SEATTLE -- Mariners manager Eric Wedge moved Chone Figgins from second to eighth in the batting order, so naturally he was asked if it's possible that leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki could be moved down if he doesn't snap out of the funk he found himself in entering Monday. Ichiro entered the Memorial Day game against Baltimore in a 6-for-42 (.143) slump since May 19, including going 1-for-22 in his last five games.
"It's not something I've thought about to this point," Wedge said. "But like I've said before, I'm the manager of the team. Anything's a possibility. But don't underestimate the power of timing in this game. Baseball, more than any other sport, it's 162 games, six months. You're going to do something, you better ... be sure that it's the right thing to do at the right time."
Wedge said he had a productive talk with Ichiro prior to Monday's game and that there's nothing wrong physically with his right fielder.
"He's gone through spells before, and he'll come through this, too," Wedge said. "It's my job to support him, it's his teammates' job to support him, and they'll lean on each other like they've been doing. I want to make sure he doesn't put too much heat on himself. I want to make sure he doesn't feel like he has to do it all by himself. I want to make sure he doesn't focus on trying to do too much, too quickly, making up for it."
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