ICHIRO CAME TO PLAY BALL, REGARDLESS OF THE ROLE

No sooner than we posted ANYONE WOULD BE LUCKY TO HAVE ICHIRO this morning, The Star Ledger has a piece out about Ichiro and his approach:

"Nobody takes his job more seriously. If he is upset by the fact that he will be a part-timer in his 14th

Major League season, he’s not likely to share it with anyone, because he is not in the habit of confiding in anyone.

Still, you put it to him: How can someone so accomplished deal with being a part-time player?

His reply was to ignore the premise, which is what you expect from a player of such pride.

'Whatever my role is here – whether I’m a starter or not – my preparation never changes,' Ichiro said.

'Every day I’m going to do the exact same thing regardless of what my role will be. The preparation stays the same, I’m doing the same things to get to where I need to be.... If I was the type of player who changes the way I prepare myself, I wouldn’t be the player I have been.'"

Much like I stated in my piece earlier this morning, " I love the way he approaches the game and it's never changed since the day he showed up.  He's simply one of baseball's best."

Look, the best part of Ichiro is, he's available.  He rarely gets hurt and if that role this season is riding the bench more than playing the field, you can guarantee on him being ready if we need him... lead off spot, 9 hole, any outfield position and pinch runner or pinch hitter.  You gotta love and respect that.

Just wanted to share that Stat-Ledger piece. Good job Dave D'Alessandro. I thought it was interesting.

Carry on...

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