Ichiro Suzuki is 51 years old now, dark hair liberally sprinkled with gray, a Hall of Famer tagged with the stuffy title of "special assistant to the chairman" on the Seattle Mariners masthead.

And he's also the physical embodiment of just how long the Mariners have gone between American League West division titles.

Suzuki was just a rookie in 2001 when he kick-started the Mariners to a 116-win season, the AL West title and a Most Valuable Player award to go along with his top rookie honor, seemingly ushering in an era of prosperity.

The game can be cruel, however, and the wait sometimes interminable to repeat such success. Which is why the city of Seattle and the Mariners themselves could finally exhale on Wednesday, Sept. 24, when they defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-2 to seal t

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