"He'll catch, play a bit of second," Cashman will say. "On days where Alex's rheumatism is acting up, he'll get some time at DH. He comes in educated and understanding the situation, and we'll see where it goes."

In baseball terms, Ichiro is a passable player at a position where the Yankees could use one. He has poor numbers, having hit .261 with no walks or power for Seattle this year, but a lot of that has to do with park effects—the Mariners are first in the league in scoring on the road and by far last in scoring at home—and he's still excellent in the field and on the bases. Think of him as being like an ancient NBA role player, useful within certain narrow constraints. Marcus Camby may not be able to sink threes or play 35 minutes a game, but you'd have to be dumb or desperate to ask him to. The Yankees are neither.