Still unsure exactly what to expect from the Japanese newcomer, Lou Piniella kept waiting for the rookie to pull a ball. Too many hits sprayed to left field, Sweet Lou thought, too easy for defenses to adjust.So the veteran Seattle manager summoned the translator and told him to deliver a message to Ichiro Suzuki: I want to see some bat speed.Piniella saw them huddle in the dugout and share a laugh. A couple of innings later, Suzuki led off with a home run into the bullpen in right-center.He rounds the bases, he steps on home plate, and he says, `Happy now? when he shook my hand, Piniella recalled. I said, `Yeah, yeah, you can do whatever you want.All these years later, with Suzuki on the verge of joining the 3,000-hit club in the big leagues, his first skipper in the majors is taking a lot of pride in watching the pursuit. As much as Piniella believed in Suzuki from the start and was in awe of those early accomplishments with the Mariners, he never would have guessed the outfielder would still be playing at age 42 and going for such a lofty perch.Suzuki hit .335 with a .412 on-base percentage in 164 at-bats over the first half with Miami. He reached 2,991 hits Friday night with a pinch single in the eighth inning of the Marlins 7-6 victory at St. Louis in the return from the All-Star break.Now gray-haired and no longer a regular in his 16th major league season, Suzuki might have lost a step, but not much. Credit his commitment to an intense regimen that has long included an on-deck routine that features a deep warmup squat, then a one-of-a-kind stance and a sweeping twirl of his bat.Suzuki was 27 and had 1,278 hits in Japan before he came to the big leagues. Piniella got so excited after Suzukis two-hit debut in 2001 that he kissed him.I was so happy for him, thats why, Piniella said. Its hard for a player to come here from Japan, especially with the scrutiny that he had. Im an emotional guy. I got caught up in the moment. I gave him a hug and at the same time I gave him a little peck. Look, I really enjoyed watching this young man play and I knew from seeing him in spring training that he was a special player.At the time, Suzuki did not come cheaply. Seattle paid $13 million just to secure his rights, and signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract. The Mariners got their moneys worth and then some.Suzuki, better known just by his first name, has long prided himself in preparation.So much so that Piniella had been around no other player like him, with that meticulous stretching before stepping into the batters box to the foot rubdowns he gave himself at his locker with a small wooden tool before and after games.I had never seen it, quite frankly. I was quite amazed by the things that he did, the stretching especially, Piniella said. Here in the United States, we go through a rigorous spring training, but once the season starts prior to the games we have our stretching exercises and then the kids play.He took it to a totally different level. He was fanatical about that and thats probably one of the big reasons that hes playing here at age 42, he said.That first season was a memorable one for many reasons. The Mariners won an AL-record 116 games, clinching the division shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Yet Seattle failed to reach the World Series, losing in five games of the AL Championship Series to the Yankees.Still, Suzuki won AL Rookie of the Year and MVP. Suzukis ability to beat out infield hits at times left Piniella shaking his head.He did have a special year. The team had a special year that year, Piniella said. We won 116 games and Ichiro was a big part of it. Ichiro was a special player. He had really good speed, he had that uncanny ability to put the ball in play. In the outfield, he played as well as you can expect, great throwing arm. He made the adjustment to American baseball very quickly, became one of the leaders in our clubhouse and was accepted by the players. He had a tremendous impact on our team that year.Hes going for his 3,000th hit now, and Im so proud of him. Hes had just a wonderful career. I look forward to the time when hell be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he said.Some of the most memorable hits by the 10-time All-Star didnt even count.In 2007, Suzuki hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history, winning unanimous MVP honors and helping the American League to a 5-4 victory at San Franciscos AT&T Park with a go-ahead, two-run drive that took a crazy bounce off the right-field wall.Hed never hit an inside-the-park homer during his decorated career in Japan.Hes an amazing guy, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. You just take age out of the equation and if you just looked at him as a player, if you evaluated just what you see, not thinking about age, you see a guy that runs above average, plays all three outfield spots, throws above average, hits lefties and righties.His work habits and everything else, for me, just set him apart.---AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report. Jay Prosch Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Kendall Lamm Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-andre-hal-jersey.html . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Alfred Blue Jersey . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Will Fuller V Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions were well on their way to a blowout loss last week, digging themselves a 31-3 hole at Green Bay.Then Marvin Jones Jr. ripped off a 73-yard touchdown catch to give some momentum to Detroit.The Lions still lost, 34-27, but Jones impact on the team has been undeniable. He has given the offense and quarterback Matthew Stafford a legitimate downfield threat. Jones, in his first season with Detroit, has racked up 18 catches for 408 yards, averaging 22.7 yards per catch. Of Jones 18 catches, fully half of them have gone for more than 20 yards, and six have netted Detroit 30-plus yards.Im comfortable within the system, Jones said. I think with all of us, it was kind of automatic. We all grew in the system and early on, learned the system with each other.Jones was listed as limited in practice Thursday with a hamstring issue, but hes been healthy enough so far to lead the NFL with 136.0 receiving yards per game. No one else in the league has more than 325 receiving yards so far this season.Were throwing the ball underneath a lot, but can you get it down the field? offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. Marvin is able to make some plays down the field, and thats good for our offense. If youre an opposing defense looking at our offense, you know you have to be aware of all threats. Marvin went out and made some really big plays, Stafford made some nice throws, O line gave some nice protection. Its a positive development.In four seasons with the Bengals, Jones never aveeraged more than 14 yards per catch.dddddddddddd His 73-yard score against the Packers last week was the longest catch of his career by 24 yards.Before this season, Jones had tallied just two games with more than 100 yards receiving. Hes already done that twice for the Lions, including a career-high 205 in Green Bay. Hes just the fifth Lion to ever surpass the 200-yard plateau.I feel like quite a few of (his catches) have, kind of, been toe-tapping right on the sideline, Stafford said. His body control is really good, obviously has good speed . and hes doing a good job of attacking the ball when its in the air. Were not going to throw a deep ball every play, but if theres opportunities for guys to go succeed at what theyre really good at, Im going to try and give them that opportunity.Game notes Lions cornerback Nevin Lawson was flagged for pass interference at the start of the second quarter against the Packers, resulting in a 66-yard penalty. Lawson said one of his coaches told him the league admitted the call was a mistake. He said he believes pass-interference calls should be reviewable and added: These refs have to be held accountable in some type of way. 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