<div>Let's hope this report is accurate!</div> <div> TL</div> <div><STRONG><FONT size=5></FONT></STRONG> </div> <div><STRONG><FONT size=5>M's set to sign Ichiro to 5-year deal</FONT></STRONG> </div> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><B></B> </DIV> <DIV><B>By Larry Stone</B><BR><I>Seattle Times staff reporter</I></DIV> <DIV>SAN FRANCISCO — One of the Mariners' biggest concerns this season is about to be resolved. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The club is on the verge of locking up Ichiro, their All-Star outfielder whose contract was set to expire after the season, to a five-year contract extension, The Seattle Times has learned. Indications are the deal will approach $100 million and could be announced Friday. </DIV> <DIV>An agreement is said to be imminent. Though it is not yet signed, all sides appear to be in agreement in principle on the parameters of the deal, which would run through the 2012 season.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Ichiro said during
Monday's interview session at the All-Star Game in San Francisco that the team's performance this year had changed his thinking about re-upping with the club. In spring training, he indicated he was leaning toward filing for free agency after the season, but now he is set to remain a part of the club's long-term future.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Ichiro signed a four-year, $41 million contract before the 2004 season that will pay him $11 million this season. He is making his seventh straight All-Star appearance and his sixth start this season. He will lead off and play center field for the American League squad tonight at AT&T Park.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Ichiro is a two-time batting champion and was the American League most valuable player in 2001, his first year after coming over from Japan to considerable fanfare. The Mariners paid a $13.1 million posting fee to his Japanese team, the Orix Blue Wave, for the rights to Ichiro, and then signed him to a
three-year, $14 million contract.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In 2004, Ichiro set a major-league record with 262 hits. He is having another strong season in 2007, reaching the All-Star break with a .359 average, 61 runs, 128 hits, 39 runs batted in, and 23 stolen bases in 25 attempts.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On Monday, Ichiro said the Mariners' strong first half -- a 49-36 record that left them in second place, 2½ games behind the Angels had "definitely influenced" his decision on his future. He praised the talent of the club and said that it had shed the losing culture that developed from three straight last-place finishes.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"At this point right now,'' Ichiro said on Monday, "I don't see a speck of that kind of mentality, with this team we have right now."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And now Ichiro is ready to stay with the Mariners for the long haul.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=copyright><A
href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/general/copyright.html" target=_top>Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company</A></DIV><!-- FROM MB --><p> 
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