I guess this is kind of a streak that went under the radar, but I thought it was pretty cool. Dating back to last season, Ichiro had stolen 45 straight bases without being caught. That’s pretty impressive when you think about it. He was only 5 away from tying Vince Coleman’s record, that is, until he got thrown out on Thursday night. Jose Vidro was up with nobody out and Ichiro on first in the bottom of the 7th and the Mariners trailing 6-3. Then, in what was an obvious hit-and-run play, Jose Vidro botched the sign, failed to swing, and left Ichiro hanging out to dry. Just check out Vidro’s reaction — he completely drops his head in disgust, fully knowing that he screwed up. And Ichiro isn’t even in the picture when the ball arrives at second base. It’s very clear that it was a botched hit-and-run:
Not surprisingly, the Angels announcers completely missed it. Rex Hudler was going on and on about how good Jose Molina is behind the plate, how tough it is to run on him and Colon. Well, that might be the case in general, but it wasn’t at all the case Thursday night. They played the replay again in the 9th, and Hudler went off again, “out by a mile.” Man Rex, you played the game, you’re supposed to be the analyst. Aren’t these plays just the sort of thing you’re supposed to recognize?
UPDATE: It’s been confirmed by the Seattle Times that it was a busted hit-and-run play
