Ichiro Makes History

Ichiro Suzuki did something no players has ever done. In the 5th inning of Seattle's 1-0 loss to Toronto, Ichiro hit a single to center. It was his 200th hit of the season. That makes 10 straight years that Ichiro's recorded 200 hits. Nobody's ever done that. Pete Rose had 10 seasons with 200 hits, but not in a row. Ty Cobb had nine 200 hit seasons.

For my money, Ichiro's a Hall of Famer. Not only does he have this record, but he's a 10 time All-Star, won the MVP in '01, along with Rookie of the Year. 9 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, a .331 career average, .376 OBP, and 382 stolen bases.

He's got more than 2,200 hits right now. He's 36, so probably has 4 good years left in him. He has a decent chance to reach 3,000 hits. That's impressive considering he didn't play ball in this country until he was 27.

Imagine if he started playing here when he was 22, though. He might be at 3,200 hits instead of 2,200. And we might be saying he had a shot at 4,256 hits (Rose's record).

-The Commodore

Ichiro Put On DL

"The Seattle Mariners have placed star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on the 15-day disabled list because of a bleeding ulcer. Doctors diagnosed him in Arizona after he complained of severe fatigue and missed three straight games in spring training. The team says the ulcer is no longer bleeding, but doctors have restricted his activity. The move to the DL was retroactive to March 31 (Sportsline)."

It doesn't sound like Ichiro will need to be on the DL past the 15 days, but the Mariners really can't afford to lose any bats. They have no hitting, and Ichiro getting on base constantly is really there only shot at scoring runs. Seattle has some good pitching, but their lack of offense will make them a nonfactor this year.

Japan 5, Korea 3

If anyone missed this game, you missed one of the best baseball games ever. This game had it all, extra innings, ridiculous fans and a clean up hitter lay down a bunt. Japan defended its WBC title against Korea in a battle for the ages. Ichiro Suzuki was absolutely phenomenal as he hit a 2 run double with runners in scoring position in the tenth to make the score 5-3. The 35-year-old Suzuki is a .331 hitter in eight seasons with the Mariners after starring in Japan. He tied Lou Gehrig's major league record with his eighth straight season of at least 100 runs and 200 hits last year. This goes to show you how good Ichiro is. Ichiro is going to play forever and will always be amazing. He may not steal as many bases as he once did, but he is still one of the best natural hitters to ever live. For Red Sox Fans, Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka won the MVP award for the second straight time after going 3-0 -- the same record he had in the first WBC. He had a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings over three starts. Hopefully this is a good sign for Dice K and hopefully he can gain some momentum off of this into the season. Either way, this WBC changed my mind on it, but seriously, get back to spring training everyone.

Another Reason The Sox Should Trade For Ichiro

It's a fact that Ichiro pitched in the 1996 NPB All-Star Game. Ichiro hit 90 on the TV gun on his first warm-up pitch, and then induced a soft grounder from pinch-hitter Shingo Takatsu.

"13 years later, Japan WBC manager Tatsunori Hara has, perhaps unintentionally, prompted Ichiro to return to the mound by suggesting that using him in emergency situations is a possibility in this year’s tournament. In his workout on the 7th, he skipped batting practice and worked out as a pitcher. He threw 56 pitches off the mound at Skymark Stadium, throwing fastballs and forkballs. Word is that he hit 147kmph (92mph) with his fastest pitch. Ichiro said he wants to throw a little bit harder." NPB

A couple months ago I was drunk. And I wrote the best post I have ever wrote before that involved Ichiro Suzuki being traded to the Red Sox and him being a perfect fit. After reading about this, I see no reason why we shouldn't ship Jed, Jacoby for Ichiro. He will fill the lead off void, be an excellent outfielder, and when he needs a rest he can pitch for us. With 92 mph heat, you can't deny him.

plus, he is a DC endorser.

This Just In...

Alright I'm sure by now most of all of us have seen this ridiculous shit about Ichiro and everyone trying to fuck him up. For one, the Mariners suck more than an Asian prostitute (no pun intended). But seriously what the fuck is this, of all the players on the team they want to fuck Ichiro up? Come on now hes the best player to be in Seatle since A-Rod and Junior Griffey. If anything they should be going after Beltre, their catcher who doesn't even count as a player considering he sucks so much and Richie "I love cock in my ass" Sexson. Seriously Seatle, you don't deserve a team anymore. As an organization you suck at drafting young talent, and if you have it you give it up for the likes of Ben Brousard (granted he was sick in Baltimore, but sucked ass in Seatle until getting injured). What happened to the good old days when the Mariners where the most exciting team in baseball to watch(I don't care what you say, Griffey, A-Rod-when he was fun to watch, a young Freddy Garcia, and Randy Johnson where mint to watch play)? Granted that I am a New Englander and love all of our teams besides the Bruins because quite frankly hockey sucks to watch until the play-off's, I loved watching the old school teams like the 9ers and the good version of the Mariners. Please executives of the Mariners, bring back the good ol' days and draft the next Griffey or A-Rod and bring some more excitement to my life. With that being said, FUCK THE YANKEES, HAVE FUN PLAYING GOLF THIS FALL BITCHES!!!!!

Was Ichiro About To Get Broomsticked As Well?

"And it was a clubhouse in need of some direction, given the problems engulfing it as the season came undone. When it came to Ichiro, who got off to a typically slow start in April and part of May, the internal turmoil nearly hit its boiling point. "I just can't believe the number of guys who really dislike him," said one clubhouse insider. "It got to a point early on when I thought they were going to get together and go after him." The coaching staff and then-manager John McLaren intervened when one player was overheard talking — in reference to Ichiro — about wanting to "knock him out." A team meeting was called to clear the air."

I would have never thought people disliked Ichiro, other than token jealousy. I know it is probably hard to keep your composure when your team is a complete failure like the Mariners. But knocking him out is a little extreme. Ichiro is one of my favorite players and one of the best players in MLB, also is an avid Dueling Couches reader, so I was shocked when I heard this news.

Newest Endorsement.....Kinda

So, I was at the Homerun Derby yesterday with my kid brother and we were first in line for entrance to Yankee Stadium. We get in and race down to the wall along the first base side as my brother told me that's the best place for autographs. Well not only did only 1 All Star come over and sign stuff for the fans, but the only one that did was the one that knew the least amount of English.

Ichiro puts his glove down and walks over to the crowd, specifically right in front of my brother and myself. Everyone is screaming his name and holding out their baseballs and programs etc. And when he is signing my brothers baseball the following dialogue was exchanged:

Me: Yo Ichiro, your the man.

Ichiro: yes, ok, thank you thank you.

Me: Hey my buddies have this sports website, DuelingCouches.com that you should check out.

Ichiro: yes, ok thank you thank you.

Me: Yea man, check it out, Duelingcouches.com

Ichiro: yes, ok, thank you thank you.

And there you have it. The vast amount of honor within the future hall-of-famer made it impossible for him to say anything but, "yes, ok, thank you thank you" but i have no reason to believe he wont check out the site and love it.

Ichiro is one of the best pure hitters the game has ever seen, and now DC's newest endorsement.

Holla