Ichiro's Teammates Wanted to 'Knock Him Out'

We've known for a while that things were bad in Seattle -- losing 100 games takes its toll -- but today Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times offers a clue how bad things have been. When Ichiro Suzuki opened the year in a slump (relatively speaking -- he still hit .259 in April), tensions in the clubhouse grew:

"I just can't believe the number of guys who really dislike him," said one clubhouse insider. "It got to a point early on when I thought they were going to get together and go after him."

The coaching staff and then-manager John McLaren intervened when one player was overheard talking - in reference to Ichiro - about wanting to "knock him out." A team meeting was called to clear the air.

There has to be more to the story: Ichiro started slow, but so did a lot of guys in that lineup, and if there's one guy on the team who deserves the benefit of the doubt it's him. Baker said a team meeting had to be called in 2007, as well, 'because of clubhouse bickering over Ichiro being a 'selfish' player."

Apparently there were more rumblings later this season when Ichiro played through a hamstring injury. It didn't affect his work at the plate -- he's hit .312 or better every month since April -- but did limit his ability to get to certain balls in the gap in right field. Was it selfish for him to continue racking up hits? Would it really have made a difference had he sat and let someone like Jeremy Reed (.279/.315/.364) take his at-bats? It just doesn't make sense.

Ichiro is undeniably the face of the franchise, but because of the language barrier (as well as his personality) he's hardly a vocal presence in the clubhouse or with the media. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the tensions are the result of his teammates being frustrated that he gets all of the accolades (and a fat $90 million extension in July) while they get stuck having to explain what went wrong every night. That can rub people the wrong way even when they're winning (see: Billy Wagner vs. Carlos Delgado in May), let alone when you're stumbling along with the worst record in the game.