Yeah, this is a baseball post, but this is too wild to not write about. Today the Seattle Mariners traded their former leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees for two right-handed pitchers they’ll probably never get anything out of. The Yankees are in town tonight to play the Mariners, but it’s unclear whether or not Ichiro will be playing for the Yankees tonight. My limited baseball knowledge tells me that batting .261 with a .288 on-base percentage is not good, and at 38 it’s not going to get much better. The chances are Ichiro will be a bit player for a team leading their division, and maybe the Mariners just want Ichiro to get a World Series ring since they sure as hell aren’t going for another millennium or so.
Wow. I’m not used to seeing the Mariners without Ichiro, and now the staple of their franchise has gone to the biggest one in all of baseball. It’s not a shock, because Ichiro has been moved around in the batting order so he could ground-out in different positions, but he’s pretty much the only recognizable fielding player on the team. He’s probably the greatest Mariner of all-time and 2001, his first year in the majors, was an instant success for himself and for the team (they won 116 games). Even through the bad periods he’s always been Mr. Consistency as the dependable leadoff hitter, but now they’re bad and he’s bad, so something had to give. I’m sure the Mariners fanbase and Seattle sports fans greatly appreciate everything he’s done for the city and all he’s accomplished despite being on one of the worst teams in the league for so long.
This probably will clear the way for the Mariners to improve their offense by trading for 150 more pitchers and overpaying for guys from the LA area (ahem)Beltre and Figgins(ahem).
That’s enough baseball out of me, go on with your day.
