Ichiro Is On A Tear

[Bulltalk]

This has been going a bit unnoticed, IMO. I believe he's hitting .364 after today, and moving in on Ordonez for the AL lead in batting average. Boy, if he starts making a move towards .400 (I only consider this remotely plausible because it's Ichiro), then having no contract offered and signed will begin to look from worse to horrible.

Junior, ARod, Randy.....Ichiro? That would look pretty bad, for whatever the reasons, to add another star of this caliber to the list of exiles.

The only thing bad about this Mariner surprise this year so far is the thought that it might keep Bavasi around.

[Sweezo]

The organization just can't let Ichiro leave...without him, the team really loses much of its excitement. He's the only star we have (sorry, Felix...you've got a ways to go yet).

Ultimately, it sounded like Ichiro wanted to see the team make a push towards competitiveness before deciding if he would stay. Has it been enough?

[PhilipNelsonFan]

The organization just can't let Ichiro leave...without him, the team really loses much of its excitement. He's the only star we have (sorry, Felix...you've got a ways to go yet).

Ultimately, it sounded like Ichiro wanted to see the team make a push towards competitiveness before deciding if he would stay. Has it been enough?

With Bavasi, I don't think I'll ever get the feeling that we're contending.

Although, oddly enough, we have some decent pieces for contention...it's just that are holes are gaping and we never really fix them.

But Ichiro is the identity of the Seattle Mariners, so he has to stay.

[Basketball Jesus]

Another thing that has gone somewhat unnoticed is his walk rate is the highest it

[b_roy7]

I was upset when he lost his steals record...I like my teams breaking records. At this rate he can get a hitting record.

[BlackMamba]

The organization just can't let Ichiro leave...without him, the team really loses much of its excitement. He's the only star we have (sorry, Felix...you've got a ways to go yet).

Ultimately, it sounded like Ichiro wanted to see the team make a push towards competitiveness before deciding if he would stay. Has it been enough?

of the 1st point i totally agree, it would be sad to see, again, the mariners anchor leave, leaving the team with a huge void.

of the 2nd point, are the mariners really doing something? i mean anything? for the last couple of years the mariners seem to be happy of where they are and arent making any good moves. whats with that? not enough money?

it really scares me that ichiro could find a better place elsewhere, some team that can guarantee him a run for the WS and decides to leave seattle.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Another thing that has gone somewhat unnoticed is his walk rate is the highest it

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Seattle MUST resign Ichiro. Give him whatever amount of money he wants. He is the face of our team and easily our most talented player. He's the best leadoff man in the game, and is just so rounded as a baseball player.

You just cant let the guy walk; That was devestate the franchise, and trust me, A LOT of people would lose interest in the team, including myself. I'd still root for the club, but man, I'd be beyond upset at the front office.

I love Ichiro!

[Bulltalk]

As of July 1st:

--Ordonez .370
--Ichiro .368

I would guess that Ichiro will be the AL and ML leader in batting average by the all star break.

[Blaze the Nugz]

As of July 2nd,

Ichiro - .365 BA
Ordonez - .369 BA

[Ex-hippie]

The one caveat I?ve always had about signing Ichiro! to a long-term deal is that once he loses a step or two, how much will it affect his offensive game? As great as his hitting ability is, a lot of it is predicated on his speed. (He has a ridiculous amount of infield hits as well as a very impressive bunt-for-hit percentage.)

That's a point I've been making for a couple of years now. To be honest, Ichiro has been proving me wrong so far. But it's bound to catch up with him eventually, and he will someday reach a point when all those infield singles become weak groundouts. For the umpteenth time I'll repeat the Branch Rickey line that it's better to trade 'em too early than too late.

The main advantage of keeping Ichiro, perhaps beyond his prime, is the financial incentive of being "big in Japan." If they pay Ichiro $15 million a year and he winds up being unproductive, it still might be a good business move if it means an extra $20 million of revenues a year that they can theoretically spend on other players. But I wonder how long they'll continue to adore him over there if he's in decline; they'll still have Dice-K and Matsui and all the rest, so Ichiro might (understandably) lose some appeal. I don't purport to understand the market well enough to answer this question.

[nesta]

I think Ichiro can keep up his speed for around 4 more years. With his batting style I think he won't lose much speed. Also, remember Darrell Green? He was running 4.3 or 4.4 when he was 40

[Basketball Jesus]

Ichiro

[Bulltalk]

Ichiro 2 for 4 Monday night.

--Ordonez .369
--Ichiro .367

[Bulltalk]

Ichiro 2 for 3 Tuesday night.

--Ichiro (.369)
--Ordonez (.369)

Caught!

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Ichiro 1 for 4 Wednesday Night.

--Ichiro (.368)
--Ordonez (.365)


Passed!

[Bulltalk]

Ichiro 1 for 4 Wednesday Night.

--Ichiro (.368)
--Ordonez (.365)


Passed!

Beat me to my own game.

[stro4swift]

Inside the park Home Run, WOW!

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Someone forgot to give that interviewer the memo about Ichiro NOT being a FA this upcoming offseason.

But damn, Ichiro was lookin all GQ, haha.

[Sweezo]

Give that man the damn MVP already. And no, I'm not talking about the All-Star MVP (although he should get that too!).