February 23, 2007
THINK HE'D LIKE HITTING IN FENWAY?:
Is recruiting his new pitch? (Gordon Edes, February 23, 2007, Boston Globe)
The news that Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, frustrated by years of losing in Seattle, may explore free agency after the season has not been lost on Daisuke Matsuzaka.Posted by Orrin Judd at February 23, 2007 12:00 AMMatsuzaka was asked about Ichiro leaving Seattle, and whether as a friend he could entice the former American League batting champion into coming to Boston.
"I had the opportunity to play on the same team with Ichiro for the first time ever in the World Baseball Classic," Matsuzaka said yesterday through interpreter Sachiyo Sekiguchi. "By being on the same team with Ichiro-san, I felt his greatness and his ability and also his reliability. I felt his greatness through that experience.
"If I could be on the same team with him, there would be nobody I could count on more."
Ichiro! has expressed a desire to play for a winning team, which pretty much rules out any more than 19 appearances a year in MLB's most overrated ballpark. (Well, add in a couple more for the postseason sweep...)