Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Posted by Mickey Z on 07/25 at 10:39 AM

Mickey-- I know you’re probably lobbying Steinbrenner to lure Ichiro away from the Mariners to play for the Yanks. But I think you’ll have to wait at least another four years to see Baseball’s Dragon in pinstripes—perhaps after he’s lost a step or two at the age of 34—because in December he signed a four-year contract worth $44 million with the Mariners. ESPN reports that the Mariners avoided salary arbitration with Ichiro because “to do otherwise would have looked unfavorable in Japanese culture, sending a message that club officials were unable to determine his value.” My hunch is that when negotiations were heating up and the Mariners suggested they may go to arbitration, Ichiro “encouraged” the team to give him what he wanted by channeling Bruce Lee and giving Mariners management “a simple look” worth $44M.

Posted by Mark Hand on from 07/25 at 09:40 PM

You gotta admit it’s a sin to see a talent like Ichiro lanquishing in the Seattle mire. Sure I’d love to see him in pinstripes but he’s truly built for the National League. Could you imagine leading off for the Cardinals?

Posted by Mickey Z. on from 07/26 at 04:20 AM

It appears that window of opportunity to win the Series has closed for the Mariners. I’ve enjoyed rooting for the Mariners over the past six or seven years and was happy to see them do so well the year after Alex Rodriguez deserted them for the $100M contract with the Rangers. Maybe this will be a one-year hiccup for them and they’ll be competitive again next year. But, yeah, if Ichiro were with the Cards, they’d probably win 115 games this year, instead of the 100-105 they’ll get without him.

Posted by Mark Hand on from 07/26 at 03:39 PM