The Show Must Go On...

We’ve seen look-alikes before.  Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays had one, and he rose to a certain amount of fame, albeit just locally and briefly.  It seems that the city of Seattle now has a doppelganger of its own to deal with.  There’s been an Ichiro Suzuki impersonator running amok at Safeco Field, posing with adoring fans and even obliging autograph requests from time to time.

He’s been to numerous games, in full Mariners regalia, including that all too famous number 51 jersey, high socks and just the right curvature to his M’s cap atop his head—a head that bears an uncanny resemblance to the 10-time All-Star, right down to the trademark facial hair.  It’s a pretty amazing resemblance, really.  He was even removed from a Mariners game for interfering with a live ball during the course of a game during an August 3 contest against the Oakland Athletics.  Fans were hard on the mimicking Mariner as security escorted him from the game, but what most failed to realize is that this isn’t the first time this copycat has involved himself on the field of play.  In fact, he’s been on the field a great deal this season.

A quick glance at the numbers reveals what some have suspected for most of the season—that Ichiro Suzuki has vanished.  It seems almost unthinkable, but the stats don’t lie.  The real Ichiro was a .331 career hitter entering the 2011 season, but this sad approximation is currently hitting just .264.  In fact, every shred of statistical evidence supports the notion that Ichiro (the player, the icon, the legend) has been replaced by a stand-in.  That stand in has a 186-point difference in OPS, and he’s certainly not going to reach 200 hits, something the real Ichiro could have done in his sleep.  Alas, it’s hard to expect the understudy to perform as well as the star listed on the marquee.  While the double looks, dresses, and moves like the leading man, there are palpable differences (like a 61-point drop in OBP or 117-point drop in SLG) that even the most casual observer can detect.  This charlatan still has some baseball talent (28 steals), but he hasn’t managed to fool everyone. 

The fans noticed, and so too did opposing managers.  The phony Ichiro failed to earn an All-Star nod for the first time since arriving in the Major Leagues, perhaps a turning point in his career.  It’s hard to say if and when the real Ichiro will return to the game.  If he does, will he ever be the same player that electrified fans for the past decade with hit after game-changing hit?  Will he be able to recapture the aura he once possessed?  Will he continue to make a run at what once seemed like a clear path to the Hall of Fame? For now, the show must go on, even without one of the game’s brightest stars.

M's With an Ace Up Their Sleeve?

A few seasons ago, although it seems like much longer, Erik Bedard was a dominant pitcher, albeit only for two seasons, and not even two “full” ones.  Blessed with a blazing fastball and one of the best curveballs in the game, Bedard baffled and befuddled hitters to the tune of a 28-16 record, a 3.37 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.  Considering how bad the Orioles were (and arguably still ARE), that W/L record is especially impressive, given the talent surrounding the former Baltimore ace.  In 2007, his last year in Baltimore, Bedard compiled 221 strikeouts in just 182 innings pitched, for a league-best 10.9 K/9, setting the league ablaze with his almost unhittable stuff.  He’d seemingly arrived, establishing himself as one of the American League’s top pitchers at age 28.

A much publicized off season trade sent Bedard packing to the Pacific Northwest in February of 2008, ostensibly for then-Mariners prospect Adam Jones.  Other pieces, Chris Tillman among them, were also attached, but at that time it was Jones that was the jewel in this king’s ransom of a trade—for the Orioles, anyway.  As it turns out, Bedard’s effectiveness was limited to the Eastern Time zone.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  The lefty actually pitched fairly well when he was physically able to pitch.  During his first go round in Seattle (2008-09), Bedard pitched to an 11-7 record, 3.24 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.  He also carried an 8.9 K/9—well enough for some to realize that he still had All-Star stuff, even if it was being thrown with an ailing arm (perhaps even dying).  That same arm was so gravely ill throughout most of the 2009 season, that Bedard was unable to pitch at all in 2010.  As luck would have it, it was a labrum, one of those finicky little things that average Joes seldom (if ever) have to concern themselves with, but for Major League pitchers, well…Bedard was doing a lot more rehabbing than pitching, much to the fiscal disappointment of the Seattle Mariners.

RE-signed and re-armed (pun intended) for the 2011 season, Bedard was hoping to return to form, although even he had to be fully aware that it was going to be an uphill battle.  Although, a quick look at his numbers to date would suggest that things are going splendidly.  His 2-4 record is no indication at all how good Bedard has been.  He’s pitched to a 3.94 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, limiting hitters to just 41 hits in 45.2 innings pitched.  Further, he’s regained some of his dominant mound presence, holding an 8.08 K/9.  Sure, he’s managed to pitch more than five innings in just three of eight starts to begin the year, but the mere fact that he’s made eight starts is encouraging to say the least.  Those eight starts are already more than half way to his 2009 total—the last year he toed the rubber in the bigs.

Can he sustain it?  Well, by now it should be fairly clear that he’s capable of sustaining this level of success.  In reality, it’s Bedard’s ability to sustain his current level of health that bears watching. Manager Eric Wedge seems content to maximize the number of effective innings that Bedard throws rather than worrying about him simply eating innings—quality over quantity, it seems.  That seems to be the safe(r) play too.  In 152 career games pitched, Bedard has completed only one…one.  To ask him to throw too many innings is like playing Russian roulette with his delicate arm.  Eventually, things are probably going to break down, that is unless Wedge and company pay special attention to Bedard’s very special needs.