CHICAGO - Guys on the good teams aren't the only ones playing great. Ichiro Suzuki continues his attempt to hit as high as the Mariners' winning percentage.
Entering the weekend Ichiro was at .366. The Mariners were at .378.
Ichiro led the AL batting race by 22 points over Melvin Mora and 32 over Ivan Rodriguez, and he had 27 more hits than anyone in the league with 189 in Seattle's 119 games. That's a pace for 257 this season, which would tie George Sisler's 1920 major-league record.
"That guy's a hitting machine," said Seattle right-hander Bobby Madritsch, a rookie from Chicago. "You could skip-bounce it into home plate and he'll still hit a double."
Ichiro was 10th in the batting race after June but has hit .492 since July 18. He had 50 hits in May, 51 in July and entered the weekend with 33 in August, hitting .508 for the month.
Ichiro, 30, is chasing his ninth batting title. He won seven in Japan and one as a Seattle rookie in 2001. He already has reached 851 hits in his first four seasons, breaking Paul Waner's 75-year-old mark for most hits in that span at the start of a career. His career total is 2,129 hits, which includes 1,278 in Japan.
"I don't wonder why I'm getting these hits," Ichiro said. "At this point in my career, I should be doing what I'm doing."
UNSIGNED, NOT UNWANTED: Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. wishes he already had signed Edgar Renteria to a contract extension. He says keeping the All-Star shortstop beyond this season "is not something we take lightly."
But Renteria seems irked the club has let him get this close to free agency.
"Earlier I wanted to talk about it, but nothing," Renteria said. "If they want to talk to me later, I'll talk. Right now I just want to play."
NOT SO FAST: This isn't looking like John Smoltz's last season in Atlanta, after all. It wasn't clear if the Braves would pick up their closer's $12-million option for 2005, but that is looking like a moot point. Smoltz's option vests if he finishes 57 games. The save he picked up Thursday in Los Angeles was the 47th game he finished.
He heads toward the postseason much stronger than a year ago, in part because Bobby Cox conserved him early in the season. He entered the weekend having gone 23-for-24 in save chances since June 15, with an 0.71 ERA in 32 games during that stretch. His 142 saves are a franchise record.
ON THE MOVE AGAIN: Esteban Loaiza is listed tentatively as the Yankees starter Monday, but there are strong whispers he's about to go to his third team this season. He's 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts since the White Sox traded him, allowing 32 baserunners in 171/3 innings, and apparently he no longer fits in Joe Torre's rotation, setting the stage for a possible trade to Texas.
The Rangers, desperate for starting pitching, reportedly are offering a package of prospects for Loaiza, who will be a free agent after the season.
WHISPERS: You wonder if the Yankees foresaw Andy Pettitte's health problems when they allowed him to leave as a free agent. He'll be back with Houston in 2005, but there's no guarantee the Astros will get the horse they thought they were getting. ... The Royals are listening to offers for left-handers Darrell May and Brian Anderson, who cleared waivers. ... It's hard to see how the Expos will wind up any place except the Washington, D.C., area. The most aggressive push lately is from a group looking to land the team in a stadium south of Dulles Airport in northern Virginia.
Information from the Chicago Tribune and the Dayton Daily News was used in this report.
