Ichiro’s Health
Dave · April 3, 2009 at 6:25 am · Filed Under Mariners
So, we should probably talk about this a little bit. The M’s put out a press release saying that Ichiro had been seen by a doctor and they would update everyone on his health on Friday. If it was nothing, don’t they just come out and say that in the press release? The only reason to have to discuss it further is if they found something, right?
Call me officially nervous. Ichiro is one of three guys on the roster (along with Felix and Beltre) that the team can’t replace. If Ichiro’s ability to play is in danger, it’s a huge blow to the M’s.
I’m just going to pretend that they’re resting him to make sure he can go 155+ games in RF this season (the rest at DH of course).
Ichiro’s performance in ST seemed fine prior to his “fatigue,” the official term the M’s are using. He was doing his usual thing, so I have a hard time imagining that it is something like a leg or back issue. Hopefully it is a simple illness that passes.
Fatigue says the article on Pravda. Lots of possible causes to chose from, according to this.
Aye, I’ve been nervous since he missed his second game in a row, and then especially after the third. Sure, it’s the end of spring training, but that’s just not like Ichiro.
My hope for the best case, is that it is a combination of all the jet lag and travel from the WBC along with his insane routine. I can’t imagine opening day without him.
The vagueness of “fatigue” is what worries me. It could be something simple, or something exotic. Where’s House when you need him? He would have this solved at exactly 5 minutes before the season started. Queue sappy music. At least we know it’s not lupus.
I hope he’s not been poisoned or anything crazy like that (i.e. a crime having been committed).
As a huge fan I’m extremely worried.
I just hope the next update isn’t “Ichiro is up on the roof and we can’t get him down.”
Hmmmmm…. He WAS having sushi with that ex-KGB agent. Polonium anyone?
Could it be the dreaded ‘mono’? Let’s hope not!!
Maybe he fell down a flight of stairs with his suitcase? Or “slipped in the shower?”
If it was normal athletic fatigue, the team wouldn’t so concerned as to put out a press release. That tells me that it is A) serious and B) non baseball-related. There’s blood disorders and immune system problems that can do this kind of thing. Yes, we all should be officially worried not just for the Mariners but for Ichiro and his family.
Ichiro and Morrow stories both don’t pass the smell test to me. Why all this stuff if Ichiro is fine? And why can Morrow be a starter with his diabetes in collage, but in the pro’s it’s and issue?
This isn’t a knock on him, more Bavasi and friends for not doing there homework when they picked him or Feilds (in knowing they already had a closer in Morrow).
Yeah, I was writing it off at first, but now that it’s dragged on for so long and warrented press releases… I’m definitely worried too. Hopefully we find out soon what’s going on, because the suspense and dread is killing me.
Baker has posted a translation of a post-WBC interview with Ichiro
waiting on labwork?
Well, Ichiro isn’t your average player. He’s the biggest star on the team. So anything significant involving him warrants a press release. And then there’s the Japanese press, which must be going absolutely apesh!t (anybody here fluent in Japanese checking it out?) The team has to issue a press release no matter what, though obviously if it was as simple as “he’s fine and he’ll be on the field opening day” they would’ve said that already.
So assuming Ichiro misses a few games (and let’s cross our fingers that’s all it is) who plays right? Are we looking at Griffey-Gutierrez-Chavez (l-c-r) and Chavez-Gutierrez-Wlad on days Griffey DHs (or sits because the pitcher is a lefty?) Or is this going to be an excuse to break camp with the 12th reliever in Tacoma and an extra guy on the bench?
Scrolling down the list of diseases and conditions and…
Pregnancy
OH GOD!
And why can Morrow be a starter with his diabetes in collage, but in the pro’s it’s and issue?
To be fair, Morrow was only really a starter for one year in college, and he threw less than 100 innings. He’s been mishandled for sure and perhaps could have made it as a starter under different conditions, but it’s not like he had a track record of durability before the M’s drafted him.
But to get back to Ichiro, this is pretty worrisome. If it’s fatigue, that might indicate that he’s not going to age as well as we thought. If it’s something worse . . . ugh.
See, now I’m panicking. Ichiro’s the reason I’m a baseball fan today. I’ve always wondered whether I’d continue to be a fan after he retired.
Well crap. I thought at first it was mild flu but that does not merit a press release. This is most inconvenient.
as I understand it, it is not cut and dried– it is a fluid situation that needs to be monitored and adjusted for your whole life.
I am most worried by this. Lou Gehrig worried.
Bleeding ulcer…15 day disabled list.
per Greg Johns
Frick on a stick with a brick.
WHEW! It’s a bleeding ulcer. He’ll be on the 15-day DL. That’s a relief. If he HAD been pregnant, he REALLY would have been hounded by the media (and unavailable for the rest of the season.)
Well, I was hoping for a short bout of flu, but if the ulcer is all there is, he should be able to rebound quickly.
How does this affect the roster for April? Junior going to start in OF for a couple weeks? Wlad to play everyday? Clement coming back? Etc, etc, etc?
I’m just bummed I’m gonna have to wait even longer to see him start the season. It’s crazy to think he’s only missed 16 games in the last 8 years. It makes an 8 game absence seem like forever.
Yea, just heard the breaking news about the ulcer on Sportscenter. It’s been a bad week for the M’s.
Well, they still have Wilson on the roster, they hadn’t sent him down yet. They’ll want an extra outfielder, so I don’t see Clement coming back for two weeks.
It makes the interview Baker posted, illustrating the stresses Ichiro put on himself, even more pointed.
Is an ulcer really that serious to put him on the DL?
FWIW,
“He was examined by doctors in Arizona who determined that he had suffered a bleeding ulcer. The ulcer is not bleeding now, but in the interim, doctors have ordered restricted activity.
“It was a very difficult decision to place Ichiro on the disabled list,” Zduriencik said, “especially since we know what a fierce competitor he is, and how important it is to him to help the team. However, we determined it was in both his best interest, and the best interest of the club, to place him on the DL at this time.” ”
It may have been the only way to guarantee he did go on “restricted activity”
At least it’s not something too serious guys…
So was the ulcer from stress of the WBC?
Mike Wilson isn’t on the 40-Man…
At least Balentine will get some at bats in the start of the season before he rides some pine for a while.