I was sitting in the Library of Congress doing research (no, really) when my phone started going crazy. Sean was telling me that the Yankees traded for Ichiro Suzuki and a bunch of my friends were asking for my reactions. These are my first impressions.
Wow. Great Deal for the Bombers! A couple of weeks ago I wrote that the Dodgers should trade for Ichiro, and provided an in depth analysis of why. The same reasons apply for New York.
Ichiro is a solid defensive outfielder who should have no problem playing left field in Yankee Stadium. His numbers should go up now that his home games aren’t in the killer confines of Safeco Field, his power numbers included with the short porch in the Bronx.
Ichiro helps to make up for the speed that the Yanks lost with Brett Gardner’s injury, and allows Andruw jones to be the platoon player that he was always supposed to be. Now, Ichiro can play left and Jones can platoon at DH against lefties, with Raul Ibanez against righties. If Jones stays hot, he can spell the admittedly-aging Ichiro in the field.
This is a great trade. It gives the Yankees depth, speed, defense, and if I’m right, another great hitter in their lineup. By the way, in terms of name recognition, can you have a better lineup than the Yankees do with Ichiro in the outfield alongside Andruw Jones and Curtis Granderson?
The best part of this deal? It screams Steinbrenner Yankees. Back in the day, the thing about the Yankees was they were a real life equivalent of the team you would build in a video game. George Steinbrenner would go out and get the best players and biggest names, no matter what it took. Steinbrenner wanted Randy Johnson, we got Randy Johnson. He wanted Alex Rodriguez, Rodriguez got pinstripes. Jason Giambi. Roger Clemens. Mike Mussina. David Justice. In no particular order. The Yankees in the late 90s early 2000s had very few homegrown players (Ricky Ledee?) and a lot of other people’s stars.
The Yanks’ brass figured out pretty quickly that the formula wasn’t sustainable, so now we have guys like David Robertson, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, etc.
This big headline, out of no where, midseason trade to bring in one of the most recognizable players in the entire game (who, incidentally, may be over the hill) just oozes Steinbrenner. I love it (though that does not reflect my feelings for the late Boss).
A friend asked me to project the Yankees lineup so here’s my best guess at the way Joe Girardi will structure things (assuming everyone is healthy):
- Derek Jeter (ss)
- Curtis Granderson (cf)
- Robinson Cano (2b)
- Alex Rodriguez (3b)
- Mark Teixeira (1b)
- Nick Swisher (rf)
- Andruw Jones/ Raul Ibanez (DH)
- Ichiro Suzuki (lf)
- Russel Martin (c)
Look at that. It looks like a hybrid 2001/2007 All-Star team. Lets hope it can win in 2012.
-Max Frankel
