PROPS TO A TOTALLY "FRESH" SKATEBOARD KICK UP OFF THE PARK WALL: 

The easy-squeezee headline will be that Carlos Peguero lucked out.  

... not only did his two-bouncer hit the base, but it caught the base perfectly up off a short hop, and shot madly up off the wall for a 720 ollie.  Or something.

It wasn't luck, though.  It was fate finally relenting.  At the time Peguero's bizarro hit flew over a disgusted Erick Aybar's head, the M's had 14 hits, walks, and SB's to the Angels' three.

Don't try to make believe like you got ripped off, Erick.  We won't hesitate for one SECOND to send Carlos and Michael out there.

The M's hits were, according to MLB.com:

• Ichiro Suzuki doubles (11) on a line drive to left fielder Vernon Wells.

Also, to that point, the Mariners had 4 walks and 2 stolen bases to the Angels' 0 walks and 0 stolen bases.  Meantime, the Angels' three baserunners off Bedard -- to that point -- were

• Pointless, meaningless gestures in a game they were barely even present to witness

So don't gimme any lip about Peguero's hit finally getting the M's on the scoreboard.  The Mariners actually beat the Angels about 6-0.  The Angels' luck kept the score down to 3-1.

***

PROPS TO YOUNG ICHIRO. 

Take out your #2 pencil and a clean sheet of paper.  During the streak, Ichiro's 10 hits in 5 games have been:

1. In the air and on a line
2. Often hit sharply to LF
3. Immediately following the "re-set" day off that SSI had golf-clapped
4. Immediately preceding, during, and following the Haren-Weaver buzzsaw
5. Proof positive that Ichiro is not aging in any way
6. Proof positive that Ichiro will play his next game shirtless
7. Soul-cleansing
8. Colon-cleansing
9. Blah, blah what HOF'ers do, blah, blah
10. All of the above
11. None of the above
12. See #5

It's not that 10 hits proves, in a court of law, that Ichiro's still young.  It's that he always was, as SSI argued, and here was the visual reassurance.  Not in the hits:  in the movements.

Here's the deal.  You go sit down on the bench for five minutes, and you see lesser athletes doing stupid stuff, and you go "let me at 'em!  I can post that guy up!" and you re-enter the chaos with positive visuals.  

I mean, for me "lesser athletes" are junior high kids and for Ichiro they're every other human being, but I can identify with him.  The re-set did exactly that.  I'd give him one a month, like Lou did.

It made no sense that Ichiro would be old at 37.  Turns out that he isn't.  Drive home safely.

.

PROPS TO FIGGY'S SWING FOLLOWTHROUGH.  

The last week-odd, since the one game leadoff, Figgy has been accelerating the bat so hard that it just about knocks against his backside - then he whips it back around, pointing it like a rifle, to keep his balance.

And the ball is coming off the barrel of his bat like a rifle shot, since you ax.  That's all in the world it was for Figgins:  swinging like he meant it.

Sports are one thing when you're passively defending against bad things happening, and a different thing when you're enthusiastically attacking towards good things happening.  That's all.

*

Ichiro and Figgy could (we suppose) give us $27M worth of dual leadoff carburetors from here on out.  I got dibs on their nightly turndown and mint service if they do.