Ichiro the Artist Collects 4,000th Career Hit

Earlier Wednesday afternoon Michael Kay wondered aloud on his radio show if anyone cared about Ichiro Suzuki reaching 4,000 career hits. How could we not? It doesn't matter that it occurred in two different countries. It's an incredible achievement.

The achievement occurred earlier this evening at Yankee Stadium in Ichiro's first at-bat of the night. Facing Toronto Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, Ichiro waved his magic wand and slapped a single past third baseman Brett Lawrie into left field.

As the fans gave him a standing ovation and a plethora of photographers clicked away, Ichiro's teammates came out to congratulate him.No player may have been more excited than Toronto infielder, fellow countryman and Ichiro's teammate in Seattle last year, Munenori Kawasaki. In reaching the milestone, Ichiro joined Pete Rose and Ty Cobb as the only players to eclipse 4,000 hits.


Ichiro started his professional career with the Orix Blue Wave in 1992 and remained there until he joined the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2001 season. The Mariners dealt the pending free agent to the Yankees at the 2012 deadline and then he re-upped with NY in the off-season.

No matter where Ichiro has played, his game is one of artistry. He runs with the grace of a young Baryshnikov while wielding a bat like a master swordsman. He doesn't get as many hits as he did when he was younger; when he seemingly got hits at will.  How could anyone hit when they moved both feet like Astaire while swinging the bat? No one else has been able to do it.

He has lost a step, but can still out run players nearly half his age. The rifle for an arm isn't quite what it used to be, but he can still run down any ball and make it look easy. (He made a sliding catch in tonight's game.) Instead of stealing bases at will, he picks his spots and is still successful. (He entered Wednesday's game with 18 steals in 21 attempts.)

In a word, Ichiro's career is legendary.

Jays-Mets Getting Close to Dickey Deal

Several media outlets reported last night and this morning that the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays were closing in on a trade that would send reigning NL CY Young winner R.A. Dickey to Toronto.

The Mets were hoping to sign Dickey to an extension after his 2012 season, but the two sides are reportedly far apart. Dickey finished 20-6, 2.73 in a season that included back-to-back one hitters. He also threw five straight games without an earned run allowed (41.2 innings).

The 38-year old knuckleballer is set to make $5MM in 2013, a $750K bump from the prior year's salary. Mets' GM Sandy Alderson knows that Dickey's value will never be higher, hence the "hurry" to deal him now rather than the 2013 trade deadline.

Rumored to be going to the Mets in the deal are highly touted catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, who was originally acquired from the Phils for Roy Halladay, and outfield prospect Anthony Gose.

Gose played 56 games for the Blue Jays in 2012 and did not display a Major League ready bat. However, he did steal 15 bases in 18 attempts.

The 23-year old D'Arnaud is considered expendable with power hitting catcher J.P. Arencibia the current starter in Toronto and John Buck as the backup. There is some question as to whether the Blue Jays should move Arencibia and hold on to d'Arnaud rather than the other way around.

Dickey, who threw over 230 innings in 2012, is said to be looking for a two year, $26MM extension. It's something the Blue Jays don't need to give him either, though they would be more likely to sign him to an extension if they are to give up D'Arnaud.

UPDATE 11:15 pm - Joel Sherman of the NY Post tweeted tonight that the deal is closer to happening. The Blue Jays will send d'Arnaud, Buck, Noah Syndergaard, and a low level prospect to the Mets for Dickey, catcher Josh Thole, and a low level prospect.

UPDATE 12/16 7:25 PM - The Mets and Jays have reportedly finalized the terms of the deal, with a contract extension for Dickey the only thing that is holding things up. Dickey would join a rotation that includes Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, both of whom were acquired in the Floirda Marlins' latest purge.

It Is High, It Is Far, etc.

Yesterday's performance by Phil Hughes was about as ugly as the weather the last two days. I saw more sweat stains than I care to remember.

Hopefully, it's a 2-game blip and the starting pitching gets back on track against the Mets this weekend. Sunday night's matchup between CC Sabathia and R.A. Dickey at Citi Field should be fantastic. In the battle of the initials, CC is actually the underdog right now. That's because of the amazing season Dickey is having for the Mets.

Dickey has thrown back to back 1-hitters, thankfully the hit in the second game was clean so there was no nonsense by the Mets organization trying to get it changed to a hit (the only worse recent performance was by Mets' fans who booed Jason Bay when he crashed into the wall and ended up with a concussion), and struck out double digits with his amazingly controlled knuckleball.

Notes


Tyler Austin, the hot hitting outfielder for the Charleston RiverDogs, will represent the Yankees in the Futures Game during the All-Star break. But if you are wondering how the top 10 rated Yankees prospects are doing, click here to read the piece I wrote for the Yahoo Contributor Network. Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Mason Williams, and more.

The Yankees hope Omar Rodriguez becomes one of the top 10 prospects in the near future. The 19-yr old Cuban and the Yankees agreed to a deal that I detailed in this Yahoo Contributor Network piece.