I hate to be the guy who said “I told you so” but I told you so. Ichiro Suzuki is no longer on the Mariners active roster. Instead, he has been “promoted” (?) to some assistant front office job. The caveat is that he will still be able to suit up for batting practice on both home and road games but will not be allowed to sit in the dugout during the games. He’s been put in charge of helping manage and develop players in the clubhouse and there has been talk that he will be playing Opening Day in Japan next season when the M’s play the A’s in the Tokyo Dome. We will see about that. I have my doubts.

I should dig up all my tweets that I tweeted about Ichiro and being off the roster by the All-Star break. In one of my previous blog entries, I talked about him being off the roster before too long. I think it was this blog entry. Maybe this one? I’m not sure. Anyway. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, you can. Here’s the link to my Twitter. I tweet a lot about baseball, obviously. But sometimes I can go on a political rant, too.

The thing I didn’t like about this whole Ichiro thing is all the fluff and empty promises that came with all the announcements and advertising over the last couple of months. Even during spring training when the M’s first started talking about signing him it was all make believe. Any self respecting baseball fan who knows an iota of knowledge about the sport knew that this was a publicity stunt to get butts in the seats. Seattle sports have always been dramatic venues with hype and feel good stories. When Ichiro signed with the Mariners it brought all those memories of Ken Griffey Junior back. Like, someone had opened the flood gates to memory lane. They should rename Edgar Martinez drive to something like, Nostalgia Avenue or…We Sign Old Players to Sell Tickets boulevard.

I don’t want people to think I’m a hypocrite. I loved watching him play. I still love to watch him play. His role on the team just wasn’t conducive to his playing spirit. Or his work ethic. He needs a full-time role. The Mariners couldn’t give him that because Ben Gamel needs playing time. Heredia needs playing time. Haniger needs playing time, and Dee Gordon certainly isn’t going to be benched so Ichiro can play. The question is: what are the Mariners intended plans for Jayson Werth? If they call him up and use him the way they intended to use Ichiro, what’ll be the reaction from Mariners Nation? Will anyone even care? Jerry Dipoto needs to stop leading people on with false hopes and promises. They way I see it Jayson Werth serves no real positive role for the Mariners. He’s a spot starter. A fill in. A guy who’ll ride the bench until late June and then be let go. He’s in his late 30’s, he’s old, and he’s hitting .220 something in Triple- A. But hey. I’m just a fan of the game, and Ichiro will be playing next season in Japan (for the Mariners). Insert eye-roll gif here.

The Mariners quickly got on the board with a Robinson Cano single that scored Dee Gordon. Seattle continued to add to their lead with another Cano single, and you guessed it. Gordon scored again. Two nothing Seattle. The Athletics struggled to keep the M’s bats down and the M’s never looked back. Nelson Cruz cracked his seventh dinger into the center field gap, and Edwin Diaz came in and slammed the door for his 13th save of the season. Ball game.

Seattle Mariners 4 Oakland Athletics 1

Total Lifetime Games Attended: 137

Total Baseballs Snagged This Season: 14

Total Lifetime Baseballs Snagged: 367

Total Lifetime Foul Balls Snagged: 1

Total Lifetime Home Run Balls Snagged: 0