Clement and M’s Show Some Life

Don’t look now, but the Mariners have suddenly won two series in a row, sparked by Jeff Clement’s two-dinger performance last night. They’ve got a huge hike just to get back to respectability and avoid the specter of being the first team with a $100M+ payroll to lose 100 games—hey, I’d take $1M to lose a game, wouldn’t you? —but the signs are there. Some of them, anyway.

Clement had been scuffling of late, 0-8 in his past two games, and his average sat at .170/.282/.295 as he muddled around at the bottom half of the lineup. OF course, starting at DH last night and hitting fourth was Jose Vidro, with a comparatively robust .220/.268/.322—in the 2008 Mariners lineup, twenty-eight points of slugging is evidently the difference between fourth and eighth in the batting order. Superstinker Richie Sexson, hitting seventh, went into the night with a .222/.313/.377 line (which only looks awful until you note that his OPS is almost thirty points higher than it was two weeks ago), while the best slugger on the team, Adrian Beltre, had a swell-looking .253/.324/.449, and was hitting fifth.

Riggleman is likely looking to mix things up and get the Mariners hitting, and these numbers speak volumes about the dull set of tools he’s been given to work with. Still, one wonders if Clement will be getting some time hitting higher in the order, or if Riggleman wants to give him some confidence sooner. You might make an argument for this, as well as for using Beltre to protect Vidro, but this seems like a waste of Beltre.

Still, Riggleman’s doing something right, since the Mariners are now 7-3 in their last ten games, and are only ten games . . . . out of third place. But progress is progress, and hopefully Clement’s two homers are a sign of more improvement around the corner.

Clement’s one of the building blocks of the future, currently in a sort of rotation between DH and catcher, which seems smart, except when you realize that Kenji Johjima was inked to a three-year, $24 million deal by Bill “Big Bucks” Bavasi, who was slinging around unexpected (and often undeserved) dollars during his recently terminated tenure at GM. Clement’s an offensive force, and solid behind the dish, while Johjima offers a good presence behind the plate, but not at it. Putting Johjima at first base or DH makes no more sense than any of the current guys at these positions: Sexson, Vidro or Miguel Cairo.

But whatever happens with Johjima, Clement is the real deal, and was ripping up the minors (to the tune of .337/.457/.680) before the Mariners brought him up to stay. He’s had some adjustments to make at the big-league level, and last night was but a taste of things to come. Facing Armando Gallaraga in the sixth, his team down 2-0, Clement pasted a ball to deep right for a solo shot. Then, in the eighth inning, with fireballer Fernando Rodney trying to shut the door on the Mariners, Clement went deep again to right, an awe-inspiring two-run dinger that gave Seattle the lead.

This is what happens when you give major-league talent time to adjust. Whether it’s because they’re in the bigs for the first time, or are just in a slump that every hitter faces throughout their careers, players need time to work through problems. And Clement has been given that chance, unlike the brief look he got earlier this season before being sent down. You stick with a guy, not only to give him confidence, but also to give him a look at opposing pitchers, as well as giving your front office a look at his skills. No sense moving prospects in and out of the starting lineup like you’re playing fantasy baseball—not when you’re mired in last place and playing for the seasons yet to come, and not for this one.

I’ve been calling for a longer-term view to the Mariners game plan, and this is a good sign that someone in Seattle agrees with me, whether it’s Riggleman, new GM Lee Pelekoudas, or some unnamed exec in their front office. Let Jeremy Reed hit against lefties for the same reason, to let him work the kinks out. Bring up some more guys who might be ready to give them a longer look—to make room, either move or dump Sexson, Vidro and Carlos Silva. Try and move Adrian Beltre.

Don’t give up on any of your young guys in the bullpen, and think about stretching Morrow out as a starter instead of branding him as closer so soon in his young career. Sure, it’s nice to have a guy to slam the door shut this year, but Putz will be back eventually, and we’re better served by working on long-term goals for Morrow, instead of relegating him to fill-in duty at closer.

Clement offers a valuable lesson on patience and a long-term view, one which Riggleman and Mariners management would be good to heed. For the fans part, we should also see the merits of this sort of approach. Wait ‘til next year, and take pride in saying of tomorrow’s stars that You Saw ‘Em When They Were Young.