Story Published:
Apr 3, 2008 at 6:42 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Apr 3, 2008 at 6:42 PM PDT
Not a bad week for the M’s, eh? Ichiro is locked up and maybe more important is why he is staying. The team appears to have turned the corner. Did anyone expect this? Come on, be honest. Did anyone expect the team to be making a push for the best record in baseball after the break? I don’t think so.
Ichiro has put his stamp of approval on the 2007 Mariners. While I don’t think he ever truly wanted to leave, I do think he was prepared to if the season went in the wrong direction. He was miserable when the team was not doing well, and as I have stated in previous entries, there were times when he seemed to be on an island on his own in the clubhouse.
This is no longer the case. You can see him having fun in the dugout, what you can’t see is that he is having more fun in the clubhouse. You can thank some of the new additions for this. John McLaren of course goes all the way back to 1999 with Ichiro. Jose Guillen of all people spends a lot of time talking to Ichiro while Miguel Batista will often stop by his locker for a quick chat. Miguel told me today that he can kind of identify with Ichiro because many times he is looked at as the strange one in the clubhouse. He said that he and Ichiro once had a great conversation about who is anyone to determine what is normal. Not that either player is not normal, they are both rather different from what you usually find in a clubhouse.
So looking forward to five more years of Ichiro, in a way it is kind of disappointing to know that we may never know what he is truly worth because he won’t be traded and he won’t be a free agent in his prime. Do I think he was worth the reported $90 million over five years? Well there are reports that there was a five million dollar signing bonus and yearly deferrals. The deferrals would according to one article make the true yearly value of the contract $16.5 million per. That is about where I thought he would come in on the open market providing that no team went nuts to get him. It’s a lot for a singles hitter, but he is also a singles hitter who makes a winning team go, plays great defense and can steal bases. If he plays to his ability, then yes, I think he is worth it on a winning team. Of course you also have to take into account what he brings in revenue wise that other players cannot. It is significant.
A question that I have asked from many fans is why Adam Jones isn’t up with the big team. Let me say first that I am a huge Adam Jones fan; he is a great kid who has no doubt a bright future ahead of him. That said, despite everything he has done at AAA, he hasn’t proven himself at the major league level yet. A lot of people look at stats and discount chemistry because you can not quantify it. Stats cannot be denied, but neither can chemistry, and while the fan may not be able to quantify it, those around the game, in the clubhouse and on the field every day can. This team has chemistry and while anyone who can help should be welcomed, it doesn’t quite work that way in the clubhouse. A veteran replaced by an unproven rookie would cause bad feelings. I have had a couple of players grumble to me about the Jones rumor. It is by no means personal and has nothing to do with Adam himself, rather it is has everything to do with the situation. It would be one thing to go out and trade for a proven veteran, or play Ben Broussard more, but replacing a veteran with a rookie would be tricky. If this were an injury situation, it would be totally different; of course you would go down to AAA for help. But baring an injury, a Jones move at this time would be a big gamble.
New and Notes…Ryan Feierabend was sent down to get ready to start one of the games in the double header coming up in Texas on the next road trip. Jake Woods was called up to take his place on the roster…It is finally official, Horacio Ramirez will indeed start Monday…A reporter from Sports Illustrated has been here the past three days to do a story on J.J. Putz…Ivan Rodriguez and Jose Vidro had their sons on the field earlier today working on drills. Ivan Jr. is 15 and on the U.S. national team for his age group as you guessed it, a catcher. He worked on throwing to second today with his dad pitching and Jose Vidro taking the throws at second…Looks like Johjima was looking for some Ichiro Mojo today. During batting practice he rested his bats next to Ichiro’s on the bench. I asked Ichiro about this and he told me it was fine with him, might get Joh a hit or two. Joh of course had the grand slam tonight and said that he may have found a new place for his bats…
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