Mariners catcher Jeff Clement will start this season in Class AAA. He has some defensive issues to work on, notably, his throws to second base. But also his all-around game-calling. He'll get that chance playing every day down in Tacoma. Should spur some season-ticket sales there."Coming in, offensively I don't think he had the greatest spring,'' Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "But we believe he's got a chance to be a great hitter. It's just continuing that process. I think, defensively, he made some great strides. I think it's just a little more maturity.''
Clement, a first round pick in 2005, joined the Timber Rattlers shortly after signing with Seattle and was a key member of the push to the Championship Series. The catcher before Clement got to town was Rob Johnson. What does Clement starting at Tacoma mean for him? Geoff Baker, the Seattle Times Mariner beat writer continues...
I'd imagine this means Rob Johnson has made the team and Jamie Burke will also head to Tacoma. This second part isn't official, of course. A trade could also change things. But right now, it looks like a Johnson-Kenji Johjima tandem. There's no point having Johnson and Clement fighting for playing time in the minors. Burke could fill his usual backup role with the Rainiers.
The Chain reaction does not stop there. Adam Moore, a member of the '06 Rattlers, looked like he might start 2009 at Triple-A...
I'd also imagine Adam Moore starts off at Class AA, not AAA as had been expected when camp began. As we told you the other day, the team's priority is to get these young guys everyday playing time.
It will be interesting to see what Seattle does with all of these catchers. It will also be interesting to see Johnson if he catches Carlos Silva at any point during the season.
Johnson, by the way, got into a heated dugout exchange with Carlos Silva during yesterday's game against the Angels. Wakamatsu told me it was only a brief exchange and was dealt with immediately and no lingering problems resulted.
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Since i got the new service 3/20 I've been DVR'ing (how did i ever live w/o this amazing technology before?) Mariners Nightly (just a nice half hour show updating that day's game, some interviews, special interest story, etc...why don't the Brewers do this on FSN-WI?) on Fox Sports Northwest and on Friday or Saturdays show they were discussing this very thing.
And by "they" I mean Nicole Zaloumis (there are not nearly enough google imagine search photos of her and what there is doesn't do her justice) and Bill Krueger (Brewers '89-90).
Krueger's opinion (and he noted he had no inside club knowledge on this) was that the Mariners would keep the veteran Burke around to back up Kenji and send both Johnson and Clement to the minors (of course since then Clement was sent down).
I know spring stats don't always tell the story, but in the same number of games (13) Johnson has hit .414 to Burke's .152. And there's never been a question as to Johnson's ability to be a receiver.
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