I haven’t written that headline in a few days. Still, the big news was about Ichiro, the newest Yankee.
I admit I’ve never been a fan of his. His accomplishments have been Hall-of-Fame amazing, no doubt about that, but I always viewed him through the prism of his odd mannerisms and tics, his hits and stolen bases and assists meaningful only to his personal biography, his cool relationship with some of his teammates and other Japanese players like Matsui a signal that he was a selfish player. So when the Yankees signed him yesterday, I was less than enthusiastic. Baffled, in fact. Did we really need yet another aging outfielder whose best years were in the past? Ichiro has been a shadow of his former self whenever we’ve played the Mariners – an easy out instead of the guy we could never get out. A has-been.
But a change of scenery has proven to be a tonic for Raul Ibanez and, to a lesser extent, Andruw Jones, and the Yanks didn’t give away the farm in the trade with the Mariners. So, as long as Ichiro understands his new role and his place as a member of a championship-caliber team as opposed to its star (and his comments suggest he does understand and is more than willing to help), I’ll try to get used to seeing him tugging on the sleeve with the pinstripes on it.
As for the game, it was such a treat to wake up and see the results. Kuroda dominated the hapless Mariners, and the hits came in the clutch for a change. Nice to see A-Rod having a good road trip. Tex too.
More wins, please.
If you want to have a better understanding of ichiro, read “the meaning of ichiro.” it’s a book about him, Japanese players, and the Japanese baseball culture. I don’t mind his quirks because I feel so sorry for him. It would be hard to be a warm person given how he grew up. Interesting to look at the difference of ichiro and Jeter. How their families treated them and what kind of people they became.
One of the great things about yesterday’s announcement was that it took the focus off the 4 game losing streak and seemed to excite the team. So many smiles all around. Good move to shift the focus!
A shout out to the classy fans in Seattle who honored ichiro for what he has meant to the team. Now if they could just stop booing ARod for something that happened 12 years ago! I think at this point it’s mostly done as tradition.
Audrey, do you get YES in Vermont (I think not). See if you can watch “Yankees on deck” online. Eric Chavez was on at the end of this week’s show looking quite nice in a vee neck sweater. I thought of you when I saw it before last night’s pre game.
I think Ichiro was a good get, Jane. While I agree that he’s past his prime, he still has a lot of energy and he seems genuinely enthusiastic about being a Yankee. Only time will tell. And like you said, we really didn’t give up much for him. And he’s a free agent at the end of the season so we can let him walk if he is less than stellar in this half season and post-season. Looking for good things. GO YANKEES!!!
I am happy to be “bored” again. Hope there is an extremely boring Janer really soon!
I’ve heard about the book, Melissa, and will check it out. Sorry to hear he had a difficult upbringing/life before his stardom. From a strictly baseball pov, I hope he stifles the ego his teammates found insufferable and isn’t past his prime in the way Pudge Rodriguez was, for example. I certainly wish him well and you’re right about the trade perking things up in a big way. Everybody boos A-Rod so he must be used to it. What I never understood is why the A’s fans would boo Chavez. So bizarre. I caught that On-Deck with him last night, btw, and he looked great. Yes, a boring Janer would be just perfect right now.
Let’s see if enthusiasm translates into meaningful baseball, Diane. I hope so. As Joel Sherman wrote, his stats with RISP are about as bad if not worse than the Yankees’ as a whole. But maybe the change of scenery will give him an extra shot of adrenaline.
Jane, Ichiro is finally succumbing to Safeco Field this year. For some reason the home ballpark in Seattle has had a much bigger affect on everyone this year. Jesus Montero is batting .200 with 3 HRs at Safeco, but .307 with 6 HRs on the road. Ichiro is still batting .296 on the road this year and since he only has two games left at Safeco, I would expect his batting average to go way up the rest of the year. On top of that he is a great defensive player with a great arm who still has great speed. I’ve heard that he has been labeled as a selfish player because he tried to slap singles instead of trying to hit HRs. With his bat control, his speed, and playing his home games at Safeco, I would label him as smart instead of selfish.
Hey all! I was really surprised to hear Ichiro was becoming a Yankee. Holy cow manure! My cousin in Seattle texted me and told me that I had better enjoy Ichiro and not take him for granted. Between that and the standing ovation I heard he got, it gives me a good feeling about the trade. On the radio, Suzyn was saying that Ichiro chose #31 instead of his Mariners’ #51 out of respect for Bernie Williams. He said he knew how much the number meant to the Yankees. I thought that was pretty classy. Kinda funny that it is A-Rod’s #13 in reverse. I know A-Rod wasn’t traded directly to the Yanks from the M’s, but I find it a little weird. Or maybe I’m just not wanting to think about work this morning… =)
Let’s Go Yankees!!
Safeco is definitely a factor, Pinstripepride. I’d hate to be a hitter there. I hope you’re right about his average going up for us. He should love that right field porch. The selfish label, as I understood it, came more from his teammates than anything else; they felt he was distant and attention seeking, or so I’ve read.
I think we were all surprised, DJ. I never expected the trade after hearing about guys like Upton, Victorino, etc.
EECH!
