Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott SmithA quick thought on Ichiro
August 22nd 2010 23:09
At age 15, Leonardo Da Vinci became an apprentice in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. Sometime between 1470-73, Leonardo was asked to assist Verrocchio on his painting of the Baptism of Christ. Leonardo painted one of two angels sitting by Christ, as well as some of the background surrounding them. Even to a layman like me, the difference was stunning. Verrocchio, a very accomplished artist in his own right, was completely overshadowed by a single small figure in the corner. The face of the angel was vibrant and full of life, its body turned in the opposite direction from its head, adding strain to the figure. Even the drapery was so carefully detailed that the rest of the painting, great on its own, looked like the work of a first year art student when placed in the vicinity of Leonardo's work. The story goes that after Verrocchio saw the finished work, he never painted again.
Roughly 530 years later, I received this message from Eleanor:
I read your article and was somewhat amused. I think you are too close to the subject to be objective, as most of us are about our favorite team.
I have Ichiro on my fantasy team. From my perspective, I have to ask: What has he done for me lately? (Hint: hit the ball, steal a base, score a run or RBI are NOT on the answer sheet.)
I am a Padres fan. The Padres have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. They also have the best record in the National League along with the best pitching staff. No DH, just real baseball. No huge stars of the game, but great team play.
Maybe the Mariners would be better off with Sarah Palin and Justin Beiber on the roster???
"Somewhat amused"? Sounds like an altruistic way of saying it sucked. Hey, I'm okay with that! We need the readers! I too like the Padres, and they will definitely be one of like 2-3 teams I'll be rooting to win the whole thing. Also, I still don't know what a Justin Bieber is (I finally googled the spelling), however it sounds pocket-sized and therefore would probably draw a lot of walks. Yeah, it'd probably help the team. Sarah Palin on the other hand, well, we already had a crazy person on the team and he batted .202 before going on the DL. No to her. As for being too close to be objective, my first thought was "I've spent a few articles discussing how bad my Mariners are. I guess maybe I might be a little too tough on them, but the more I watch the more I think I'm probably right". And then I thought "Wait, does Eleanor think I'm being too kind to Ichiro? One of the top 5 players I've ever watched in my lifetime?". That's what made me think of the book I had just read about Leonardo Da Vinci.
What amazed me about Leonardo was not that we caused his teacher to never paint again (allegedly). What amazed me was the amount of people who wouldn't allow Leonardo to be fallible. Annunciation, the painting commissioned for the Convent of Monte Oliveto, was thought to have been painted over by another artist since the wings appeared larger than they should have. The portrait of Ginevra de' Benci couldn't have been done by Leonardo because the face was too flat and the hair was too harsh (the majority of the painting-specifically the way mist is used in the background-is considered a masterpiece and therefore assumed probably from Leonardo). The drawing of Litta Madonna is definitely Leonardo, but the painting is thought to be from another artist because the Christ Child is lacking. The Adoration of the Magi is unfinished, but because Leonardo was too bored to finish, and not because he was unable to. Girl with Bonnet was mostly done by Leonardo, but her chin is imperfect and must have been altered by someone else. There were many, many more examples.
Today, Ichiro went after a line drive hit to the wall in right field. He played it perfectly. He timed the jump perfectly. He lined his glove up perfectly. He watched it all the way in perfectly. Unfortunately, it wasn't secured perfectly as he hit the wall. The ball popped out as Ichiro bounced against the wall, but it didn't stun him in the least. He had located the ball within nanoseconds of it touching the ground, but it took two tries to bare hand the ball before he whipped a laser beam to the cutoff man as Nick Swisher ran into 2nd. He was charged with an error. It got me thinking, if that were a lesser man out there-one we're not accustomed to seeing make great plays, would he have been given the same ruling?
You see, like Leonardo, I expect great things from Ichiro. And when he's not perfect, I do tend to make excuses for him. Another reader had asked the same thing. Is Ichiro overrated? It will take a longer article, one backed up by stats and research, and one that won't be written for a few weeks (I'm working on a football preview right now). But I will make this point again: Ichiro is one of the Top 5 players I have ever seen in my lifetime. He is a lock for 200 hits year after year. He is consistently amazing in the field. He is faster and more agile than anyone I have ever seen in person (and that goes for Griffey back in his prime. Although I may have been tainted watching him try to play the last few years like they were filming a spinoff to "Weekend at Bernie's". "Weekend at Griffey's: The Death of My Childhood Memories".).
Sure his numbers are down. Our team is terrible. His RBI and Runs scored are bad because he has no one to hit in and no one to hit him in. SB are better than average. Hits are better than average. Batting Average is better than average. He is a one-of-a-kind player that we're all very lucky to see play. When he's done, I may not give up watching baseball like Verrocchio gave up painting, but I will stop expecting perfection.
Roughly 530 years later, I received this message from Eleanor:
I read your article and was somewhat amused. I think you are too close to the subject to be objective, as most of us are about our favorite team.
I have Ichiro on my fantasy team. From my perspective, I have to ask: What has he done for me lately? (Hint: hit the ball, steal a base, score a run or RBI are NOT on the answer sheet.)
