!!! ICHIRO IS FIVE FOR FIVE TONIGHT !!!

[AmyStrange]

sorry for the shouting, but he'll be up to bat to maybe get his fifth hit. He is something like 15 to 16 hits from tying George Sislers all time hit record from 1927 or something like that with 10 or 11 games left in the season.

Sorry for the caps, but us Seattle Mariners fans haven't had anything to scream about all year. This is a big deal,

d

[flamingyouth]

1. He's the only bright spot for the Mariners this year

Our poor Mariners. :(

[AmyStrange]

3. Yup poor Mariners...

and with Gar retiring and this is not a good year to go out so Ichiro is our only bright spot,

d

[shingashong]

13. Ehh...my first pro game was a Mariner's game (that I went to)

and they LOST. WTG Ichiro tonight.

[AmyStrange]

15. mine was a Red Sox game...

and they won (1968) so we even each other out some how.

WELCOME TO THE DU by the way! Check out the best DU slang dictionary in the world (unofficially of course):

http://DUG.SeattleActivist.org/

d

[nickgutierrez]

2. Ichiro! is having a fantastic season

It's the first time in a while that I've gotten excited about a bunch of singles, but Ichiro! deserves the attention.

[AmyStrange]

5. and he gets alot of them with infield hits...

slaps them and runs like hell

!!! ICHIRO !!!

d

[opiate69]

4. Listening to the game as we speak...

Also, if they can manage to hold on, Jamie Moyer will get his first win since July.. damn what a miserable year. I'm looking forward to seeing how well Bucky Jacobsen fills Edgar's shoes next year, though.

on edit: Also, if Ichiro hits one more single, he'll own the all time record for singles in a season.. his 4 tonight tied Wee Willie Kieler..a record that has stood since 1898.

[AmyStrange]

6. me too

he has the makings of being a great hitter,

d

[opiate69]

7. So..is it just me,

or does Ron Fairly always sound like he's had a few too many beers?

5 for 5.. record!!

[AmyStrange]

8. and he is always stating the obvious...

5 for 5 YEEEEEha!!!

d

[opiate69]

9. LOL....

"Well, you know, Dave.. if he hadn't dropped that fly ball, they would have had the third out, and been out of the inning"... he's like baseball's version of John Madden.

[AmyStrange]

10. And it's out of here for a homerun...

duh!!!

d

[AmyStrange]

11. 6 for 6 anyone?

that would be too much to ask for,

d

[opiate69]

12. only if the bull pen implodes...

which, come to think of it, isn't too far fetched this year.

[AmyStrange]

16. That would NEVER happen to the Mariners...

NOT hehehehehe,

d

[AmyStrange]

14. this is the ONLY time in my life...

I have hoped that an opposing team would tie up the game just so Ichiro could get one more chance,

d

[opiate69]

17. Yeah..it's been that kind of season..

When the Red Sox were in town recently, I was actually rooting for them.. my love for the Mariners is almost equaled by my hate for the Yankees..

[AmyStrange]

19. the Spanks hahahahaha

have you heard? They've started their own curse of 2001 which is going to be worse than the Red Sox curse of 1918. Because (of course) they can do anything the Red Sox can do and better

pfffffffffffffffft Spanks suck (but I do luv Bernie)

I'm a Red Sox fan from since 1968 (and still am) but a small piece of my heart luvs the mariners,

d

[5thGenDemocrat]

Saw the Mariners at Detroit August 20

Ichiro was bouncing these little two-hop tweeners all over the infield. It didn't look like he was doing anything at the plate, but when the game was over, he was, like, 3 for 5.
I swear he never hit one hard all night -- but they all count the same, you know? And, yeah, I'm pulling for him to break the record.
John
The Tigers won 8-3, by the way. And you Mariners fans have no idea how bad a team can be -- last year's Tigs (43-119) were the second-suckiest sucks who ever sucked. Which was okay -- if you like suck.

