We found Ichiro wandering around the 'wilds' of Thousand Oaks, mumbling something like, The playoffs; how did we miss the playoffs?' I dunno, man; the Dodgers and Angels didn't make it, either. In any case, the Cubs and Red Sox, Yankees and Marlins are the last four teams playing, and for the rest, it's the beginning of a long winter. With a daughter going to Humboldt State, near Eureka, we ought to be able to get Ichiro headed back to Seattle well before the 2004 season starts.