The Seattle Mariners are supposed to be Dead To Rights. As soon as Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez booked town the M�s were supposed to return to their rightful place as a small-market bottom feeder. Geez, even Boeing fled Seattle � but at least didn�t follow Arod�s advice to join him in Dallas. If the Rangers start is any indication, Boeing would be filing for Chapter 11 by the end of the year.
But I digress. The M�s were supposed to be dead. As dead as the flying fish at the downtown market. As dead as one of their former grunge icons. But it didn�t come to pass. What happened instead??? 31-9. That�s right, 31 and frickin 9!!!!! Or let�s put it another way, just four games behind the Detroit Tigers epic 35-5 start in 1984, when they waltzed to a World Championship. Meanwhile the Rangers are sunk deeper than the Kursk at 13-26, weighted down by the 252 million dollars it took to pry the last of Seattle�s stars away.
Of course one important development has worked in the M�s flavor (which is vanilla). While Unit was tanking, Junior blackballing, and Arod fleeing, Seattle�s front office, helped by their partial Japanese ownership, had two answers in mind. Enter Suzuki and Sasaki.
Actually, Suzuki wishes to be known simply by his first name � Ichiro. We were told Ichiro would be a nice little player for the M�s this year. He�ll hit .300, hit a few homers, and steal a few bases. Let�s just say a nice, sound fundamental player � a good soldier. But no way can he strike out 20 guys a game like Unit, hit 60 bombs a season like Junior, or be a 5-tool stud like Arod. Ichiro just does not compare to the old �big three�.
Ichiro is a nice little player all right, try MVP candidate. This guy hits like Tony Gwynn in his prime, at half the size. Not to mention Ichiro runs like the wind, as fast as anyone in baseball. Ichiro is on pace to accumulate a ridiculous 270 hits this year. Ichiro has now hit in 37 of 38 games, including the current 22 game streak. Ichiro manages to keep this streak going a couple more weeks and Japan won�t be the only place he�s considered a God. The big shock is his longest ever hitting streak in Japan was 25 games. The pitching there must just not have been good enough for him. And oh yeah, 13 steals for good measure (isn�t that a lost art these days).
And then there�s Kaz Sasaki. Kaz came stateside last year after establishing himself as one of Japan�s all-time great closers. Unlike Ichiro, Kaz was not an instant success last year, as his pitches weren�t breaking enough and resulted in being temporarily removed from the closers role. But Kaz came back, and came back big. And in 2001 Kaz has been closing a lot, protecting the leads Ichiro and Co. have been providing him. Kaz has converted all 17 of his save opps, that would put him on pace for 68, that would be a record.
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Arod's star is already gone in Seattle... |
And what about Junior, who thought he was going manic-depressive as it was. Hope he has enjoyed his homecoming. Karma�s a bitch, and it nailed Junior right in the crosshairs. Maybe Safeco Field is not a home run haven, but neither is anywhere else when you�re hammy�s shot, and you�ve immersed yourself under massive scrutiny, and pressure to produce. Junior�s finding out that perhaps the grass was much greener on the other side.
And lets not leave out Unit. We�re never quite sure what Unit�s thinking, maybe we don�t want to know. Unit�s as good as ever, I�ll give you that. And seems to be happy in his old stomping grounds of Arizona. But Unit is yesterday�s news in Seattle. Wonder how Unit likes turning on the sports highlights and finding Ichiro wearing his old �51�. Guess the M�s wasn�t reserving that number for retirement. It ought to be fun when Ichiro gets a couple knocks off Unit in interleague play next month.
Of course, the Suzuki/Sasaki show is not baseball�s only example of less is more. The Minnesota Twins have parlayed their harvest of the Chuck Knoblauch trade to a 28-11 start. The St. Louis Cardinals have become the frontrunners of the NL Central despite the loss of Mark McGwire. The Yankees, despite the high payroll, have achieved their status over the past five years as a true team, not just relying on a few superstars. Even other low budget teams such as the Phillies and Brewers have found their way to the plus side of the ledger.
So we hope the Arod, Unit, and Junior enjoy the rest of their miserable seasons, and look forward to sitting down and seeing players take teams places where the overhyped big three never took them. Maybe they�ll learn something, perhaps that money used in the wrong place does not get you much at all.