July 17, 2008
Trading the One-Name Player
Jim Moore wants the Mariners to consider trading Ichiro:
Nothing against Ichiro, but isn't it time to blow this thing up and start over? Realizing they had no shot at an NBA championship, the Sonics dealt Ray Allen to Boston and began a process that will someday turn Oklahoma City into a perennial contender.
When you blow things up, you don't hang on to your best player, especially one who will be 35 in October. You don't let the player's popularity get in the way. If you're truly serious about winning, you forget about the marketing consequences, understanding that a successful team is more essential to long-term fan appeal.
I agree. The fans will hate it, but if Seattle is really serious about rebuilding, Ichiro is their most valuable commodity, assuming they want to make Felix Hernandez the center piece of the rebuilt team. His contract is very reasonable and he's signed through 2012, so you can actually trade him for value. I would guess Seattle could get two top prospects and two low prospects for the great combination of hits and defense.
Posted by David Pinto at
10:25 AM
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This idea will be met with torches and pitchforks. Losing Ichiro would be significantly worse than losing the Sonics.
... which doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.
If the Mariners think they'll be competitive in the next, say, three years, then Ichiro still might contribute to those teams.
If the Mariners think they need someone to keep fans in the seats while they rebuild the team, and that Ichiro is that guy, then they should keep him for economic reasons.
On the other hand, if neither one of those things is true, then the Mariners should deal him for something they think will help the next competitive team they build - regardless of what the fans think.
As Seinfeld puts it, "We're rooting for laundry." Build a winning team, and they will come, even the ones who burned you in effigy when you traded their favorite player. After all, if they cared that much about the guy - and by extension the team - they'll jump at the chance to root for it again.
That kind of emotional investment is hard for anyone to give up on - after all, there are still Royals and Pirates fans. You can bet all of them are looking at Tampa Bay and thinking "We could do that. With a few competent people, some key deals, one brilliant draft pick - that could be us ..."
