Too bad chicks don't dig the squibbler, the seeing-eye single or even the laser up the middle. If they did, baseball might not still be trying to extricate itself from the morass known as PEDs.

If they did, Ichiro Suzuki might be dominating sports pages (paper and digital). During his first at-bat Tuesday night in Seattle, Ichiro sent a pitch into the hole on the left side of the infield forcing Baltimore shortstop Roberto Andino to backhand the ball, which meant the still-speedy Ichiro would be credited with a single, extending his Mariners-record hitting streak to 26 games.

Yeah, that's not even halfway toward Joe DiMaggio's historic 56-game run (a.k.a. The Mark That Will Never Be Broken). But it's the best in two seasons; since 2002, there have been only three longer streaks, led by Johnny Damon's 29-gamer in 2005.

Ichiro, the veteran Seattle outfielder, is the game's best hitter. Period.

No, he doesn't possess the highest average (though his .353 clip ain't shabby), nor does he have the most hits (71, tied for fourth with L.A.'s Orlando Hudson). And he certainly doesn't make a pitcher's knees shake like Albert Pujols does.

In fact, he's more surgeon than slugger, more of a scientist at the plate.

And lately, he's not only been on a tear but he's shown a new twist - pulling the ball.

Ichiro, a left-hand hitter, typically slaps and slices balls over and around helpless shortstops and third basemen. But lately he's been turning on the ball. Last week in Anaheim, he hit a homer and a double to right.

Such is a move of a confident hitter, but Ichiro's confidence isn't new. He may be more relaxed, however, relative to last season when some teammates whispered that the Snoop-loving guy was somehow "selfish," putting himself and his single-minded focus on base hits ahead of the team.

Nonsense, of course. But one could easily draw a correlation between his hot star this season and the new presence of Ken Griffey Jr. The Mariners icon has contributed to a more relaxed air in Seattle, which is hovering just under .500 and hopes to make a run at a postseason berth. But he's taking a particular liking to Ichiro.

He apparently knows Ichioro's most vulnerable "spots." He tickles his teammate mercilessly, and awhile back he had T-shirts made with the No. 51 on the front and "Ichi Balls" written on the back in Japanese.

Ichiro, likely to be the first Japanese player from the majors to be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame, reminds me of the school where the confrontation between pitcher and batter was as much about chess than brute strength, when the batter picked his way through an at-bat rather than crashed it. The only performance enhancer needed is a keen mind and fast hands.

One of his aims this season is to reach 200 hits for the ninth consecutive season, a major league record and one that should be acknowledged with the kind of awe and hosannas usually reserved for ball bashers.

If only the chicks loved the single.

AP photo