Ichiro!!
Some thoughts on the All Star Game:
Ichiro wins the MVP in the Barry Bonds lovefest in San Francisco (anyone for some double entendre?) that was the MLB All-Star Game. The compliments were many after the game, which is what happens when you go 3 for 3 and drive in two runs with the first ever inside the park home run in an All-Star Game. NL manager Tony Larussa said that there really is no way to get him out; you just basically hope he hits it at someone. It was a nice spotlight rejuvenation for Ichiro who had fallen from the game’s limelight the past couple of years, despite a couple of stellar seasons, due to his team’s ineptitude on the field. However, things seem to be turning around for the enigmatic superstar. The Mariners are incredibly hot right now and sit only 2.5 games behind the first place Angels in the AL West. Ichiro leads baseball in hits and is second in batting average and has stolen 23 of 25 bases this season. He is rumored to be signing a 5 year $100 million contract extension with Seattle and just last week he inadvertently started a bench clearing brawl in Oakland. Oh, and he is also the author of a couple of infamous quotes which can be found below. So what’s next for Ichiro? Well, as a reward for winning the MVP the Japanese centerfielder was presented with a good old American Chevrolet Tahoe to drive home(pause for irony…..pause over). But even though Ichiro has an MVP, Rookie of the Year Award, 6 Gold Glove Awards, the most hits in MLB history and is on his way to a Hall of Fame Career, I still can’t help but feel his career is lacking something. Sure a World Series title would be nice, but what about a Home Run Derby title? AL All-star manager Jim Leyland said Ichiro hit more Batting Practice homeruns than anyone on the team. Come on MLB! Next year the ASG will be at Yankee stadium. Short Porch in Right Field. Huge Asian population in NY. Let’s get Ichiro in there. He can certainly do better than some of the other “big names”(ahem...Mr. Prince Fielder) in this year’s Derby. And yes, I am serious.
Other Thoughts:
--Vlad the Impaler (talk about double entendre). No batting gloves. No batting helmet. Swing = pure violence. Longest Homerun hit: 503 Feet. Derby Champ. Enough Said.
--Prince Fielder, where’d you go? The man who hit the ball out of the stadium when he was only 15 years old only manages 3 homeruns? Its alright, you’re young. The second coming of Massive Mo Vaughn in his prime. Just hang around a little longer than ol’ Moo, okay?
--Albert Pujols: Here’s the situation: Down by one, bases loaded, bottom of the 9th, two outs, you can either have Aaron Rowand or Pujols at the plate. Who do you choose? Well apparently the correct answer is Rowand because that is exactly what happened. I don’t understand how you can have the reigning NL MVP, and arguably the best hitter in baseball, sitting on your bench the whole game if you are not going to pinch hit him in that situation. It makes no sense. Now, I was rooting for the AL so Ichiro would get MVP, but I still wanted the moment that only the game of baseball can give. It can be such a long boring game at times, but it is for these situations that you stick out the first few innings. You have to savor the chance when it arises. Imagine K-Rod vs. the Poo Holes with the game on the line. Instead we were stuck with Rowand flying out to right to end the game. We were robbed of our moment. We were robbed of our Poo Holes.
--Ken Griffey Jr.: There were some vintage moments there, including gunning A-Rod down at the plate. Read the link to the Ichiro inside the parker that is posted above. It has some classic Griffey quotes in there. Please play as long as you can, Junior. The game will miss you when you retire.
--The Tribute to Willy Mays was classy and well-executed.
--The AL has now won 10 straight (ignoring the ridiculous tie of a few years ago) All-Star Games. They wern't lying when they said these wins come in streaks.
--The Ballpark in San Francisco is the most picturesque park I have ever seen. I need to catch a game there one day.
And now for the aforementioned Ichiro quotes:
--On going to Cleveland: "To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to,” Ichiro said through an interpreter. “If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.
--On how he convinced himself to get a hit: "Yesterday when I played, inside my head I said 'I want to go home quickly,' and I swung and I was able to get a hit because I wanted to go home," Ichiro said through a translator. "Today I thought, 'I want to hurry up and get something to eat,' and I swung and got a hit today."
--On losing a ball in the sun: "The ball became the same color as the sky,'' he said, through interpreter Ken Barron. "So, I wasn't able to see it ... I was sending mental signals for the ball not to come my way, because during that time of day it's impossible for me to see the ball so I lacked mental signals. I lacked in that area.'"Usually, I don't send mental signals so, because this is the first time, I thought, please don't come my way."
--On breaking out of a hitting slump: "Yesterday, I ate two ice creams," he said through an interpreter. "Usually I only eat one." --On the prospect of meeting his countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka, for the first time in the big leagues: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger."
Well, that's all for now. I hope to be back in a couple of days and address things like the NBA draft and Dan Patrick leaving ESPN. But until then, maybe I should go eat an ice cream. Or two.
