Ichiro turns back the clock and Dominates

Ichiro is pleased

Well Ichiro Suzuki turned back the clock and went 9 for 12 with three doubles a home run and four stole bases. He was the key cog in the Yankees sweep of the Jays, especially the second game of the double header in which he stole all four of his stolen bases and hit the go ahead run in the 8th. Perhaps the most impressive part of the series is how well he hit left-handers, he went 7 for in the series with all his extra base hits coming against lefties. Even better one of those doubles would have been an easy triple and very likely an inside the park home run, but it bounced into the stands.The Yankees acquired Ichiro to essentially be a platoon left fielder, but Andruw Jones has been so brutally ineffective in the second half that Suzuki will be pressed into full-time duty going forward and so far it looks like it will be well deserved. Also the speed element that Ichiro showed the last two days has been great as only he and Eduardo Nunez are true stolen base threats with Brett Gardner out and Ichiro wasn't even close to being out on any of his four steals. It cannot be overstated of how good Ichiro looked in this series and how pivotal he was to the sweep of the Blue Jays.

Its been said on this blog that everyone has just been waiting for Ichiro to be a Yankee and this series is exactly what everyone had in mind when they thought about Ichiro in Pinstripes. This series has also sparked many people to ponder the idea of the Yankees retaining Ichiro next season and it does remain a possibility, however if the Yankees retain Nick Swisher then there is no chance. Ichiro just had a great series, but don't forget he is 38 and entering the twilight of his career but these flashes of his former greatness should be great to see for all fans.