MSG3 wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

mrKnickShot wrote:

Uptown wrote:

mrKnickShot wrote:

JamesKPolk wrote:Ichiro is close to done but it's a decent pickup considering they gave up nothing for him.

Yup - its pretty much a money deal

Nice to have no cap in baseball

Nice if your a Yankee fan

And that I am. Yankees, Gmen .................................................................................. Knicks

How sad and hateful do I deserve to be?

Yankees, Gmen and Knicks as well. Love the pickup....with Gardner out for the rest of the year it will be nice to have a stolen base threat. Also with the Yankees lineup I can see Ichiro dipping into the fountain of youth.

Being die hard Knicks fans is the price we pay for being Yankee and Giants fans. Hard to complain unless Knicks are your heart and sould and head and shoulders above all teams you root for, which is my case.

If you're a Jets and Knicks fan.....how can you stand it?

Try Mets, Jets Knicks... I've seen 1 championship in my 32 years and I was 6 so I didn't really enjoy it the way I would today.

This move cost the Yankees virtually nothing, two marginal prospects, Ichiro is in the final year of his contract and the Mariners sent $5 mil in cash as well. Yankees do not currently need help on offense, however their corner outfield positions have been getting ragged with injuries and overwork for older players. If Gardner does manage to come back this year, Yankees will have arguably the best defensive outfield in baseball when Gardner, Ichiro and Granderson are on the field. My guess is that Ichiro will be rejuvenated on offense by leaving the struggling Mariners and being surrounded by a strong Yankee lineup......also playing with a short RF porch. the move also gives the Yankees one of the deepest benches in Baseball ...... Assuming a healthy Swisher.

Bonn1997 wrote:

foosballnick wrote:Great move by the Yanks. Ichiro is a 20/10 guy who could of vetoed the trade but wanted to come to the Yankees....who have a good history with Japanese players/merchandising. Although his offense has been on a decline in recent years (OPS+ in low 80s puts him in bottom quadrant for starting corner outfielders) he is still an outstanding defensive player and will only be asked to go into a rotation in the outfield and bat towards the bottom of the order for the Yanks. When he does hit, he adds a speed factor that the Yankees have been missing with Gardner out.

This move cost the Yankees virtually nothing, two marginal prospects, Ichiro is in the final year of his contract and the Mariners sent $5 mil in cash as well. Yankees do not currently need help on offense, however their corner outfield positions have been getting ragged with injuries and overwork for older players. If Gardner does manage to come back this year, Yankees will have arguably the best defensive outfield in baseball when Gardner, Ichiro and Granderson are on the field. My guess is that Ichiro will be rejuvenated on offense by leaving the struggling Mariners and being surrounded by a strong Yankee lineup......also playing with a short RF porch. the move also gives the Yankees one of the deepest benches in Baseball ...... Assuming a healthy Swisher.

What do you mean "OPS+ in low 80s"?

OPS+ takes the hitter's OPS and normalizes on a percentage scale based on differing ballpark factors in MLB. Some ballparks are hitter friendly and others aren't. Ichiro had an OPS plus in 2011 of 86 and in 2012 it is currently 82. These are below average...with 100 being an average score. Further, corner OF is considered a big hitters type position, so his target for starting in RF might be 110 or higher to be considered acceptable.