you say goodbye, I say hello

My wife is taking the bar exam this week in Albany so she is gone for a few days. We've got a 1 1/2 year old son so my mother came to help watch him while I'm at work during the day. When it's just her, they play together, read books, go on walks, eat, etc. When my mother and I are home, I am his best friend, she is public enemy number 1 and he won't even allow her to be in the same room as him. The mere sight of her sends him to tears. When my wife and I are both home, he wants nothing to do with me. So anyway, it's nice to be appreciated for a few days.

Look at what happens when a first-place Yankees team loses four in a row a week before the trade deadline. They acquire a ten-time All Star.

Last night the Yankees played in Seattle and for the first time in his American career, Ichiro was not in the Mariner's dugout. Somehow, Brian Cashman managed to swing a deal to cut the outfielder loose from the M's and add him to a Yankees roster already filled with future Hall of Famers.

I believe this was a very considerate move by the Mariners' office. Ichiro is one of the best and most popular players in team history and transformed the game when he came on the scene 12 years ago. But Seattle is in last place for the third time in four years, Ichiro is 38, in the final year of his contract, and requested a trade. His production is declining and some say his skills are diminished. The Mariners are clearly rebuilding, collecting a good group of young talent, and it is unlikely that they would bring him back next year.

So what did they do? The Mariners traded him to a team that they were playing that day in Seattle, giving the fans a nice opportunity to show their love and appreciation for the great player. The crowd gave him a 45 second standing ovation before his first at-bat. And how often does a Yankee batter get cheered when he gets a base hit in Seattle?? And a bigger cheer when he then steals second? It was also very kind to send their beloved player from the last place team to the best team in the American League, giving the superstar veteran an opportunity to play in a World Series in the back end of his career.

This was not just the Yankees flexing their muscles and intimidating a team from a smaller market, stealing a star, another strike from the "Evil Empire," as one of my friends referred to it. It's a low-burden move. Consider this: the Mariners actually sent the Yankees cash in the deal to help cover some of his remaining contract. The Yankees front office met with Ichiro and had a list of conditions: he would have to be willing to switch positions from right field to left, he would likely bat in the bottom of the order, he will likely sit out against lefties. And he would have to waive his no-trade clause. "He was asked to make a lot of sacrifices," Brian Cashman said. "And he agreed to all of them."

For the Yankees, this is a brilliant move. They are getting a guy with speed, something they haven't had since Brett Gardner went out in April. He has 16 stolen bases (including one from Monday's game), which is on pace for the second-lowest total in his career but is still five more than anyone else on the team. Especially towards the bottom of the lineup, that is a great asset. They are getting a 10-time-Gold-Glove-winning outfielder (winning as recently as 2010), replacing Raul Ibanez in right field, a player they brought in to be the DH anyway, so they are instantly improving their defense. Everyone knows the Yankees have plenty of hitting power. That's what Ibanez and Andruw Jones do. But the team doesn't have a guy who can slap an infield hit and steal his way into scoring position. So this gives them an extra dimension. (Remember Johnny Damon in the 2009 World Series, where he stole second and alertly advanced to third base in Game 4 to help win the game?) Ichiro is taking Dewaye Wise's roster spot, and even in this down year he's better than Wise in every way.

I love this move. It's practically risk-free. The Yankees gave away a couple mid-level prospects--not much--and are not burdening themselves with a long-term contract. They are getting one of the most popular baseball players in the world and a classy guy who never gets in trouble. And even if this move doesn't work out and Ichiro doesn't contribute, you re-employ the Ibanez/Andruw Jones platoon that got your team the best record in baseball to begin with. And he's gone at the end of the year anyway. If it does work out, it can be the missing piece to vault them to a World Series title.

To those who look at Ichiro's career low .261 batting average with an OPS near the lowest in the league and say he's got nothing left in the tank: he is .214 at Safeco Field in Seattle and hitting .296 on the road. He's going to a hitter's paradise in the Bronx with a short porch in right. He has good hitters all around him. And when you think that he has probably been bored and uninterested in Seattle lately, moving to the bright lights of Yankees Stadium with playoff tickets in hand will only help. Remember the last time he came to a new situation, he won rookie of the year and league MVP. He's not 27 anymore but he's not intimidated by pressure. This will resuscitate his season, maybe even resurrect his career. He probably won't hit .320 the rest of the way but he could hit .290 or better, and that will be a welcome improvement for everyone.

One other side impact: remember all the international buzz created when the Yankees got Hideki Matsui? The marketing and media coverage jumped exponentially around the world. And now the Yankees have two Japanese players, including pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. That again helps an already booming Yankees brand.

I've written before that Ichiro is the coolest man in the world; the true international man of mystery. He's one of baseball's greatest global icons. I am thrilled to see him on the Yankees, even if for just a few months. Hopefully for more. I'm already singing the song.

How the Yankees can be in talks with the Mariners for two weeks inquiring about a trade for Ichiro, and nobody hears about it until it's done--well, that's why they are the Yankees.