Rany Jazayerlie

"They've taken the money that Rodriguez wouldn't accept and used it on another high-stakes gamble with a Japanese player, and, like Kazuhiro Sasaki before him, Ichiro Suzuki looks like he's worth every penny. Three years ago the Seattle Mariners had four of the greatest players in the game,but had such appallingly little depth that they could not convert their great core into a great team. But today, with only Edgar Martinez left from their superstar quartet, the Mariners are a better team, because they have learned that no player is great enough that he can win on his own. So give credit to the Mariners, who have shown the resilience that only a strong organization can possess. Like the successful teams before them that have lost a great player and soldiered on, they are proving that baseball is still a team game, and that no player -- not even the Quarter Billion Dollar Player -- can change that." -Rany Jazayerli, sportswriter