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When Bill Bavasi said "it's a load off" to reach an agreement on a contract for Ichiro, four years for $44 million, he was not kidding.
In fact, there was hardly any time for the Seattle general manager and his staff
to savor the accomplishment, no small feat in light of the unique Trans-Pacific
pressures brought to bear.
The hands had barely shaken on the deal when the Mariners were busy on other matters — another day, another shortstop — this time Rich Aurilia.
Barry Axelrod, agent for the former San Francisco standout, confirmed that Seattle
officials had been in touch.
"The Mariners contacted us early, Pat (Gillick) called and said they might
get back to us," Axelrod said. "Now they've gotten back to us."
If Seattle follows through on Aurilia, whose game is balanced between offense
with good power and nifty defense, he would seemingly be the shortstop, and
Carlos Guillen could be used off the bench or be traded.
Seattle is thought to be one of four or five teams with interest in Aurilia,
32, including Texas, whose involvement depends on their success trading current
shortstop Alex Rodriguez to Boston, the high-flying deal tabled for now, if
not for good.
With A-Rod not moving, Nomar Garciaparra would not be going to the Chicago White
Sox, which kills Seattle's idea of obtaining White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin.
If their recent contact with Axelrod grows into negotiations, which could happen
as early as today, Aurilia would be at least the fifth shortstop the Mariners
have gone after this week. They signed Guillen, and tried for Miguel Tejada,
Omar Vizquel and Valentin.
In addition, Seattle made another offer to the New York Mets to get the anticipated
Jeff Cirillo/Roger Cedeno swap unstuck. Seattle is thought to have bumped the
amount of money they it put in the deal to even out the difference between the
$15.1 million owed Cirillo and $10 million due outfielder Cedeno.
With Ichiro's contract done, the Mariners will focus on those matters, plus
the question of whether to tender a contract to pitcher Freddy Garcia by the
deadline of 9 p.m. tomorrow or trade him.
One of the Mariners' successes in the achievement of making Ichiro happy and
feeling wanted was to help make their 2004 payroll budget in line.
They did this, as expected, by backloading the deal. Ichiro, who was not available
for comment, will get only about $6 million for 2004, plus a portion of the
$6 million signing bonus, which is prorated over the four years. Monies in subsequent
seasons are thought to be considerably higher, possibly around $12 million a
year by the end of the contract.
Seattle officials did all this with owner Hiroshi Yamauchi carefully observing
how they handled Ichiro, who has become an icon as much as a player, a trailblazer
for Japan League position players who want to come to play major-league baseball.
While the Mariners rarely comment on this aspect to their business, Ichiro's
agent, Tony Attanasio, said, "Yamauchi's influence is clear in all things
the Mariners do, most specifically the Japanese players.
"And no matter what deal is done, one year, two years, 10 years, the club
handles it with dignity and class. Negotiations are all reported to Yamauchi
and justifiably so, since he owns the club."
Also, there was the conundrum of dealing with the cultural aspects of the negotiations,
as well as how much to pay a man who is the catalyst for the offense, a popular
draw, the 2001 American League MVP and an annual All-Star and Gold Glover. In
a business where run production usually pays the best, Ichiro is also mainly
a singles hitter.
Atop all that, the outfielder is regarded only as a three-year veteran, yet
his value had to be much more than that.
"As I was coming to the Mariners, it became apparent to me how important
Ichiro is to the club and the community," Bavasi said. "Once I was
here, I came to know how true that is."
Attanasio, asked if Ichiro had any peers, as a man who makes the Mariners' attack
go from the leadoff spot, said there were none.
"No one truly compares," he said. "Ichiro stands alone, a special
player, and one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. You try to find
a guy who does the things he does, lead off and play outfield.
"The Mariners were in a ticklish situation, Ichiro in his first year of
arbitration eligibility. At a guess I'd say this is one of the larger contracts
ever given a first-year eligible player.
"It flies in the face of one of the basic tenets of the business. But we
found a way to get over that."
In the end, the way was to pay Ichiro middle-of-the-lineup money, the way they
used to pay Pete Rose for much the same game. Top-shelf pay for a top-flight
player.