Thoughts on Ichiro and the Mariners 2007 run
Ichiro51fan
Posts: 379
in Sports Talk
Well, the M's lost a close one tonight but are have still been playing (well, hitting at least) really well lately. Just 3 games back of the Angels and right in the hunt for the wild card. As a Mariners fan of about 10 years, I should be happy about this... right? I mean, nobody expected the M's to play even close to .500 ball this year, much less challenge for a playoff spot. Well, the thing is, I just can't except that these good times are going to last... one way or another.
Here's my main 2 concerns: lack of decent starting pitching & that they will trade Ichiro to help their pitching situation.
First, I'd like to say that the M's GM really blew it when it came to the starting staff this year. The 3 new guys have mostly averaged between not-so-good and utterly horrible! As if that weren't bad enough, Hernandez and Washburn have been far from impressive over their last few starts. The only reason the M's have been winning is because their bats have been literally on fire now for weeks. The thing is, I just can't see that lasting forever, and when the cool down, I'm afraid their starting pitching will implode and ruin any chance the M's have at the playoffs.
As bad as that scenario is, I fear that it could get worse. I keep hearing people say that Ichiro could be traded for a Starting Pitcher. To me, this would make absolutely no sense. Ichiro is the catalyst of the M's offense... he hits even when the rest of the team is in the tank. He also creates so much havoc with his speed and is one of the best defensive OFers in baseball. And, he plays every single day! I can't honestly think of one pitcher that wold be worth losing that!
If you ask me, the M's are notorious for making stupid moves or non-moves, so I'm really worried that they will trade Ichiro so they don't have to worry about resigning him to a big contract. This should actually be a non-issue since they should have locked him up way before this season started.
Anyway, I'm really hoping that won't happen, because if it does, I will yet again be dessimated by my favorite team letting my favorite player get away (already happened with Steve Garvey and then Steve Sax). The last few years, I've finally felt like a real baseball fan again, not having to follow 3 different teams to follow my favorite players (although I still really like and follow Maddux).
If the M's end up trading Ichiro or not resigning him, I will no longer travel to Seattle (from Portland) 5+ times a year to see the M's. And, I have a strong feeling that I'm not the only one. Ichiro is by far the M's main draw. Without him, they will suffer sorely for both wins and attendance. If they don't realize that, they are truly more obtuse than I suspected. Sure, Raoul is great and the Yuni & Jose are nice young players, but you really need a marquee guy to draw and keep the fans. Do they really think people are gonna fork out big bucks to see Richie Suxson hit .200, strike out 200 times and leave 500 runners on base? Come on now!
To the M's management: Do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LET YOUR FRANCHISE PLAYER GO!!!
Here's my main 2 concerns: lack of decent starting pitching & that they will trade Ichiro to help their pitching situation.
First, I'd like to say that the M's GM really blew it when it came to the starting staff this year. The 3 new guys have mostly averaged between not-so-good and utterly horrible! As if that weren't bad enough, Hernandez and Washburn have been far from impressive over their last few starts. The only reason the M's have been winning is because their bats have been literally on fire now for weeks. The thing is, I just can't see that lasting forever, and when the cool down, I'm afraid their starting pitching will implode and ruin any chance the M's have at the playoffs.
As bad as that scenario is, I fear that it could get worse. I keep hearing people say that Ichiro could be traded for a Starting Pitcher. To me, this would make absolutely no sense. Ichiro is the catalyst of the M's offense... he hits even when the rest of the team is in the tank. He also creates so much havoc with his speed and is one of the best defensive OFers in baseball. And, he plays every single day! I can't honestly think of one pitcher that wold be worth losing that!
If you ask me, the M's are notorious for making stupid moves or non-moves, so I'm really worried that they will trade Ichiro so they don't have to worry about resigning him to a big contract. This should actually be a non-issue since they should have locked him up way before this season started.
Anyway, I'm really hoping that won't happen, because if it does, I will yet again be dessimated by my favorite team letting my favorite player get away (already happened with Steve Garvey and then Steve Sax). The last few years, I've finally felt like a real baseball fan again, not having to follow 3 different teams to follow my favorite players (although I still really like and follow Maddux).
If the M's end up trading Ichiro or not resigning him, I will no longer travel to Seattle (from Portland) 5+ times a year to see the M's. And, I have a strong feeling that I'm not the only one. Ichiro is by far the M's main draw. Without him, they will suffer sorely for both wins and attendance. If they don't realize that, they are truly more obtuse than I suspected. Sure, Raoul is great and the Yuni & Jose are nice young players, but you really need a marquee guy to draw and keep the fans. Do they really think people are gonna fork out big bucks to see Richie Suxson hit .200, strike out 200 times and leave 500 runners on base? Come on now!
To the M's management: Do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LET YOUR FRANCHISE PLAYER GO!!!
Jim G
All-time favorite athletes:
Steve Sax, Steve Garvey, Larry Bird, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Andre Agassi, Karch Kiraly, Wayne Gretzky, Ichiro Suzuki, Andres Galarraga, Greg Maddux.
"Make the world a better place... punch both A-Rods in the face (Alex Rodriguez and Andy Roddick)!"
All-time favorite athletes:
Steve Sax, Steve Garvey, Larry Bird, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Andre Agassi, Karch Kiraly, Wayne Gretzky, Ichiro Suzuki, Andres Galarraga, Greg Maddux.
"Make the world a better place... punch both A-Rods in the face (Alex Rodriguez and Andy Roddick)!"
0
Comments
<< <i>
If the M's end up trading Ichiro or not resigning him, I will no longer travel to Seattle (from Portland) 5+ times a year to see the M's. And, I have a strong feeling that I'm not the only one. Ichiro is by far the M's main draw. Without him, they will suffer sorely for both wins and attendance. If they don't realize that, they are truly more obtuse than I suspected. Sure, Raoul is great and the Yuni & Jose are nice young players, but you really need a marquee guy to draw and keep the fans. Do they really think people are gonna fork out big bucks to see Richie Suxson hit .200, strike out 200 times and leave 500 runners on base? Come on now!
To the M's management: Do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LET YOUR FRANCHISE PLAYER GO!!! >>
I do understand where you're coming from. Having grown up in Spokane and having attended my fair share of Mariners games, I know what you mean about the draw of Ichiro. I remember going for opening day right after Safeco was built and the crowd was chanting Ichiro's name. It was electric and it seemed to shake the entire stadium. Trading Ichiro would be a huge mistake for so many reasons: if you lose the franchise player, you lose the fans (both here and in Japan), you lose the revenue, and ultimately you end up losing more games which means you lose the chance to sign players that want a ring, which means you lose more fans, more revenue and even more games. Before you know it, you'll be just like Kansas City.
Still, if the Mariners don't do something, what is their chance of re-signing Ichiro? Although Ichiro loves Seattle the city, he seems to have made a point of saying that he's never had the chance to test free agency in his professional career and he seems very interested in doing so. If the Mariners don't trade him and can't re-sign him, you'll end up with a couple sandwich round draft picks next summer and nothing much else.
Not an enviable situation to be in.
<< <i>I can't wait until Ichiro is roaming center field in Fenway Park this summer. You guys can have Tavarez and Crisp in return.
They can have Piniero back, too.
Collect primarily 1959-1963 Topps Baseball
set registry id Don Johnson Collection
ebay id truecollector14