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Thank you for an interesting post Tad.  It gives good food for thought.  I have to respectfully disagree with you however.
I'm not sure if you too have experienced life in another country, where you start to learn a new language and culture from scratch, but it is a daunting matter.  I'm trying to do the reverse that Ichiro is doing in Japan right now, as an American living in Kyushu.  I have managed to achieve "conversational fluency" at this point after 10 years in and out of the country, but EVERY SINGLE DAY I find myself beating my head against a wall in frustration that I cannot communicate my thoughts to the same degree that I can in English.  It's a constant battle not to lose myself to frustration.  If you speak another language, you'll know what I mean when I say that your personality changes when you speak another language.  Often you lose confidence if nothing else, but words and language drastically shape our behavior and thought patterns (I can give you a reading list on the subject if you would like from my colleagues in linguistics, but Derida [sp?]'s Gramatica would be a start).
For a perfectionist like Ichiro, I suspect this is the reason why he has not been more vocal.  The reason I make this argument is that, if you look at his work in the WBC, he WAS leading the Japan team, and he WAS extremely vocal.  What is the difference in circumstances?  Communcation.  It's very, very difficult to lead and command when you cannot communicate the heart of what you're trying to say.  Being a vocal leader and moving people WITH WORDS is extremely difficult when you're stumbling for the right nuance.  Saying, "Let's go team!" is easy.  Trying to rally a crew of individuals with a motivational speech when you can only communicate 60 to 80% of what you wish to say is difficult.
It's for this reason that I suspect Ichiro chooses to lead by example in his work ethic.  Edgar did the same, and I'm a bit frustrated by the double standard which exists in this area.  Edgar was never criticized for his silent but stoic attitude, while Ichiro is.  I'm not sure why, although I have my suspicions (which make me too depressed just to think about).
I think for those who DO appreciate a lead by example personality though, Ichiro does receive a deep amount of respect.  Raul Ibanez was one such example, who was quoted in Drayer and Baker's articles as highly impressed by Ichiro and all he did.  It's those who did not appreciate this view (aka JJ "I'll blame everyone else for my trouble" Putz and Carlos "It's not my weight that's causing me to pitch poorly" Silva). 
Finally, I think there's the issue of personality styles.  Some people just aren't cut out to be leaders, and forcing them to do so only produces "a fake."  We could say, "Why doesn't ARod lead the Yanks?"  He doesn't have that personality.  If he tried to take over the team, no one would follow him.  Ichiro may just not have that personality (although as I mentioned above, I suspect it's more an issue of communication as the evidence from Japan provides).
Respectfully,
Jeff in Japan