C’mon Ride the Train…Hoot Hoot! and Ride it

               It’s getting to a point where the decision to bring up Jeff Clement needs to be made now. The Mariners, who have slipped to 12 and 14 by losing 4 games in their 6 game home stand, are in dire need of some offensive production. With the next 6 games coming against the Indians and the Yankees, the M’s need to do something fast. Obviously nothing is going to get done before this road trip (they are in Cleveland today) but hopefully sooner than later a decision will be made. One decision that has been made in the last week has me wondering what the M’s front office is doing. The signing of slumping catcher Kenji Johjima to a 3 year deal has created a whole new set of questions on what the M’s are going to do this and next year. It has been rumored that Jeff Clement is now to be the 1^st basemen of the future instead of catcher. With Richie Sexson as good as gone after this season, there is a chance the M’s will be relying on Clement to take over the duties at first while Johjima catches and veteran Jaime Burke backs him up. Surprisingly Byron, this does not upset me the way I though it would. I am actually ok with this solution, but what about this year you may ask. Well the smart thing would be to bring up Clement who is just killing it in the minors hitting .397 with 5 jacks, 8 doubles and 20 RBIs in just 78 at bats. Clement would fit nicely into that DH role for the rest of the season and add a young productive bat to a lineup that’s full of oldies and sickies. As this is the smart decision chances are the Mariners will A) Choose to leave him in the minors and hope to get it done with what they have or B) Make the decision to bring him up too late (August). Neither of these are ok with me and for all of us aboard the Mariners train, this would absolutely derail us and send us plummeting off a cliff. So lets hope the conductor of this train rights the ship (that’s right I used a train analogy and a boating analogy together in one giant nonsensical thing) and gets us on the fast track (more train stuff) to playoffsburg or some other made up town that implies a trip to the playoffs…….perhaps Postseasonville and World Series Junction.