I'm not sure about him never losing that athleticism, but I completely agree about him having value as a contact hitter until the day that he retires. He's Japan's answer to Tony Gwynn. My concern is that the stats that he put up in his prime and his celebrity status in Japan will drive up his asking price to an unreasonable level.

 

I'm surprised that Ichiro hasn't played more CF in Seattle. Of course, I realize that his cannon arm makes him a very good fit for RF, but his freakish speed and very solid anticipation on fly balls would be better-used in CF, IMO. Mike Cameron was a good defensive CF, but is Jeremy Reed really a better option? Or has Seattle just been lacking a strong-armed option in RF in the post-Buhner era?

 

I think they intend on using him in CF this year

This is a very good assessment of the White Sox current money situation. Kenny even admitted himself earlier either before ST or during that a lot of teams put themselves out of contention for next year's crop of FA because of the ridiculous deals they gave this past summer for inferior players. (I.E. the Cubs, Angels and Giants)

 

Some of the potential FA's for this upcoming offseason is pretty staggering:

 

NL:

Carlos Zambrano

Andruw Jones

John Smoltz

Doug Davis

Randy Wolf

Tom Glavine

Barry Bonds

Marcus Giles

Kaz Matsui

Pedro Feliz

Rod Barajas

Javy Lopez

Craig Wilson

 

AL:

Mariano Rivera

Ichiro Suzuki

Bobby Abreu

Curt Schilling

Carlos Guillen

Torii Hunter

Jermaine Dye

Andy Pettitte

Jake Westbrook

Shea Hillenbrand

Joe Borowski

Octavio Dotel

Jose Guillen

Mike Piazza

Jeff Weaver

Mike Lowell

Bartolo Colon

Scott Podsednik

 

 

Huh?...OHHHHH!! I get it, its like "Pick which named doesn't belong with the others!!"

I love Capn, good to know I'll never be the guy that hates Pods THE most, only 2nd place.