How to Tell Nothing is Going On

by Matthew on Feb 23, 2009 4:40 PM PST in Miscellaneous

Until the Mike Wilson re-signing news came out, these were the only three pieces of "news" related to the Mariners today, courtesy of Rotoworld and MLB:

Clement getting crash course at first. Mariners backup catcher increases versatility by learning new spot.
New Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said he'd consider batting Yuniesky Betancourt second to begin the season.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit five home runs during his first batting practice session with the Mariners.

None of these are news. Some of them seem like news thanks to creative summarizing in order to desperately drum up interest, but I'll take these in order and explain why these are showing up because of a 24-hour news cycle and not because they have any significance.

JEFF CLEMENT AT FIRST BASE?

Source: Here

What you might think: We have been talking a lot about Jeff Clement's defense at catcher and how sticking behind the plate really helps his value, but that reports have been pessimistic about his long term future at the position. He must have shown up to camp and not made any progress over the winter and thus, they are preparing to move Clement to first base and DH.

The Reality: The Mariners are considering Clement as a possible emergency first baseman. Like if Chris Shelton, Mike Sweeney, Russell Branyan and whomever else the team might carry with 1B experience all decide to defect to Russia to fulfill their secret lifelong dreams of starring in the least artistic ballet ever produced. Now, that would be news. This isn't.

Key Quote: "I'll continue to work at it and hope to reach the point where I feel good enough to get into a game if they ask me to." Clement figures to get most of his playing time this season as the designated hitter and backup catcher to Kenji Johjima.

YUNIESKY BETANCOURT BATTING SECOND?

Source: Here

What you might think: Betancourt has a career .305 OBP. Don Wakamatsu apparently went to the Dusty Baker school of filling out lineup cards, but only managed a B- average.

The Reality: Remember this? Betancourt's first appearance in the on deck center while Ichiro was at the plate was August 22nd and though he did log the majority of the September games batting second, who cares? A lot of those games featured Matt Tuiasosopo, Bryan LaHair and Miguel Cairo (holy crap we were bad).

Key Quote: There isn't one because this is all based on a throwaway line from Wakamatsu that isn't reprinted as far as I can find. Clearly, everyone down in Peoria is taking the matter seriously.

GRIFFEY HITS FIVE HOME RUNS IN BP

Source: Here

What you might think: Oh god, more Griffey love

The Reality: Yep, it's more Griffey love. It's batting practice! Batting practice!

Key Quote: The line came in the midst of an article transition discussing Griffey's sense of humor with his new teammates and a quote from Wakamatsu about how Jr. says his legs feel better.

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And by writing those stories, I got to write this story about why their stories aren't important.

Ain’t media grand?

by Matthew on Feb 23, 2009 4:48 PM PST reply actions

So Griffey is the starting LFer?

right?

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 4:56 PM PST reply actions

If he can hit 5 home runs a day in batting practice then he really can hit 30 home runs against right-handed pitching.

So yes, that would make him the best left field option.

by Double06 on Feb 23, 2009 5:01 PM PST up reply actions

What the hell is up with this quote

Clement figures to get most of his playing time this season as the designated hitter and backup catcher to Kenji Johjima.

If Clement is the primary DH, Griffey is fielding. If Clement is both the backup catcher and the backup DH, he may as well be in Tacoma.

by Graham MacAree on Feb 23, 2009 5:08 PM PST reply actions

Hey look, Jim Street botches another one!

by Matthew on Feb 23, 2009 5:12 PM PST up reply actions

My long winded response was better

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:13 PM PST up reply actions

It's just like how the AP article that said Griffey was the left fielder

Street is assuming things and not telling you that they’re his assumptions. It’s similar to how my dad, who follows the offseason very closely but only through the newspaper, had no idea that Russell Branyan was actually going to play, or that Endy Chavez was going to bat 100 times.

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:13 PM PST up reply actions

But I quoted Matthew

by Graham MacAree on Feb 23, 2009 5:13 PM PST up reply actions

But he was quoting Jim Street.

by Vatinius on Feb 23, 2009 5:17 PM PST up reply actions

I figured it was so dumb

that Matthew couldn’t have possibly said it, and was a simple punctuation error.

