Mike Celizic

SEATTLE - If you’re the Seattle Mariners or just about any other team in baseball, you want Ichiro leading off for you. Even the stat-heads who are spraining neurons left and right in their efforts to demonstrate that he’s not as good as advertised should be able to admit that.

The sticking point for a lot of people is how much it cost the M’s to keep him there — $90 million for five years. He’s not worth it, they say as they bury you with statistics to prove that you’d be almost as well-served by hiring somebody such as Shawn Green instead.

Doesn’t anybody watch the game anymore? It’s like the tired Derek Jeter argument. The stats guys say he’s not a very good shortstop. The eyeballs of anyone who actually watches him play day in and day out say he’s one of the game’s greatest players. That includes other major leaguers, who look at Jeter as the model for how they’d like to play the game.

That’s the way it is with Ichiro. Watch the guy play. Watch the effect he has on the game. Pitchers hate facing him. Infielders get antsy when he’s up, knowing everything speeds up when he puts the bat on the ball. He’s a distraction to pitchers and catchers when he’s on first. He’s a pain in the backside in the best possible way.

And for all the flaws they can demonstrate with statistical analyses, Ichiro is right now as good a leadoff hitter as there is in the game. He’s an international star who sells tickets and merchandise both here and in Japan.

He’s an All-Star MVP who set the all-time record for the most hits in a season.

He’s leading the league in putouts in centerfield.

He’s worth the going price for a player as good as he is, which as of right now is $18 million. The Mariners recognized that, swallowed hard, and ponied up the money. Good for them.

Here’s where the "yeah-buts" start. "Yeah, he’s really good, but he doesn’t hit enough home runs." "Yeah, he’s a good lead-off hitter, but Rickey Henderson was better." "Yeah, he gets a lot of hits, but he should walk more." "Yeah, he’s great, but he’s not worth $18 million."

These aren’t arguments. They’re the spasmodic sputtering of people who worry way too much about how rich people spend their money.

So don’t tell me about all the people better than he who aren’t making as much. We know he’s not Albert Pujols, who is four years into a seven-year, $100-million deal. But those guys signed when they did for what they got.

Ichiro is signing now for more money because he’s a great player who’s hitting the market at the right time for a guy looking to pad his retirement account.

Two years ago and even last year, Ichiro wasn’t worth $18 million. That’s where the market was. But now that Scott "Dr. Evil" Boras has pretty much established that the price for Alex Rodriguez’ services in 2008 is going to be $30 million a year, Ichiro is worth $18 million, because he’s at least two-thirds the player A-Rod is.

Marlins president David Samson thinks that giving Ichiro $18 million a year isn’t a sign that the Apocalypse is upon us. He thinks it is the Apocalypse.

"It's a joke, it's inexcusable, it's complete mismanagement. It can't be true," he told Dan Le Betard on a Florida radio station. "It'll take the sport down, that contract. Right back to the ridiculous contracts. It can't be."

Sorry, David, but I can’t help it if you can’t afford to pay $18 million for your entire roster. Ichiro is worth what somebody will pay him, and that’s $18 million. And it won’t destroy the salary structure.

It won’t really change much of anything. The teams with money will keep throwing it around, and the teams without money will scrimp and save. And the teams in the middle will decide if it’s worth the asking price to keep their superstar and either pay it or let him walk.

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The M’s are paying it for several compelling reasons: They want to keep him on the team; he’s a fan favorite; he’s a great centerfielder and lead-off hitter; they have no choice.

The biggest reason is the first. They feel he’s a crucial part of what they’re trying to build. With him hitting lead-off, the Mariners have climbed into the AL West race and are looking to stay there. They’re giving him the money.

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This isn’t going to be pleasant for the small-market teams like Samson’s Marlins. But they were priced out of contention before this. Ichiro’s contract changes nothing. If baseball wants the bottom-feeders to be more competitive, the sport will find new ways to share revenues and cap payrolls. So far, it hasn’t wanted to do that, so Samson can go on boo-hooing his fate from now until dogs stop licking themselves, it’s not going to change.

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