Ichiro's All Star Pre-game speech

[sneakypower]

Well I'm proven wrong. :oops: Ya sure, he isn't the greatest player at the plate, but didn't Piniella say Ichiro could hit 40 HRs a year if he was allowed to back when Piniella was in Seattle? I personally would take that Ichiro over the one playing right now if it translated to something like .280/.370/.500 per season.

 

I also think he should be their CF, not their RF. His defense is wasted in RF because he is a fast player and putting him in RF takes away from that skill a little, whereas he could cover for other OFs defensive deficiencies as a CF with his range. I forgot about his above-average arm too.

 

Ultimately, he probably would be an upgrade over the Johnson/Edmonds platoon as an overall player. His defense and steals would probably make up for the loss at the plate.

i too watch the games and think to myself what it would be like if he were playing CF

 

hard to conceptualize, it's just such a maverick idea i wonder if any manager would ever try playing him there

[Derwood]

Well I'm proven wrong. :oops: Ya sure, he isn't the greatest player at the plate, but didn't Piniella say Ichiro could hit 40 HRs a year if he was allowed to back when Piniella was in Seattle? I personally would take that Ichiro over the one playing right now if it translated to something like .280/.370/.500 per season.

 

I also think he should be their CF, not their RF. His defense is wasted in RF because he is a fast player and putting him in RF takes away from that skill a little, whereas he could cover for other OFs defensive deficiencies as a CF with his range. I forgot about his above-average arm too.

 

Ultimately, he probably would be an upgrade over the Johnson/Edmonds platoon as an overall player. His defense and steals would probably make up for the loss at the plate.

i too watch the games and think to myself what it would be like if he were playing CF

 

hard to conceptualize, it's just such a maverick idea i wonder if any manager would ever try playing him there

 

if only he had 265 games in CF to really know for sure

[CubInOK]

Well I'm proven wrong. :oops: Ya sure, he isn't the greatest player at the plate, but didn't Piniella say Ichiro could hit 40 HRs a year if he was allowed to back when Piniella was in Seattle? I personally would take that Ichiro over the one playing right now if it translated to something like .280/.370/.500 per season.

 

I also think he should be their CF, not their RF. His defense is wasted in RF because he is a fast player and putting him in RF takes away from that skill a little, whereas he could cover for other OFs defensive deficiencies as a CF with his range. I forgot about his above-average arm too.

 

Ultimately, he probably would be an upgrade over the Johnson/Edmonds platoon as an overall player. His defense and steals would probably make up for the loss at the plate.

i too watch the games and think to myself what it would be like if he were playing CF

 

hard to conceptualize, it's just such a maverick idea i wonder if any manager would ever try playing him there

 

if only he had 265 games in CF to really know for sure

Why did they put him in RF to begin with...?

[fromthestretch]

Well I'm proven wrong. :oops: Ya sure, he isn't the greatest player at the plate, but didn't Piniella say Ichiro could hit 40 HRs a year if he was allowed to back when Piniella was in Seattle? I personally would take that Ichiro over the one playing right now if it translated to something like .280/.370/.500 per season.

 

I also think he should be their CF, not their RF. His defense is wasted in RF because he is a fast player and putting him in RF takes away from that skill a little, whereas he could cover for other OFs defensive deficiencies as a CF with his range. I forgot about his above-average arm too.

 

Ultimately, he probably would be an upgrade over the Johnson/Edmonds platoon as an overall player. His defense and steals would probably make up for the loss at the plate.

i too watch the games and think to myself what it would be like if he were playing CF

 

hard to conceptualize, it's just such a maverick idea i wonder if any manager would ever try playing him there

 

if only he had 265 games in CF to really know for sure

Why did they put him in RF to begin with...?

 

He started his career in the US as a right-fielder, most likely because they had Mike Cameron at the time, who was no slouch in CF. Not only that, but Ichiro's arm made him a good fit in RF. In late 2006, they moved Ichiro to CF, and he stayed there until about a month ago, when they started giving Reed more playing time. I don't think they view Ichiro as being bad in CF, but they probably want to give Reed one final chance to see if he can do anything at this level.

[badnews]

Ichiro's stats aside, I'm like the only person who doesn't think Ichiro is charming or great. He seems like a bit of a prick and not the best teammate.