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:19 PM PST up reply actions

I'm not so sure the Clement thing isn't news

He’s been extremely resistant to all prior conversations about him playing anything besides catcher. He has made it clear to the organization that he seems himself as a catcher and that he’s not really interested in moving to another spot. The old regime couldn’t get him to entertain any thoughts of playing first base. This one has.

And, let’s not ignore the fact that they’ve gone out of their way to make sure everyone knows how high they are on Adam Moore. As a group, they don’t talk about players in public very much, but they’ve straight up said that Moore is in the mix for the starting catching job in 2010.

Yes, right now it’s just getting him a little flexibility for an emergency, but I’d put money on this being Step One of a larger plan that has Clement moving to 1B/DH before next season.

by davidcameron on Feb 23, 2009 5:25 PM PST reply actions

But it's still news....

That they’re working on his 1B defense now, despite the depth there that Matthew outlines, is telling.
Here’s hoping that he remains healthy and makes a huge leap forward in C defense, but this FO clearly doesn’t see Clement the way the old one did.

by marc w on Feb 23, 2009 5:29 PM PST up reply actions

You should hope his knees hold up too.

If there wasn’t any concerns surrounding them then the only worry would be Clement’s defense kinda sucks vs. kinda sucks so let’s move him to 1B because he might not stay at catcher due to bad knees.

BOOYA! You got Slurved!

by Slurvey on Feb 23, 2009 5:31 PM PST up reply actions

Clement at DH ~Griffey at DH

Granted, it’s for a couple million dollars less, but really?

by Graham MacAree on Feb 23, 2009 5:31 PM PST up reply actions

Nah

It makes him a left-handed Paul Konerko.

by davidcameron on Feb 23, 2009 5:32 PM PST up reply actions

Konerko's defense has never been terrible

I don’t see how Clement would even approach that at first.

by Graham MacAree on Feb 23, 2009 5:36 PM PST up reply actions

Konerko was a HS catcher

Physically, they’re fairly similar. With some work, Clement could be league average defensively at first base.

by davidcameron on Feb 23, 2009 5:39 PM PST up reply actions

It would have to take a -lot- of work

Maybe I’m overcompensating for my irrational Clement fandom, but I just don’t see his feet getting to 1B standard

by Graham MacAree on Feb 23, 2009 5:44 PM PST up reply actions

Don't stop believing!

I honestly want Clement to stay at catcher if he can that is.

BOOYA! You got Slurved!

by Slurvey on Feb 23, 2009 5:47 PM PST up reply actions

His footwork behind the plate sucks

But moving in a crouch and moving while standing are two different things. You should have seen how bad Morneau’s footwork was a a catcher…

by davidcameron on Feb 23, 2009 6:54 PM PST up reply actions

I agree with that, but

Konerko was twice the hitter (in the minors) as Clement.

It’s not fair to Paul, but despite all he’s done, I always sort of view Konerko as a bit of a disappointment.

by marc w on Feb 23, 2009 5:45 PM PST up reply actions

Albuquerque

Everyone overrated all the Dodger prospects from that era thanks to their minor league parks.

by davidcameron on Feb 23, 2009 6:44 PM PST up reply actions

That's a huge part of it, and the whole Karim Garcia saga argues for that

but do you think that’s still true, factoring in ARL? I mean, they played for the same Cal/Tex league teams, and Konerko was about 3-4 years younger. Yes, the .650 slugging or whatever is a clear Alb. park effect. But I still think Konerko was a much, much better hitting prospect, esp. if you only look at Konerko after he turned 20. But I was young and didn’t know much about park effects…..

by marc w on Feb 23, 2009 10:27 PM PST up reply actions

Age-Level stuff

Has to be taken in context with physical projection. Konerko’s body at 21 wasn’t all that different from Clement’s body right now. There wasn’t much physical projection left – he wasn’t adding any more power on that frame.

