Some Positives To Signing Ichiro

(I'll admit it.  He looks pretty good right there.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

By now I don't really need to remind everybody that I'm firmly against re-signing Ichiro Suzuki for next season (even though I just kinda did right there).  But with the available free agent cupboard left pretty bare after last week's Winter Meetings, and the Yankees appearing unlikely to get seriously involved in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes unless his price goes WAAAAAAAYYYY down, talks about the Yankees and Ichiro started heating up again over the weekend.  Yesterday Ken Rosenthal reported that there was "strong interest" on both sides in bringing Ichiro back for 2013, and this morning Jon Heyman reported that the Yanks and Ichiro were hoping to have a deal done "within the next few days."

I'm not going to be happy if/when this deal becomes official, and everybody knows my reasons.  But there's been a lot of support for Ichiro in both the comments section of this blog and on the AB4AR Facebook Page anytime I bring him up in a negative context.  So in an attempt to shelf the negativity until the deal gets done, and to appease the AB4AR masses who are so pro-Ichiro, here are some positive things I can say about him and what he'll be able to offer the Yankees should they re-sign him this week.

A-Rod's Relieved After His Latest Injury. Me? Not So Much

(Not a sign of relief.  Courtesy of the AP)

After his latest hip injury and required surgery was announced a week ago today, Alex Rodriguez made his first public comments on the situation this past weekend.  Speaking to reporters at a charity function he attended, A-Rod had this to say about the new injury to his left hip:

“I’m not concerned. I’m actually, in many ways, relieved that there’s something tangible that we can go fix.”

He went on to drop lines about being committed to coming back, confident that he can return to form, and ready to take on the challenge of rehab and recovery, all the usual talking points for a great athlete coming back from a serious injury.  The problem with all of it is that it rings incredibly hollow at this stage in A-Rod's career.  I know he can't come out and say, "yeah, you know, the last one sapped a lot of my power, and now that I've got to have surgery on the other hip I don't expect to be a great everyday player anymore," but I'd also like to think that he he's self-aware enough to know that this is probably it for him and that he knows we all know this is it for him too.  Because if there's anything about his career path since the first hip surgery that Alex finds relief in, he needs to look up the definition of the word.