Bleacher Report - Articles by Ricky Smallz

Ichiro Suzuki: Silent Hitting Machine

Ricky Smallz — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:01:29 -0400

Ichiro Suzuki entered the league just nine years ago. He won the A.L MVP and the Rookie of the Year in his first year while leading the Mariners to 116 wins (a MLB record).

He averages over 200 hits per season and a career batting average of .331. In 2004 Ichiro broke the most hits in a single season with 262.

He owns the record for most hits in a four-year span. Between 2001 and 2004 Ichiro got 922 hits. He has also appeared in eight straight All-Star games.

In-human at the plate, Ichiro is also a "Beast" on the field. Ichiro has won a gold glove for right field each year of his career.

Ichiro is now in the middle of his longest hitting streak of his career, 27 games. The big question is, how far can he go?

In 2004 Suzuki hit .450 in a 56 game span. During Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hit streak he hit .405.

With the speed and quickness out of the box, Ichiro always is a threat to beat out infield hits. His unusual batting stance also gives him an upper edge.

Ichiro has all the tools to continue his streak for much more games. Tony Kornheiser, host of ESPN's P.T.I gives him 42 games. His partner Michael Wilbon said he will hit less than 35.

With the NBA and NHL finals going on it gives Ichiro time to rack up the hits without media watching him 24/7. Ichiro, playing in Seattle, doesn't get as much television time as the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, and Cubs players do.

You can say Ichiro is the best kept secret in the Majors. You could also argue one of the best players.

Ichiro is a very humble player and plays with a great passion. He reminds me of a Japanese version of Roberto Clemente.

Who knows what might happened? He could go for 57 or may be done at 28.

In 2005 Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies hit in 36 consecutive games. That's still 20 games until Dimaggo's 56.

Ichiro will have to hit until July 7, in which he will be at 56 games. The record for now remains untouched and safe.

Ichiro will go to continue his streak on June 5 against the twins. Ichiro will be facing Fransisco Liriano. Ichiro has faced him 15 times previously and is batting .400 against him.

Braves: Consistently Inconsistent

Ricky Smallz — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:30:07 -0400

The Atlanta Braves need something more than offense and a decent bullpen. They need something to get them rolling. They need a boost of some sort to shoot them to the top of the NL East. Only two and a half games back, a winning streak could really go a long way for the inconsistent Braves.

The longest streak they have had all year has been three games when they swept the slumping Blue Jays and the Nationals back in the first week of the season.

Out of the first place teams in the MLB the Phillies have the shortest streak at five games. Texas, Detroit, and Milwaukee all have streaked for seven straight, and Boston leads all first place teams with 11 consecutive wins.

If the Braves can stay in the hunt for the East, one six or seven game winning streak could put them in the leader spot. The only problem is winning the games.

The Braves best 10 game span was May 10th through May 21st. The Braves went six and four and gained no ground on the Phillies.

It's not going to be a Phillies collapse to cause the Braves to obtain first place. It's going to take a huge effort from the bullpen and offense for Atlanta to streak.

The Braves are preparing for a five game road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This may not be a bad thing. Last year the Braves were pretty terrible on the road. This year the Braves are 12-10 on the road and 11-12 at home.

After Arizona the Braves head back home for a 10 game home stand where they will face the Cubs, the Brewers, and the Pirates. The Braves have potential to really do well in the next 15 games.

The consistently inconsistent Braves could really turn their season around these next few weeks. It's up to the shaky bullpen to stand stable. The mysterious offense will have to become reliable. The Braves need to stop being average and start being a first place caliber team.

Braves' Future Looks Good with June on the Horizon

Ricky Smallz — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:50:23 -0400

Whatever happened to the Atlanta Braves’ dominance in the NL East? They're 36 games into the young season and some may be counting them out. Yes, they are in third and they are three games back, but it’s nothing new.

Do the Atlanta Braves really need to worry?

The 18-18 Braves are not in unfamiliar territory. In the last nine years, at this exact point in the season, the Braves have been in third or worse five times. Three of those times, the Braves went on to win the NL East.

In 2001, the Braves were 17-19 in fifth place. We all know what the outcome of that season was: the Braves went on to win their 11th straight division title.

In 1995, the year the Braves went on to win the World Series, they were in third place, had a 20-16 record, and were 4.5 games back. The Braves weren’t in first until July fourth.

The Braves are not known for fast starts in a season, but for June and July. Between 2000 and 2005, the Braves highest or second highest month winning percentage was July. The highest winning percentage of the six years was 2002 in June. The braves were 20-5 and had a winning percentage of 800 percent.

In the last nine years, despite 2008’s 400% winning percentage, the Braves never went below 500% in the month of July.

With Chipper and McCann healthy, the Braves are set to finish May out strong. The Braves staff is in good shape with 5-1 Derek Lowe and 23-year-old Jair Jurrjens leading the way. The Braves are getting good production out of their young players, Yunel Escobar and Jeff Francoeur. Braves have high hopes for rookie center fielder Jordan Schafer to come around for the future months. Right now, not even a crystal ball can see the Braves' future in the young 2009 season.

Stats from baseball-reference.com.