Peabody: Life, Friends Baseball

Larry Larue on Ichiro and Larry Stone on Ichiro. Reality versus fantasy:

First TNT’s Larue(edited, the link below you can read whole piece):

Mariners hold A’s to 2 hits, still lose game

There were only a couple of ways for Seattle Mariners fans to view their team’s 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday – and neither was favorable.

ELAINE THOMPSON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki strikes out with runners on first and second bases to end Wednesday’s game, a 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Ichiro also struck out with two runners on base in the second inning and finished 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

LARRY LARUE The News Tribune
Published: 06/28/12 12:05 am Updated: 06/28/12 12:19 am

There were only a couple of ways for Seattle Mariners fans to view their team’s 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday – and neither was favorable.

….

Of what value is Ichiro Suzuki to a franchise clearly building around a young foundation?

To make it clear, Ichiro wasn’t alone in losing this game. His fifth-inning single pushed a mini-hitting streak to eight games and was one of the four hits Seattle managed.

…

Which brought the game back to Ichiro.

The Mariners squandered a point-blank shot at seizing control of the game when Oakland’s Parker inexplicably walked Dustin Ackley and Brendan Ryan with two outs in the second inning.

Jaso had already homered. Ichiro came to the plate with the chance to give his team the lead with a single.

Icihro struck out, swinging wildly at a high fastball.

“Our kids have to make adjustments,” Wedge said. “Our veterans have to do more.”

In the eighth inning, Kyle Seager doubled with one out, but neither Jesus Montero nor Michael Saunders could push him home. That took the game to the ninth.

With closer Ryan Cook pitching for the Athletics, the Mariners got a huge break when Smoak’s hard ground ball went through the legs of third baseman Brandon Inge.

With two outs, Cook hit the No. 9 batter in the Mariners’ lineup, shortstop Ryan, who is batting .180.

And there it was. Two men on, two outs, Ichiro at the plate.

Cook threw four pitches. Ichiro swung at and missed three of them.

Even Ichiro’s fifth-inning single with one out felt empty. On first base in a tie game, he had the green light to run if he wanted. Ichiro didn’t. Not with one out. Not with two.

At 38, Ichiro is the most senior of the Mariners. At $18 million this season, he is their highest-paid position player. After batting a career-low .271 a year ago, he’s at .276 today.

After games like this – Seattle’s 45th loss of the year – it’s not hard to ask what Ichiro’s value is to a last-place team.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/06/28/2197273/mariners-hold-as-to-2-hits-still.html

Then Larry Stone:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2018545149_a_look_at_ichiro_and_time_off.html#continue

I don’t want to even put it in here, bad analysis, link you can read.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2012 at 9:40 pm by terrybenish and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.