Dispatch from Tacoma: Morrow on mound tonight; Clement behind plate soon
Friday, July 24, 2009 | 5:18 pm
Hello from high atop the Cheney Stadium roof, where I'll be perched the next several hours watching Brandon Morrow pitch, Jeff Clement at first base, Matt Tuiasosopo at third and Mike Carp at DH.
The purpose of this visit -- along with the two-hour drive through Friday afternoon traffic on I-5 from Snohomish County -- is to hook up with Travis Snider, the star outfielder from Jackson High School in Everett. Snider is with the Toronto Blue Jays' Las Vegas 51s Triple-A team and making his first trip back to his home area as a professional.
Look for a feature in Sunday's sports section on Snider, who began the season with the Blue Jays before struggling through injury and hitting difficulties. It's been quite a journey this year for Snider, an articulate 21-year-old who is determined to get his powerful left-handed bat back to the big leagues.
On to other matters involving the Mariners.
Brandon Morrow makes his second start tonight for the Rainiers as he continues his transition into a starting pitcher. Jamie Burke, who'll catch Morrow tonight, believes Morrow's problem spotting his fastball and getting deeper into games could have a fairly simple solution. During the games he caught Morrow in Seattle, and last week with the Rainiers, he said it has taken Morrow an inning or two to find his control of the fastball. So tonight, he'll get Morrow to the bullpen earlier than usual and make sure he's fully warmed up, then bring a good fastball into the game. We'll know the answer in a couple of hours. I'll file updates on Morrow throughout the game.
And Jeff Clement, who seemed destined to other duty -- DH and first base -- as he recovered from a bum left knee, is getting close to catching again. Clement says his knee feels good and he's already caught one bullpen session earlier this week. He'll work tomorrow with catching coordinator Roger Hansen and slowly work his way back to games behind the plate. Bottom line here is that nobody -- the organization or Clement -- has given up on him as a catcher. As a hitter, he's been fine --a .350 average in his past 10 games, including a four-double night Wednesday.
The purpose of this visit -- along with the two-hour drive through Friday afternoon traffic on I-5 from Snohomish County -- is to hook up with Travis Snider, the star outfielder from Jackson High School in Everett. Snider is with the Toronto Blue Jays' Las Vegas 51s Triple-A team and making his first trip back to his home area as a professional.
Look for a feature in Sunday's sports section on Snider, who began the season with the Blue Jays before struggling through injury and hitting difficulties. It's been quite a journey this year for Snider, an articulate 21-year-old who is determined to get his powerful left-handed bat back to the big leagues.
On to other matters involving the Mariners.
Brandon Morrow makes his second start tonight for the Rainiers as he continues his transition into a starting pitcher. Jamie Burke, who'll catch Morrow tonight, believes Morrow's problem spotting his fastball and getting deeper into games could have a fairly simple solution. During the games he caught Morrow in Seattle, and last week with the Rainiers, he said it has taken Morrow an inning or two to find his control of the fastball. So tonight, he'll get Morrow to the bullpen earlier than usual and make sure he's fully warmed up, then bring a good fastball into the game. We'll know the answer in a couple of hours. I'll file updates on Morrow throughout the game.
And Jeff Clement, who seemed destined to other duty -- DH and first base -- as he recovered from a bum left knee, is getting close to catching again. Clement says his knee feels good and he's already caught one bullpen session earlier this week. He'll work tomorrow with catching coordinator Roger Hansen and slowly work his way back to games behind the plate. Bottom line here is that nobody -- the organization or Clement -- has given up on him as a catcher. As a hitter, he's been fine --a .350 average in his past 10 games, including a four-double night Wednesday.
Most recent Mariners blog posts
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- Three more games and a week of meetings to prepare for the offseason Sep. 26
- Multi-year deal keeps Mariners games on 710 radio Sep. 20
- Wedge to young Mariners: Get in better shape next year, or else Sep. 18
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