the shrewdness of apes

with baseball on the All-Star break, i've been watching a lot of soccer. both the Copa America and the Under-20 World Cup have been well worth tuning in to, even when the only option has been a Spanish language broadcast (ESPN picked up the U.S. vs. Brazil U-20 match, but left tonight's U.S.-Uruguay quarterfinal on ESPNU, which ain't available on Time Warner here). the U.S. beat Uruguay in extra time, while Argentina destroyed Mexico in the Copa America semifinal. and right now Brazil is about to take on Spain in another U-20 quarterfinal. and the U.S.-Brazil match - won in fascinating fashion by the U.S. - might be the best game i've seen in a year.

but my real point in posting tonight was baseball related because i was incredulous at the news that the Mariners are considering giving Ichiro! a 5-year, $100-million contract extension. i mean, are they on crack? are they that wowed by his performance in an exhibition game? sure, right now he's having his best season (as measured by OPS+), but he's a 33-year old, singles hitting outfielder and there is almost no chance of his being worth $20 million a year at age 35, let alone at age 38. i understand that he's the face of the franchise, but it's unbelievable that some owners in baseball are still willing to ignore all common sense and logic as they piss away money on idiotic contracts.