Tacoma Bombs prep for callup
Constable Echelon
(Remember: Bombs = Mariners; it’s regional slang)
I’m on record as a Brad Wilkerson hater. I don’t care much for Turbo Vidro or Richie Sexson either. Needless to say recent rumblings that at least Wilkerson and Vidro are playing for their jobs comes as more than welcome. Something’s about to go down.
Jeff Clement is on his way up.
The third overall pick out of USC in the 2005 draft is ready for the bigs…(despite USS Mariner reporting last season that his bat is too slow for a major league fastball).
The Mariners are struggling to score runs, and Clement, a former No. 1 draft pick, tantalizes from afar with his .384 batting average, .685 slugging percentage, seven doubles, five homers and 19 RBIs in 73 at-bats over 22 games.
Great news. That means we get to cut loose some of the dead weight, right?
Clement’s imminent arrival and catcher Kenji Johjima’s new three-year contract extension could be bad news for Jamie Burke, the current backup catcher.
I fucking hope not. Jamie Burke joins Ichiro on our roster as one of the two guys who can reliably hit. Burke employs the wisdom that M’s fans hope will be displayed by Bavasi and McLaren (gulp):
Burke thinks when Clement arrives, it won’t be to back up Johjima. It’ll be to get Clement’s bat into the lineup as much as possible. And having signed Johjima to a $24 million, three-year extension, the Mariners intend to have him play regularly, too.
The Bombs are idiots if they cut Burke. All he does is hit. Clement is a welcome addition, just not in place of any of our incumbent meager offensive talent.
Wladimir Balentien has apparently caught wind of the imminent Clement callup, and has responded with a three homer game last night. By my count that means we could snip Wilkerson AND Vidro stat. Bring in the kids!
Mariners appear ready to call up Jeff Clement (Seattle PI)
Rainiers’ Wladimir Balentien hits three home runs in rout (Seattle Times)
Jeff Clement, A Conversation (USS Mariner)