats for all AL rightfielders.
Look at the columns BB (Walks) Ichiro only has 17
look on OBP (on base %) Ichiro is at .288
And even worse is Slugging %..a meager .353
Enough said. Yes he’s still a very good fielder.
And still has some speed 15 out of 17 steals.
But, long-term…no way.
Might he help the Yankees…you bet.
I’m sure he’s tired of losing and playing with a AAA team.
Good for him.
Hope he gets the ring…although I dislike A-Rod and many of the Yankees (big, big Derek Jeter fan though)
Ichiro also has hit into 10 double plays this year. For most of his career, it was much less than that in an entire year.
Could find his Batting Average with Runners In Scoring Position…but it can’t be too great either.
Ichiro will get into the Hall of Fame.
When you really analyze his stats and the impact he had on the game, he had some great years. But slap-hitters aren’t necessarily gamechangers..which I think the Hall of Fame should be about.
I think the Hall will also be pressured to vote him in because of his race..first Asian player.
I enjoyed watch him for many years..but grew tired of the slaphitter approach. If Ichiro swung more for power, he probably would have been a .260 hitter…but may have had a bigger impact.
Will never know.
@14:
Jay Buhner comes to mind – we sent Ken Phelps to the Yanks for him. And the Pineda trade is turning into a steal for us, with the M’s getting a decent young starter in Noesi and a DH of the future in Montero, while Pineda broke down in spring training and won’t pitch again until next spring.
Ichiro will almost certainly be a first-ballot inductee – especially if he stays around long enough to get 3,000 MLB hits in addition to his 1,200 or so in Japan.
Still sucks to see him in somebody else’s uniform, let alone a Yankees uniform.
I understand that the fans at Safeco Field gave Ichiro a “returning hero’s welcome” when he walked onto the field last night in pinstripes. Good for them.
My judgement of The M’s front office remains sound! If you gave those people all the money in the world, and the pick of the players, the M’s might rise to as high as 98 losses – seven out of every ten seasons. I know, let’s take more $$$ from the state’s engineering and K-12 schools for pro sports!!!1!
Oh, and a friend took me to a game, years ago. Ichiro belted a Grand Slam; quite a sight. Good luck in NYC!
#5, It’s CoopersTOWN! http://baseballhall.org/
Also, Griffey, Randy Johnson, and hopefully Edger will all be in the Hall of Fame when Ichiro joins them.