I WAS JUST ABOUT TO POST A THREAD LIKE THIS!!! WHAT THE FUCK MARINERS!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!

***note any foul language will not be tolerated on this system, please accept this as your final warning before we ask for your resignation, thank you***

Cash and two fringe prospects not a great return.
In other news big day for Rangers as the get Rick Nash from Columbus.
Why is it New York based teams are in all the action in whatever sport.All we need now is for Dwight Howard to go to Knicks or Brookllyn.

"New York based teams are in all the action?"

When do my Mets get their share??? >:(

It's always those goddamned Yankees...at least the Red Sox had to suffer for 86 years before they became a corporate machine, the Yanks...when have they ever suffered?

The 1980s? HA! Oh, a whole decade without some greatness...

The poor Mariners have never even BEEN to the World Series!

And my Mets have only made it once in my lifetime...lost in five games to...you guessed it--

THE YANKEES! EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X.X

What's worse--

If Ichiro reaches 3,000 hits now (which isn't at all inconceivable, he's got about 2,550, so another two or three years and he'll get there...he's 38 now, but in the AL, he could always DH, if he wants to get there, he will) he'll do it in a Yankee uniform, and NOT as a Mariner, the team he collected those first 2,500 hits as.

And the Yankees steal yet another great player and another great moment away...damn them! Damn them all to hell!

I AM GOING TO MOTHERFUCKING KILL SOMETHING! THIS IS NOT OK!

The Mariners have literally nothing going for them at all. Why would they make yet another awful trade, piss off the fans, and let the Yankees spit on their faces all at the same time. Jack Zduriencik is the worst thing that has ever happened to baseball, this is the last straw. JLADSNFKNADLKFDNALFSNADSFKASJNLAFSKJKAJAFKLASKADSLK!

/rant

He's a scrub these days but - just watch - he'll put on the pinstripes and start mashing dingers.

"he's 38 now, but in the AL, he could always DH, if he wants to get there, he will"
Strangely enough, he's actually somehow still a fantastic fielder.

Mets spend pick on Santana when he was best pitcher in game with Minny and Jason Bay and others have been signed to big contracts over the years.It is just a matter of getting the right players.And for some reason Yanks seem to do it better then others.
Not saying I'm a Yankee fan but facts are facts.
Cubs-Braves- Dodgers-Red Sox have all spend money like druken sailors over the years.And the Yankees as well but they still have won more AL pennants and WS titles then all who try and play this game with them.
Even my Blue Jays can only dream of only getting wild card and that seems far fetched.

@Yonni, he most certainly will. I haven't been this pissed at Mariner management since the Jones/Bedard trade, and I haven't hated the Yankees this much since the 2001 ALCS. Living in Seattle makes it really hard to be a fan of any sport but soccer.

Also he's a free agent at end of season and most likely will back to Mariners.Just wants his shot at WS title.And he will get 3000 hits in Mariners jersey.To cap off his all of fame career.

That's unlikely, you don't understand how much the M's organization hates its fans.

So, in business terms, this is a very, very good deal for the Yankees. As usual, they have money to play with and they have prospects galore right now. Trading two decent prospects for Ichiro is hardly ever a bad thing.

In playing terms, Ichiro is still one of the best hitters in the game, and like we just saw with Kevin Youkilis (I still cry every night), a change of scenery can completely solve the problems you were having. Ichiro requested a trade for whatever reason or another and I doubt the Mariners would have hesitated to do so anyway: he's 38, like you alluded to, and prospects are your future. The Mariners are headed for the future right now and they've got the pieces to be somebody at some point. They've still got a few moves yet to make I imagine (cough Felix cough).

If he can get a World Series title, he wins; if the Mariners get something in return and cut their payroll to possibly open up their free agency a tad more (not much, but something) then they win too. As much as I hate the Yankees - hence my name - I agree that unless Ichiro becomes a distraction, which is possible, this trade will be a win-win deal.

You all are seriously overreacting. Ichiro *was* a great player, but he has the eighth highest OPS on the *Mariners*, who aren't exactly known for their high powered offense. He's no longer one of the best hitters in the game, he's batting thirty points below his career worst this season. At this point, he's in the twilight of his career and is only a temporary solution for NY while Gardner and Swisher heal because the Ibanez/Jones platoon isn't going to cut it come playoff time. As a Yankee fan, I think we gave up too much, but if he turns it around like Jeter did this year, then we got a hell of a deal if he has two or three good years left.

No. ^

Here's why:

1.) You underestimate Kevin Long, the best hitting coach in the league. I've worked with him in camps of his which is more than any of you can say. Just look at what he's done to poor hitters. Fixed the fundamentals and the rest is a mental game. The Yankees' points system is probably his best idea I can think of.

