Ichiro, Evaluators, And Stasis By Addition

Some baseball people think that Ichiro could work out well with the Yankees. Some baseball people don't. Terrific.

Evaluators! Ichiro! 1 of Best!

Goldman: Ichiro's Best Days Behind Him (VIDEO)

Hot off the wires, here's Pinstripe Alley's Steven Goldman talking to Amy K. Nelson about Monday's blockbuster trade:

I can't argue with a single thing that Steve says here. Ichiro was a great player when he batted .350, a really good player when he batted .300, and just sort of around when he's batting .270, as he has since the beginning of 2011.

Change in scenery? Hey, you never know. But one can't count on a change of scenery helping a player, and particularly a player Ichiro's age who's actually been somewhat famous for his consistency, if not in performance then certainly when it comes to preparation and work habits. Are we really supposed to believe that Ichiro stopped hitting with the Mariners because he just wasn't enjoying himself any more?

That's possible, but there's no reason to believe it. Or to expect him to become a premier hitter again.

Klapisch: Ichiro, Yankees A Good Fit

Bob Klapisch sums up the Yankees-Mariners trade -- which sent Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees, and the Mariners receiving two minor leaguers you've already forgotten, and will never hear about again -- like this:

It’s a good deal, maybe even a great one. We’ll see.

Yes, we'll see.

What we'll probably see is a fourth outfielder with fifth-outfielder statistics. It's been said before but it's worth saying again: Since Opening Day of 2011, Ichiro Suzuki's got a .268/.302/.342 batting line. He's become a pure singles hitter who doesn't draw walks and doesn't actually hit all that many singles. He does still run the bases with élan, and he's still solid enough in the outfield.

But Klapisch goes way overboard when he writes this:

Ichiro essentially becomes Gardner for the final two months of the season, during which time the Yankees hope he’ll bolster his offensive production.

That's Brett Gardner, who's out for the rest of the season with an injury. The same Brett Gardner who's got a .355 career on-base percentage and ranked among the best defensive outfielders on earth.

Ichiro Suzuki isn't Brett Gardner. What Ichiro Suzuki might be is a decent platoon player and defensive replacement. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's not like the Yankees gave up much to get him. But it's only a great deal if Ichiro actually makes a difference for the Yankees in October, since they've already locked up another division title.

"Ichiro / You're Unbelievable"

Ichiro Trade: This Is Clearly Going To Work Out For The Yankees

Ichiro Suzuki is on the Yankees now. He's old and not very good these days, but you can be sure this will work out for the Yankees somehow.

VIDEO: Ichiro Suzuki Singles vs. Mariners For First Yankees Hit

Ichiro Suzuki's first at-bat as a Yankee — he started in right field, wore Dave Winfield's old No. 31, and hit eighth — came against the Mariners. And his first hit came in it.

Ichiro, traded to the Yankees for minor leaguers earlier in the day, took a Kevin Millwood pitch back up the middle for a single to center in the top of the third for New York's second hit of the night. He immediately stole second base and moved over to third on a groundout by Russell Martin, but he perished on third thanks to another groundout by Derek Jeter.

Ichiro came back up in the top of the fourth, after the Yankees broke through for three runs, but popped up to second with two men on and one out.

Still, he was hitting .500 against the Mariners after his first two at-bats, which is a pretty good mark for a guy who had never faced them before!

Ichiro Trade Analysis

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Ichiro Trade: Examining The Prospects Sent Over By The Yankees

I wonder what kinds of names would have been involved in an Ichiro Suzuki trade after the 2004 season. We're talking big-time prospects. Delmon Young. Ian Stewart. Joel Guzman. Andy Marte. You know, franchise players. Instead, it's 2012 and Ichiro isn't the player he used to be, so the Yankees sent over two 25-year-old pitching prospects, D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar.

Mitchell was ranked the Yankees' #16 prospect before the 2012 season in the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, and they wrote ...

Mitchell prefers to pound the bottom half of the zone with an 89-91 fastball and a solid slider more notable for getting grounders than swings-and-misses.

BA projects him as a middle reliever, though he has been a starter in the minors. His career stats:

Farquhar doesn't have quite the same prospect pedigree, as he wasn't included in the Prospect Handbook, but he does rank a solid 70 on the 20-to-80 interesting-transaction scale. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2008, traded to the A's for Rajai Davis, traded back to the Blue Jays for David Purcey, selected off waivers by the A's when the Blue Jays removed him from their 40-man roster in June, and then picked up off waivers by the Yankees just under a month ago.

The only thing I know about Danny Farquhar is that he prefers to go month-to-month with his apartments. His career stats:

Mariners Vs. Yankees: Time, TV Schedule, And More For Ichiro's Pinstripes Debut

Ichiro Suzuki, the face of the Seattle Mariners for more than a decade, will play his first game against the Mariners tonight as a member of the New York Yankees after a stunning trade on Monday.

Ichiro will hit ninth in the Yankees lineup, filling the spot in right field opened by Brett Gardner's season-ending injury. It's wasn't especially likely that he was going to lead off in pinstripes, given that the Yankees also employ Curtis Granderson, but wouldn't Ichiro being the first man up in a game at Safeco Field after leading off for the Mariners for so many years be something? It sure would.

One thing that will almost certainly happen: Ichiro wearing a number other than his customary No. 51. That was Bernie Williams' number with the Yankees, and it's unlikely to be reused for Suzuki.

Here are some ways you can catch Ichiro's Yankees taking on the Mariners tonight. First pitch is at 10:10 p.m. Eastern, 7:10 p.m. Pacific.

Radio:
Yankees broadcast: WCBS 880, WADO 1280
Mariners broadcast: 710 ESPN

TV:
Yankees broadcast: YES
Mariners broadcast: ROOT SPORTS

Internet stream:
As always, MLB.tv subscribers should be able to catch the game if they are not locally restricted from doing so.

Stone: Ichiro Suggested Trade 'Months Ago'

It came as quite a surprise to virtually everyone in the baseball community when Ichiro Suzuki was traded to the New York Yankees from the Seattle Mariners Monday afternoon for a pair of minor-league pitchers.

But according to national baseball writer Larry Stone, who has followed the Mariners and Ichiro closely for years, this deal has been in the works for some time:

Ichiro’s agent Tony Attanasio told me that Ichiro let Mariners know “months ago” that he was willing to be traded.

Stone further tweeted that Ichiro was doing it for the good of the team and its future:

Ichiro’s agent, Tony Attanasio: ““He knows that the club has to grow. He knows that the younger players need more playing time…”

The Mariners do need to rebuild, as they have not made the postseason since Ichiro’s rookie year of 2001, and have had just two winning seasons since 2003. This deal alone won’t accomplish that, but it shows the Mariners are beginning that process.

For more on the Mariners, please visit Lookout Landing and SB Nation Seattle.

Ichiro Suzuki Traded From Mariners To Yankees

It was once thought Ichiro would never leave Seattle for another MLB team. Now he's headed to the bright lights of New York City.