The Mariners will be without their best position player to start the 2009 season. Ichiro Suzuki is headed to the 15-day disabled list because of a bleeding ulcer. The speedy, high-average-hitting outfielder had been experiencing extreme fatigue the last few days in camp, and a battery of tests revealed the ulcer, which has now stopped bleeding.
The roster move, retroactive to March 31, will keep Ichiro out at least until the middle of April. Because of the late start to the season he could miss as few as nine games. While that might not seem significant in the scheme of a 162-game grind, particularly for a club that figures to be as lousy as the Mariners, consider these numbers: 157, 157, 159, 161, 162, 161, 161, 162.
Knox Bardeen's Fantasy Spin: Don't Sweat Loss of Ichiro
If you haven't guessed already, those are the number of games Ichiro has played in his eight seasons with Seattle. He's been such a fixture with the Mariners this decade that his first trip to the DL (a move retroactive to spring training) will guarantee that he sets a new career low for games played even before Opening Day.
Since he came to the majors, no one has played in more games than Ichiro, and assuming he is cleared to play after the minimum DL stint, he should be able to maintain at least part of his edge over Bobby Abreu (1280 to 1268, according to baseball-reference.com).
No player in major league history has played more games in their first eight seasons than Ichiro's 1280 from 2001-08, and while that is sort of cherrypicking (he played in the 162-game era and went straight from Japan to the major leagues as a polished player rather than spending partial seasons in the bigs because he was still honing his skills in the minors like many Americans) it is still significant.
Part of what makes him a freak of nature, particularly nowadays, is how durable he has been. As it turns out, Ichiro is a mere mortal, at least when it comes to ulcers.