2.) You underestimate the effect of a change of scenery. Yes, Ichiro is older, but you don't understand how much his game revolves around discipline, not skill. He is only a temporary solution but he's better than Josh Willingham would have been (who I expected would go there) at a lesser price. Look at Youkilis and look at Josh Hamilton. If you want, even Carlos Zambrano in Miami, paired with Ozzie Guillen, another example.

3.) You seem to understand this but you don't think much of it. All the Yankees need is someone that can come in and get the job done. They aren't looking for a big star. Their offense is just fine. They just need an 8- or 9-hole hitter and they got that.

Ichiro's age and constant depletion doesn't impact this deal to the Yankees. They got what they wanted even if his production doesn't improve much. If it does, that's an added bonus.

@2nd, you don't understand what it's like to be a Mariners fan. As a fan of the evil empire, your only worry is "oh no, what if we don't win the world series enough times this decade." When you're rooting for the Mariners, every single day means more pain and suffering. There have been years where the only reason I've followed baseball at all is Ichiro. Even as he declines, he remains Seattle's most beloved sports star, and watching him leave for the team the entire nation hates the most is a dagger in the heart. The Mariners are currently rebuilding, and almost certainly won't be good until after Ichiro retires, so keeping him around would have just made us all happier. As for the part about his asking to be traded, I'm going to ignore that because it doesn't fit with my argument.

@bosox I would probably actually kill something if the Mariners were to trade Felix. Mostly because it would be an awful trade (see all of the other trades the Mariners have made ever), but also because I need something to hold onto or I will be forced off of baseball forever.

@bosox, how does his game revolve around discipline as opposed to skill? It's true that he's a very disciplined player, but the fact that he came to America at the end of, if not past, his prime and managed to build the career that he did with the team that he played on in the park that he played in speaks strongly for the fact that he has a lot of skill too.

ghug, I'm a Knicks fan. I know more pain and suffering than you can ever imagine, and that includes losing your basketball team and watching them go to the finals a few years later. Don't talk to me about pain and suffering :)

Ghug, I questioned the Pirates management trading away Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Ryan Doumit, and more, for prospects but it's working out now, isn't it? Seattle will come around. Give it time and be patient. Complain about the Seahawks and pretend that the Seattle Thunder exist. First off, DJ Mitchell is a good prospect. Taijuan Walker is going to be something else for you. Probably similar to Felix without the big curve but it may develop.

One more thing to keep in mind, ghug. This is the first year that draft picks can be traded. If the Mariners traded Felix, they'd undoubtedly get a top conditional pick, maybe even two, along with at least three prospects. Unlike Ichiro, he's not aged, his stats aren't down, and he's not a coming free agent. The Mariners get compensation or they get conditional picks. There's a couple more prospects right there to make up for having no first rounder in 2011.

I never said he doesn't have a lot of skill. I just said that the skill isn't what got him those numbers. Hell yeah he has skill, no denying that.

You ever seen him in BP? He hits homers 500 feet. Lou once told him way back when that he needed a home run from Ichiro, so he pulled a breaking ball into the second deck in right field. He walked back into the dugout and said, "Was that deep enough?" He can hit the ball as far as anyone, but he has the discipline to sit back and take singles instead. That's what discipline is. A lot of the players from Asia learn that style.

I agree with you, though, that he came past his prime. I still say had he come over at 21 or 22, he'd probably have broken Pete Rose's record by now assuming he stayed on the 225-250 hit/year pace.

@bosox, I understand the logic of it, it's more that I need something positive to hold onto. You also don't seem understand how bad the Mariners are at making trades. Remember Adam Jones? Yeah.

As for the Thunder, I think this is all I need to say:
http://www.nationofblue.com/attachments/f22/11702 1339485847-article-nation-blue-upgraded-free-uk2k-t-shirt-sportsnation_-sports-chats-polls-trivia-more-espn.jpg

11,702 ? What?

And I'm a Red Sox fan. I know all about misery. Just in case you didn't figure that one out.

The webdip forums suck at formatting, it's a picture of an ESPN poll about the NBA finals in which the only two states with a majority rooting for the Heat were Washington and Florida.

As for the whole Red Sox misery thing, you've won plenty of World Series, your team is one of the best in the majors, and you have a very high budget. Here in Seattle, we have a baseball team that managed to play some of the best regular season baseball for several years and then repeatedly collapse in the playoffs, a basketball team that left, a football team that lost its only Super Bowl shot for what is likely to be a very long time due to terrible refereeing, a soccer team that is good, but not good enough, and a whole lot of rain. Need I say more?

