Ichiro Spring Slump

Let's play a little game with numbers. Player A is hitting .500 and Player B is hitting .000. If you guessed Mike Morse and Ichiro, then you would be correct. Wait, Ichiro is hitting .000? As in he doesn't have any hits? Yep. Ichiro's 0-21 to start the spring. Are the Mariners sounding the alarm? Well, not exactly. "Put him down for the batting title," McLaren told the Seattle Times after today's 0-4 game dropped Ichiro to 0-21. Let me throw this at you though, John McLaren: Ichiro has hit .389 overall in spring training since 2002. I'd say a .389 hitter going 0-21 is a big flashing warning sign for a huge bust. Ichiro's done. Stick a fork in him. Old and washed up. Easy, easy I'm kidding. I was just hoping maybe I could get Ichiro two rounds lower in my fantasy league. Seriously, it's spring training, who cares? Brad Wilkerson is hitting .412 right now in spring games. Dude has never hit higher than .268 in the majors. Has he suddenly turned into Ted Williams? Doubtful. Ichiro will get his, there is nothing to worry about. Erik Bedard too. I worry about pitchers even less than hitters, because often times they aren't throwing all their pitches and just trying to throw strikes and build up their arm strength.

As for Player A, can we get this guy a roster spot please? All Mike Morse ever does is hit. He has almost 300 career at bats in three seasons in the majors and he's hitting a healthy .302. I'm not saying he should be a starter or that he would be a .300 hitter over a full season, but I think he has earned himself a spot on the M's bench. Morse can play several different positions and he's a good athlete with decent speed. On top of all that Morse is out of options, which means if he doesn't make the big club he has to go throw waivers. Unfortunately, Bill Bavasi and his love for "gritty" veterans, signed Miguel Cairo and also brought in Greg Norton. Going for the young and cheap guy with some upside is never enough for Bavasi.