Ichiro’s tree comments
I haven’t posted this because I really don’t know what to say. I still think it’s 50-50 whether Ichiro’s putting one over on the reporter in his recent comments on the team.
The part that’s caused all the head scratching is this bit:
“If there is a problem, we need to notice what creates the problem,” Ichiro said in Japanese, through his translator. “The problem usually isn’t just on the cover. You need to look much deeper. For example, if we’re talking about a tree and the tree has a problem, you need to look at the root. But you cannot see the root. The mistake is to keep watering the fruit. That’s not going to solve anything.”
Folks, I honestly have no idea what he’s trying to point to as the root cause. I’d guess management, but then that’s not really the root of a tree, is it — that’s the organization. Is it the city? Is it us?
Ichiro, if it’s us, we can change. Let’s talk.
Dobbs!?! 🙁
off topic, but is there one singular official statement regarding the adam jones call-up anywhere? there’s none on mariners.org, the pi, the times, anywhere.
i realize his agent said he was flying to toronto today when someone on the board decided to write him yesterday.
but still, it’s kind of weird, if nothing else. where’s the ‘official’ enthusiasm?
could there be a finer definition in the world of a AAAA player than greg dobbs?
Its almost comical how good our bench looked at the beginning of the year compared to now.
From the Times:
Dobbs, 28, has played in 81 games for Tacoma this season, compiling a .299 average with 53 runs, 15 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 46 RBI. He has a .293 average with runners in scoring position and a .354 average with runners on base and two outs.
Yay! Now we have a Clutch Bat® off the bench!
#52? see #43
Ichiro is just planning for his future. He wants to take over Yogi’s role in the Aflac commercials when he retires, so he’s laying the groundwork now.
speaking of player movements, Kearns was finally moved (apparently getting Eddie wasn’t enough): “The Cincinnati Reds overhauled their rickety bullpen Thursday, getting Gary Majewski and Bill Bray in an eight-player deal that sent outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez to the Washington Nationals. The Reds acquired shortstop Royce Clayton, infielder Brendan Harris and pitcher Daryl Thompson from the last-place Nationals.”
30 – So you’re saying that Ichiro is a mentally-handicapped gardener who only knows what he’s learned from TV?
And that he’ll soon be running for president of the United States?
Kewl.
speaking of player movements, Kearns was finally moved (apparently getting Eddie wasn’t enough): “The Cincinnati Reds overhauled their rickety bullpen Thursday, getting Gary Majewski and Bill Bray in an eight-player deal that sent outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez to the Washington Nationals. The Reds acquired shortstop Royce Clayton, infielder Brendan Harris and pitcher Daryl Thompson from the last-place Nationals.â€Â
You can’t be serious. There’s no way this trade happened. Nobody can be this stupid. Damn! I fonly Julio Mateo was having a good year we could have acquired two star players.
59: As entertaining as that notion is, no. Ichiro’s the smart one. It’s just that his comments are holding up a mirror. Everyone sees their own opinion in it.
#60– so what 4 players were you planning on sending to the Reds along with Mateo?
Dobbs’ numbers in Tacoma are actually pretty good (299/366/428). And 13 steals, surprisingly. What I don’t understand is what role he fills on the team. I guess he takes over the Petagine role of the extra left handed bat who never gets into a game. The “bench” is now Rivera, Bloomquist, Dobbs and the unused half of the Everett/Perez platoon.
62
Whoever I spun Lopez off for!
Jones/Dobbs thread up….
I’m a little late here, but I think I have something to offer. I live in Taiwan (duh), and Taiwan is pretty close to Japan in terms of culture. In fact, Taiwan was a colony of Japan for 50 years (1895-1945). I work in a Taiwanese corporate structure. Ichiro’s comments, in my environment, would be taken as criticisms of the management– with enough ambiguity left over to keep himself out of trouble. Ichiro took pains not to name anyone; thus, no one would lose face. Nonetheless, everyone would be clear something seriously is wrong with the management according to this senior employee– and I doubt Ichiro, without senior status, would make even such an ambiguous but nonetheless certain criticism.
I don’t live in Taiwan, but I agree with Nick. While Ichiro’s comments aren’t specifically directed at anyone, they’re clearly directed at management in general.
#48, e-coward: (aarrghhh) squared. Bavasi clearly wants the team to ‘get younger’ and look to next year, methinks, but yeah. Lawton and Petagine could actually have helped if the team had a manager who used his bench, but they were both jettisoned in ninny-moves to absolutely no improvement for the 25-man. I’ve got to say, I’ll be glad when Bill Bavasi is gone. He’s a helluva nice guy, but watching his pointless roster churn for three years is like swallowing a fistful of Valium. Someone’s dialing 911 on me now, I’m so asleep.
If the Nats actually pulled off that steal-deal (haven’t looked), Bowden must have borrowed a few zillion braincells from someone else he’s never used. Kearns and F. Lopez for assorted junk.
I definetly think Ichiro’s comments were criticisms of management, as I alluded in my first post in thread. It’s very difficult to read what he said any _other_ way, to me.
I’m going on vacation for a few days, so that’ll take a load off the server Derek. : )
This US organization (with the support of a Japanese financier) courted and won the services of this great Japanese athelete. To react like a bunch of rubes when he speaks like a Japanese athelete is to lose an opportunity to learn something.
The sport that we love, and the Japanese love, and the Dominicans love and so many people around the world love may afford us all an opportunity to look at things differently. Ichiro’s parable, whose richness is intermittently suggested throughout the current string of comments, means exactly what it appears to mean.
This was a pretty funny thread.
Seriously, I think 16 had it right. Sounds to me like he’s talking about the clubhouse. I don’t think Ichiro would put blame on the management. I think he would put blame on the people playing the game.
Maybe the message is aimed directly at Mr Yamauchi.
Why speak in a Japanese rhetorical style if not to address an audience in Japan?
And as the only personnel decision Mr Yamauchi really cares about is his personal choice of Howard Lincoln to run the show, maybe Ichiro is suggesting that’s where the problem is.
Fire Lincoln.
It would be a pretty good way of changing the management culture of the ballclub.
Lincoln’s a figurehead owner-type guy. You really can’t fire him, or Armstrong for that matter, unless you want to make an argument for the city taking over the team, which might not be any better.
Lincoln’s a figurehead owner-type guy. You really can’t fire him, or Armstrong for that matter, unless you want to make an argument for the city taking over the team, which might not be any better.
Are you saying that this is an inherently dysfunctional organization?
Over 7 years later, in light of this blistering piece from Geoff Baker, I’m definitely going with THE MANAGEMENT as the root problem Ichiro was referring to. The only management left from 2006 is Lincoln and the soon-to-be-retired Armstrong. Hopefully Lincoln follows him out the door. Devastating critique that rings true:
http://seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2022420240_mariners08xml.html
I just wish the article was longer, quoting from more of the 2 dozen people who talked to Geoff. I’ve been an extreme fan since before Griffey was on the team, I live in Alaska and pretty much never miss a game (have to use satellite radio or mlb at bat app to listen). But with this confirming all of my worst fears about how the team is run, and actually even worse than that, I feel like I have to walk away (emotionally/intellectually) until Lincoln and Jack are gone.