[AmyStrange]

20. Go Tigers

us underdog fans got to stick together don't you think? And yes Ichiro hits like he's doing nothing at all at the plate. He slaps them and runs. Remember his first atbat at the All Stars when he outran Randy Johnson to first. What a freakin' sight to see,

d

[5thGenDemocrat]

25. Well, the Tigs have 68 wins with 12 games to go

I'm hoping they can win at least 73 -- which would be a thirty game improvement over last season. If we could improve again next season by just another 15-20 (and Mike Ilitch has already said he's going to open the wallet to sign the free agent help we still need), we'll be right in the middle of the Central Division race for a change.
It is now 12 years since Detroit's had a winning season. But things are getting better. After last year, there was nowhere to go but up.
John
I'm going to miss Edgar Martinez here, too. He got a standing O at Detroit while we were there. We know true professionals when we see them (it's easy, really -- they're almost always in the other team's uniform).

[AmyStrange]

29. well I'll be pulling for ya...

this and next year. You guys have been the underdog for enough years. Time for some payback,

d

Edgar is retiring this year. Spent his whole career here w/ the Mariners. That's so rare it's almost unheard of in this day and age.

Go Tigers

[fortyfeetunder]

18. C'mon guys, it's just a temporary setback

Mariners had a piss-poor year. SO WHAT. It's not the end of the world. I hope Ichiro kicks butt and makes that record. And if he doesn't, that means he will be hungrier to get it next season. Trust me, that guy will break the record.

[AmyStrange]

21. I believe you...

atleast my Red Sox have a chance to be in the playoffs (I hope),

d

[JackDragna]

22. Ichiro..

..Jesus, I'll be glad when he's too old to play. The most overrated, useless player of the modern age. Base-stealing slap hitters shouldn't come within 100 light years of the MVP award, much less a major league ball team. Seattle would do well to give the man the boot and put a bat in the hands of someone whose biceps were bigger around than a Twinkie.

[AmyStrange]

23. useless?

hahahahahahaha

d

[JackDragna]

24. What's so funny about it?

Exactly how far did the Mariners go in the playoffs when they were the best team in baseball? What have they done since then? Oh, that's right. A precipitous drop-off. Give me a leadoff man anyday who actually hits a few more home runs and I'll show you someone who is infinitely more valuable to his team than Mr. Suzuki. Leadoff hitters are like kickers in football - only fools give them scholarships or pay them any money at all.

[nickgutierrez]

26. I don't buy that

Anybody that has a .413 OBP is a fine player in my book.

EDIT: and unless you're Barry Bonds, no single player can carry a team.

[AmyStrange]

27. You are...

you don't know what you're talking about. One player does not make a team and what good is a lead off hitter that hits homeruns with no one on base. Before Ichiro, we had one of the best leadoff hitters in the majors (can't remember his name off hand), and he hit a lot of homeruns as a leadoff hitter, but the Mariners never went anywhere that year either.

I'll take Ichiro because he can get on base and steal and has a pinpoint laser beam for an arm in right that consistently throws out hitters trying to turn singles and doubles into doubles and triples.

That is NOT useless by any stretch of the imagination,

d

[AmyStrange]

28. As a matter of fact...

we did better with Ichiro that year than the year that other leadoff hitter was playing for us, and also in 2001 (the year you're talking about), the team that beat us in the playoffs didn't win the world series either (the Spanks) so their leadoff hitter did no better for them than ours. What won the world series that year was pitching and the spanks were outclassed by the Arizona Diamondback combo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling,

d

[opiate69]

30. It would appear..

that you have no idea what skills are useful for leadoff hitters. Allow me to enlighten you.. leadoff hitters are expected to have:
1. High on base percentage
2. High batting average
3. Speed.

Ichiro has all of this, in spades.. how can you possibly talk smack about somebody who just broke a record that stood for 106 years?