This is where I think people get off track with the whole “young for the league thing”. It doesn’t matter that Prince Fielder was posting ridiculous numbers compared to other 19 year olds – he was not in the body of most other 19 year olds.

Age is a decent proxy for physical projection (Triunfel, for instance, should get a lot stronger over the next couple of years), but we can’t just look at Konerko posting a good line as a 21-year-old in Triple-A and assume that means that he’d be destroying the ball at age 25. He was just further along in his development at a younger age.

In terms of actual skills and physical projection, Konerko then and Clement now are pretty similar.

by davidcameron on Feb 24, 2009 9:25 AM PST up reply actions

Is that where you see his offensive ceiling at first base?

I’ve heard everything from “Jeff Clement will make, at best, a mediocre first baseman” to, well, that he’ll be a left-handed Paul Konerko. After all of his knee problems, his smashing the ball in the minors, to struggling during his handful of ABs in the majors, I’m not sure what to expect anymore.

by katal on Feb 23, 2009 5:38 PM PST up reply actions

Don't we need 2 catchers for 2010 though?

by Smegmalicious on Feb 23, 2009 5:39 PM PST up reply actions

Kenji isn't going anywhere

by katal on Feb 23, 2009 5:41 PM PST up reply actions

He is if he gets released or traded.

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:41 PM PST up reply actions

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BOOYA! You got Slurved!

by Slurvey on Feb 23, 2009 5:42 PM PST up reply actions

That's likely.

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:42 PM PST up reply actions

I don't see Joh plugging away for 2 more years

If he sucks as bad as he did last year, I can’t see him sticking around.

by Smegmalicious on Feb 23, 2009 5:53 PM PST up reply actions

If he sucks as bad as last year

he might be released (at least he’d deserve to be from a baseball prespective), and if he bounces back he becomes somewhat tradeable.

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 5:56 PM PST up reply actions

He had a pretty low BABIP last year

While his peripherals more or less stayed the same from where they were in 2006 and 2007. While his age means that he probably won’t as well as he did two years ago, he’s still a good candidate to bounce back this season.

by katal on Feb 23, 2009 5:56 PM PST up reply actions

well yeah

by JI on Feb 23, 2009 6:04 PM PST up reply actions

You have to

keep in mind that Griffey’s 5 home runs were off of a total of 3 pitches.

by pklym on Feb 23, 2009 5:29 PM PST reply actions

The good old around the world home runs where you hit it for another when it crosses the plate again.

by Edgar for Pres on Feb 23, 2009 5:57 PM PST up reply actions

on deck centre

by lemonverbena on Feb 23, 2009 5:32 PM PST reply actions

This is why I enjoy Geoff Baker's videos.

He talks about what’s going on around camp and we get to see some action.

by Wilder. on Feb 23, 2009 6:04 PM PST reply actions

heh

Don Wakamatsu apparently went to the Dusty Baker school of filling out lineup cards, but only managed a B- average.

Actually I think he got an A+.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 23, 2009 6:44 PM PST reply actions

Semi-News: Phillippe Aumont will pitch in WBC as a reliever.

Right-hander Phillippe Aumont, who decided several weeks ago that his arm would not be strong enough to pitch for Team Canada in a starting role, has changed his mind and will join the team as a reliever.

“First of all, (Team Canada) asked me to go as a starting pitcher and I said ‘I can’t do that,’” he said Monday morning. "The Mariners didn’t want me to go as a starter either because it could mean pitching four or five innings.

Interesting news if for no other reason than to potentially catch Aumont pitching for an inning or two on the TV.

by JLC on Feb 23, 2009 7:08 PM PST reply actions

Not Mariner related really but I love the story about both Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon

investing their money with ‘Sir’ Allen Stanford and having their assets currently frozen. I mean, Damon can’t pay his trainer right now and Nady can’t rent an apartment because he’s failing credit checks. I am actually better off financially than two Yankee players at the moment!

Ponzi schemes – the great equalizer.

On review of my current situation I think I am not, in fact, better off than they are but maybe for a short time they felt some of my pain. So.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Feb 23, 2009 7:13 PM PST reply actions 1 recs