Not sure how you figure Ichiro to be a 2.0 WAR guy going forward, Doc.
His 1.4 in Seattle this year was divided 0.2 bat and 0.8 glove.
His -0.2 in NY is divided 0.1 bat and -0.5 glove.
I think it is important to note that his defensive WAR from 2009-2011 (per bbref) were:
-0.3
-0.8
-1.1
Was it nice that he pushed hard defensively in his final hurrah with Seattle? Absolutely. But, he is in fact continuing to get older each day. I see no scenario or analysis that is suggestive that he is likely to be a net positive defender for another 2-3 years.
That means ... going forward ... the entirety of his WAR value will come from the plate. He was a 0.7 bat in 2011 and an aggregate 0.3 bat with 20+ games to play this year.
And while I don't quite agree with your conclusions about his eye ... even if I did, the real question is this. Is there any reason to expect it to improve significantly? Ichiro's eye was propped up throughout his career by double digit intentional walks. I completely agree that Ichiro is NEVER going to get a free pass in the context of tne NY lineup - (without the 4 IBBs in Seattle this year, his final Mariner eye would've been 14:40.
Honestly, after an aggregate 0.3 WAR in 2011 ... if he continues his NY pace, he's looking at a final tally of 1.0 or 1.1 WAR this year. Where is he supposed to get the other 1.0 WAR from ... (assuming no additional deterioration due to age)?
My view ... I don't think he's psychologically equipped to deal with a limited role ... getting platooned ... being used routinely as a pinch-hitter. I think his pride simply won't allow that to happen. Barring a serious hot streak in September, I think he returns to Japan for a Griffey-esque farewell tour in 2013. But I certainly don't get where you're penciling him out as a 2.0 to 2.5 guy going forward.
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