If it goes 84 years we'll chat. I'd rather Mariners than Cubs fan now or Red Sox fan before 2000, which I was. Just so you know.

I'm done with the Mariners. Ichiro was pretty much the only thing that kept me paying any attention to them at all. I truly don't care if they ever win again.

And the bottom line is that if you ever want your team to be any good, you need to support their efforts to supply some potential for the future. They'll find some people in Felix and in Ichiro to make up for it in the long run. They have enough prospects to be something in the next few years. Baseball is an up and down sport. Only a few teams are always good. Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Angels, and Tigers are going to be good for a long time yet. Not really the case with anyone else I don't think. At the same time, bad teams will come up to their level.

Ichiro deserves a championship in MLB!!

Hate to say it (except I really don't), but I don't think the Yankees will win it this year. Once he's a free agent, no guarantees a contender will want to pick him up.

Seattle has some promise. Between Felix, Smoak, and Montero (I'm still mad about letting him go), you've got a bright future.

I agree that's how real Mariners fans should feel about it....

I hate to tell you all, but ESPN just showed a clip of Ichiro before BP in his new pinstripes and he looks happier than ever. It's best for both parties.

Smoak has a bright future? Come on. Accept that he's a bust already.

Smoak has the worst stats in his first 1000 at bats of any 1st baseman ever, and a pitcher can't carry his team on his own.

@bosox As for the "which fans have it worse" argument, I'm gonna have to continue to disagree with you. First off, the Red Sox may have been unable to win the series for quite a long time, but they managed to play well for most of it. This is the 35th year the Mariners will fail to win the series, which is probably pretty comparable to the average time any Red Sox fan spent suffering. Your team has also won two championships in the past decade, so get yourselves back to 35 years and we'll talk.

I'm not going to have the "which fans have it worst" argument because the Mariners will make it back just like the Red Sox did. It'll simply happen in different eras. It's not as if the Mariners weren't successful with the kid around and ARod while he still looked like a high schooler. John Olerud and Edgar Martinez would be disappointed to see you say that they never could have done anything back then.

In fact, upon doing some research, the Mariners were 93-69 in 2003 while the Red Sox were 95-67. Without looking at a ton of numbers, those records are similar. It just so happens that in 2004 the Red Sox won the World Series in all unlikelihood and the Mariners tanked. So really, just a year before the Red Sox won, the teams weren't that different at all in that regard.

I'd also just like to point out that I'm an avid Pacers fan. We have been disrespected for so long around here. We got to the finals in 2001 and lost, but I guess we have Patrick Ewing to thank for getting us there at all. Other than that, never been anywhere. If that doesn't make it worse, Reggie was snubbed out of the hall because the voters were paid to vote that way even though Reggie was above and beyond any other candidate on that list and everyone knew it. So since you think it's been a long time since the Red Sox sucked, the Pacers haven't done shit. Ever.

"a pitcher can't carry his team on his own."

Tell that to the Nationals. They haven't gotten the message yet.

As a Yankees fan I have to say I hate this trade. The Yankees aren't thinking for the future. They have the oldest team in baseball and when they start retiring we're in deep shit because we've been trading away our top prospects for years! I understand that the AL East is extremely tight this year (Orioles and Blue Jays are doing much better than usual) and they want to guarantee a spot in the postseason, but for a one year deal where he'll probably leave at the end of the year, I say its not worth it.

"Tell that to the Nationals. They haven't gotten the message yet."

They have several good pitchers, not just one.

Trust me--

If a single good pitcher could carry a team, with the best record in the league at 13-1 and a Cy Young bid well underway, R.A. Dickey would be carrying the Mets to the playoffs right about now...

Baseball writers and ESPN talking heads have badgered on about how the Yankees are "too old" since the beginning of their mid-90s dynasty. I remember reading the same thing about Tino, O'Neill, Bernie, and Jorge..."what are the Yankees going to do when they retire?" When our players start to retire they can be replaced, just like all the past Yankee stars of the last twenty years.

If a single good pitcher could carry a team, Seattle wouldn't have to trade Ichiro :)

Last year the Giants had great pitching and no bats, didn't make the playoffs.

Fuck all your moping and whining.

Sincerely,
The board's resident Cubs fan

^
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

OH, I now feel slightly better for being a Mets fan!

(Sorry.) :)

See, I was right, wasn't I?

I agree that the Yankees are old and have gray hairs coming out, but you forget something. They probably use half of the fucking money left in this country in free agency. They'll be just fine...

So now Alex Rodriguez has a broken hand. Do you feel any different about the trade now, Yankees fans (and/or former Mets fans who realized they'd never win and jumped on the wagon).

The Mariners fan is still pissed.