Stand by Your Man

In Sunday’s 6-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro got plunked in the back of the knee in the fifth inning on a 2-2 pitch from Hishashi Iwakuma. It was the second time Mariner pitchers hit Ichiro in six games between them (Felix Hernandez hit him in the same game in Seattle that he hit Jeter and put A-Rod on the DL with a broken hand). So that’s twice Seattle pitchers hit Ichiro in six games, versus zero times in his last 335 games against everyone else. And Iwakuma’s pitch sure looked like it was intentionally aimed at Ichiro’s legs.

Ryan and Ichiro: Tit for tat?

Hmmm. Maybe Ichiro wasn’t everyone’s idol in Seattle. Matsui never liked him, either.

On the other hand, what are Ichiro’s new teammates doing to stand up for their new guy, who has done nothing less than play flawless defense and deliver a hit in every game he has played as a Yankee. Well, by golly, they knocked Mariner shortstop Brandon Ryan (.204) out of the rest of the series. Wow. Good thing Don Zimmer didn’t have to depend on these guys. Where’s A.J. Burnett when you need him?