That’s what we used to call a softball player who batted leadoff, lefty, and could slap anything down the first-base line and outrun the throw to first. Nicknamed after Eech-iro, of course…
I’m hoping that “YankFanSince’41” weighs in today, because he above all bloggers will understand what I’m about to write. The Yanks have a tradition as old as baseball for reaching out to other teams and plucking a fading star from their roster, who is suddenly energized by the pinstripes. I recall Johnny Mize, a great slugger for the NY Giants, and Enos Slaughter, the aggressive hitter/runner with the Cardinals…the Yanks got ’em in the ’50s to bolster their teams, and you know how THAT worked out. If not, you can look it up…
Seeing “Eech” in Yankee gray is special. This is a proud man who will give every ounce of what he has left to help raise a trophy in October. Just like Mize, like Enos. You know how I pay attention to uniform numbers — thanx, dj, for explaining why he wears 31 — and to HONOR Bernie, too — this man has a deep sense of honor, and I think we will see some remarkable moments to come. I remember the look on Matsui’s face when they bestowed the WS MVP on him…and I get chills just thinking about this.
I don’t know much about Ichiro, personally or professionally, So I guess I will be learning as we go along. The only thing I know for sure is that in the past he had the ability to really hurt the Yankees both with offense and defense, I hope he starts hurting our opponents and has a second life in baseball. After so many years with Seattle he deserves a chance to play for a championship-caliber team.
I do not get YES here in the Green Mountain state and today I regret that more than ever, Eric Chavez in a v-neck sweater? Yum!
My had is recovering. Turns out I dislocated a knuckle and there is nothing I can do but use it and wait for it to repair itself. At least I know now that I can type without inflicting further damage – that was what I was worried about.
Dislocated a knuckle? Ouch, Audrey. Sounds like a baseball injury!
Yes, it’s given me an appreciation for what the players go through all the time with their various injuries.
You can read about ichiro on Wikipedia. Gives brief details of the extreme work and tough love he had to endure. Can’t picture dr. Jeter doing this stuff to Derek!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichiro_Suzuki
I remember Bob Cerv playing the outfield for the Yankees back in the day. As for getting players in their twilight years, I remember us getting Bobby Shantz, a great little pitcher from the then Kansas City A’s.Johnny Sain was a fine pickup from the Braves.And we got a great reliever in Jim Konstanty who wowed them in Philly for the Phillies. But my favorite was Bobo Newsom. In one game, while batting, he hit a slow roller to the mound. He ran about five steps and realized he was going to be tagged out by the pitcher, so he ran into the dugout, went behind a couple of players, came out the other end and made a dash for the bag. Of course, he was out when he left the baseline, but is was good theater and got a great laugh. He won 11 games for us over two seasons and lost 6. I am happy to see Ichiro in pinstripes. I have always admired, and feared him.IU believe he will help.
Great story yankeefansince1941! Sorry to say Bobo would probably be fined by MLB today.
We won, finally. I feel better.
I think I’ll wait at least a month before I decide whether getting Ichiro will help us significantly or not.
Now let’s win tonight and get the good kind of streak going.
Talk about a stage father, Melissa. Sounds like Mr. Suzuki could join the ranks of other harsh sports dads like Mr. Agassi.
I would agree that Ichiro is past his prime, but overall this is a good though surprising trade. I turned on the game to see Ichiro dressed up in Yankees gear, I did a double take. In any case, hopefully he gives us what Gardner should have… Some speed, a good arm, and a decent bottom of the order hitter. I was a fan of DJ Mitchell, but I would be willing to part with him and Farquhar to make this happen.
Enjoyable stories from the past from you and Dave, Yankeefansince1941. Thanks to you both.
OK, I have not read Ichiro’s book and I am not going to. I am from Japan and have seen him play both here in the State and Japan and let me say, I’ve been following baseball in Japan for very long time. I mean it’s nearly 40 years (yeah, I am pretty old) and about 20 years in the State.
Forget what his father said to him. As much as it sounds rediculous, that is not entirely “surprising” to Japanese people. If you are really interested in how Japanese people translate baseball into culture, (or vice versa) I would recommend whatever Robert Whiting wrote or simply ask Bobby V.
Anywho, Ichiro is the most arrogant, selfish, narrow minded baseball player I have ever seen. And that is absolutely nothing to do with how he grew up, in my opinion. He has been always a underdog, never been a winner (except being part of WBC Champion team in both occasions) which allowed him to play only for himself, never ever for a team.
He has abusolutely no intention to be part of a team, seriously. There were so many comments he made after the games that never be published here that make you sick. Probably it worked just fine in Seattle but not in NY.
I saw his tranlator on a video didn’t seem to be quite ready to deal with NY media, compare to Kuroda’s. (which by the way, that guy is an excellent translator)
So, all I want to say is, I was sad to see Wise to go and hopefully Ichiro somehow will adapt what it takes to be part of the winnig team (or allow himself to be a winner) help us win and go away as an FA after the season.
I have a very good feeling that Yankees have magic to make him learn really quick (mostly because we won’t give much options, ha)
But don’t give me wrong he is the one of the most talented players, for sure.
That’s quite an interesting perspective, Chika. What I can agree on is that if any team has the magic to turn a player into a team guy, it’s the Yankees. We have the best clubhouse in the game – not that I’m neutral or anything. :)