I am a Padres fan. The Padres have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. They also have the best record in the National League along with the best pitching staff. No DH, just real baseball. No huge stars of the game, but great team play.
Maybe the Mariners would be better off with Sarah Palin and Justin Beiber on the roster???
"Somewhat amused"? Sounds like an altruistic way of saying it sucked. Hey, I'm okay with that! We need the readers! I too like the Padres, and they will definitely be one of like 2-3 teams I'll be rooting to win the whole thing. Also, I still don't know what a Justin Bieber is (I finally googled the spelling), however it sounds pocket-sized and therefore would probably draw a lot of walks. Yeah, it'd probably help the team. Sarah Palin on the other hand, well, we already had a crazy person on the team and he batted .202 before going on the DL. No to her. As for being too close to be objective, my first thought was "I've spent a few articles discussing how bad my Mariners are. I guess maybe I might be a little too tough on them, but the more I watch the more I think I'm probably right". And then I thought "Wait, does Eleanor think I'm being too kind to Ichiro? One of the top 5 players I've ever watched in my lifetime?". That's what made me think of the book I had just read about Leonardo Da Vinci.
What amazed me about Leonardo was not that we caused his teacher to never paint again (allegedly). What amazed me was the amount of people who wouldn't allow Leonardo to be fallible. Annunciation, the painting commissioned for the Convent of Monte Oliveto, was thought to have been painted over by another artist since the wings appeared larger than they should have. The portrait of Ginevra de' Benci couldn't have been done by Leonardo because the face was too flat and the hair was too harsh (the majority of the painting-specifically the way mist is used in the background-is considered a masterpiece and therefore assumed probably from Leonardo). The drawing of Litta Madonna is definitely Leonardo, but the painting is thought to be from another artist because the Christ Child is lacking. The Adoration of the Magi is unfinished, but because Leonardo was too bored to finish, and not because he was unable to. Girl with Bonnet was mostly done by Leonardo, but her chin is imperfect and must have been altered by someone else. There were many, many more examples.
Today, Ichiro went after a line drive hit to the wall in right field. He played it perfectly. He timed the jump perfectly. He lined his glove up perfectly. He watched it all the way in perfectly. Unfortunately, it wasn't secured perfectly as he hit the wall. The ball popped out as Ichiro bounced against the wall, but it didn't stun him in the least. He had located the ball within nanoseconds of it touching the ground, but it took two tries to bare hand the ball before he whipped a laser beam to the cutoff man as Nick Swisher ran into 2nd. He was charged with an error. It got me thinking, if that were a lesser man out there-one we're not accustomed to seeing make great plays, would he have been given the same ruling?
You see, like Leonardo, I expect great things from Ichiro. And when he's not perfect, I do tend to make excuses for him. Another reader had asked the same thing. Is Ichiro overrated? It will take a longer article, one backed up by stats and research, and one that won't be written for a few weeks (I'm working on a football preview right now). But I will make this point again: Ichiro is one of the Top 5 players I have ever seen in my lifetime. He is a lock for 200 hits year after year. He is consistently amazing in the field. He is faster and more agile than anyone I have ever seen in person (and that goes for Griffey back in his prime. Although I may have been tainted watching him try to play the last few years like they were filming a spinoff to "Weekend at Bernie's". "Weekend at Griffey's: The Death of My Childhood Memories".).
Sure his numbers are down. Our team is terrible. His RBI and Runs scored are bad because he has no one to hit in and no one to hit him in. SB are better than average. Hits are better than average. Batting Average is better than average. He is a one-of-a-kind player that we're all very lucky to see play. When he's done, I may not give up watching baseball like Verrocchio gave up painting, but I will stop expecting perfection.
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Comment by Winless In Seattle
UnSportsman
Comment by Elliott Smith
Comment by Joe Soriano
Pro Sports Wrap
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Comment by Winless In Seattle
UnSportsman
I do hate Ichiro. But not because he's not a great player - he is a great player. No argument here. I hate Ichiro because he is the best that the Mariners have. Do I have a problem with his defense? Of course not - it's stellar and shows no signs of slipping just yet. Batting average leader and leader in hits? Sure I'll take it. Leader in runs? Sure, he's the leadoff. But something about saying a guy with a line of .310/58 runs/5 HRs/34 RBI and "best player" in the same sentence kill me. You know?
Comment by Joe Soriano
Pro Sports Wrap
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Comment by Winless In Seattle
UnSportsman
I won't even mention that we're an American League team, so technically Felix isn't even an "everyday" player. Only seeing a guy every 5 days, combined with the fact that when Felix isn't "on" he looks less than average - whereas Ichiro brings 100% night in and night out - yes, Joe, I believe there is an argument there.
Ichiro is a sure fire first ballot HOFer. The same can't be said for Felix at this point. Though I guess he almost won the Cy Young once (Ichiro did win the MVP, AS MVP and ROY). Fact is Ichiro has been the best player on the Mariners roster for a decade. And - by no fault of effort or ability by Ichiro - it's wearing thin on me as a fan.
Comment by Joe Soriano
Pro Sports Wrap
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