Is Ichiro bored?

You might have seen a few articles noting Ichiro's new assault on the record books. Along with his new M's record of triples in a year (12) he also is threatening to break the lowest batting average for a player collecting over 200 hits in a year.

Which makes you wonder- why the slide in average this year?

His HR total is up. He actually has scored more runs this year then he did last year collecting those record hits. And yet we aren't used to seeing Ichiro with a batting average under .300

Is it possible he is bored?

Or to put it another way, is there simply little to challenge him at the moment? We haven't really put much thought into the play of veterans like Ichiro and the effect of losing 90+ games several seasons in a row can have. But you it HAS to have some impact. Certainly a veteran like Ichiro who takes the game so seriously is always going to try hard, but the motivation has to wane when your team continues to lose game after game.

The M's are the 3rd worst team in the AL (thanks to Lou and the hapless Royals). They are setting records for spending as much money as they do, and getting so little in return.

It is something to consider when looking at what Ichiro is doing at the plate this year.