Ulcer DL's Ichiro

Suffering from severe fatigue, Mariners outfielder Ichiro has been diagnosed with an ulcer and will be placed on the disabled list. Suzuki is scheduled to miss the first week of the season; the injury is retroactive to March 30th.

Baseball fans might not feel used to Suzuki being injured. It doesn’t happen very often. According to the Seattle Times Hot Stone League Blog:

Ichiro has played in 197 consecutive games (dating back to Aug. 26, 2007), the 4th-longest active Iron Man streak in the Majors. He has played in 807 of Mariners last 810 games over the last five seasons, and since coming to Seattle in 2001, has played in 1,280 of 1,296 possible games (missed only 16 games in 8 years).

Suzuki is eligible to return to MLB games on April 15. This makes us glad we didn’t draft him in any fantasy leagues. Wladimir Balentien will probably get some playing time in his absence. And we think he could end up being a cross between a Manny Ramirez and Edgar Martinez as a hitter in about 3 or 4 years. Keep your eye on that kid.