A change of pace

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We've been told that Ichiro is a proud man.... as such, surely he can't be happy with his current lack of performance? To our Western minds, it should be logical then that he would be willing to make some changes to benefit the team. I personally don't think that's too much to ask!
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Give Ichiro a rest on the bench
BY Jim Moore, June 10, 2011

Unless I’m missing something, which is usually the case, Ichiro’s 10-year streak of getting 200 hits and averaging over .300 ends this season.

His recent struggles have reached the point of being absolutely ridiculous. Ichiro has never seen his average drop 51 points in a three-week stretch, but this year he has. How strange is it to see this man hitting .252 in the middle of June?

Continuing his slide last night, Ichiro went 0-for-4 in a 4-1 loss to the Tigers and is now 1-for-16 on the road trip.

Whatever his problems are, the guy clearly needs a break. If I’m Mariners manager Eric Wedge, I’m resting my future Hall of Famer tonight. Ichiro has played in every one of the Mariners’ 63 games. He’s been in the lineup twice as the designated hitter, giving him a couple of nights off in right field, but that doesn’t count – he needs a complete one- or two-game benching.

I don’t care if he’s Ichiro, he’s still 37 years old fercrisesakes. Granted, the way he takes care of himself, Ichiro at 37 is probably like you and me at 27, but he can’t outrun his age forever. [snipped]

In 2007, I went into the Mariners clubhouse with a plan to write a column about Ichiro the person. [snipped]

But Ichiro declined to be interviewed. So I asked his teammates for Ichiro anecdotes, and the hell of it is, they didn’t know much about him either. [snipped]

I think it was Miguel Batista who told me that Ichiro’s Ichiro. Which means he’s unique, or at the very least, different. Maybe so, but it’s time that he’s treated like everyone else. And fortunately the Mariners have a manager in Wedge who will make decisions based on the best interests of the team, even if that means fewer at-bats and chances to reach the Holy Grail of 200 hits.

Maybe I’m missing something else, but isn’t it logical to conclude that a well-rested Ichiro would probably make for a more productive Ichiro?

Whether my perception is right or wrong, Ichiro has never struck me as being the biggest team player in the world. [snipped]

We’ve been led to believe that Ichiro will never be traded because Japanese ownership won’t allow it to happen. But no one from the front office has ever said that publicly. It’s a moot point now – because of the size of his contract and his age, Ichiro can’t be in demand anymore. [snipped]

A short-term benching is in order, whether it’s one game or two games, I don’t care. And while Ichiro’s in the dugout, I’d suggest that Figgins take his place as the leadoff hitter. I realize that Figgins, hitting .187, has done nothing to justify the top spot in the order, but that’s where he was most effective with the Angels. Maybe – and this is really stretching “maybe” – this would light a fire under Figgy, and he’d suddenly get it going again.

Then when a rested Ichiro returns, you make him your No. 2 hitter and see what happens with that. You could give your many reasons why that’s an idiotic thought, and I would counter each and every argument by saying…

At this point, why the hell not?
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