Comments on: Matt Clement

By: Adam S

Adam S — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 21:27:54 +0000

Having watched many Cubs games (40) and even more Mariners games, the Mariners have a much better defense than the Cubs. The Ms defense gets a bad rap because it isn’t as good as it was in 2003.

I hope Clement does well where ever he signs. He seems to have this knack for pitching well and finding a way to lose. I’m not sure that his poor run support is random.

By: James

James — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 04:39:32 +0000

John… yeah, I know that. I’ve been to quite a few games at SafeCo.

But I also saw Clement lose a ton of games last year where SafeCo Field wouldn’t have helped him at all.

There were six-straight starts in June and July where his team didn’t score more than two runs for him.

The Cubs were held to zero or one run in six of his 30 starts this year.

Seven of his 12 losses came when he gave up three earned runs or less.

SafeCo Field wouldn’t have done anything for him this year. Damn… I wish it were as simple as park effects… then the Cubs might still be playing right now.

And since the Mariners had (have) an extremely worse offense, worse defense (though not by much) and just-as-unsettled bullpen, why would Clement go to the Mariners? Especially when there are better options out there, and teams that actually spend money.

Besides, do you really want Bavasi overspending to get Clement to accept such a risk on his part?

It’s fun to speculate about rotation possibilities, but the Mariners need to focus on getting some prime hitters (Beltran, Beltre, Drew) into the fold before Clement is even thought of.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:40:55 +0000

Hey, We’re not in rebuilding moHAHAHAHAHA! sorry, couldn’t even finish it. Oh well, I’ve been an M’s fan since 1985, so I’ve seen worse (though not at this price).

By: The Ancient Mariner

The Ancient Mariner — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 20:24:05 +0000

Omar was quoted recently as saying that now that Seattle’s in a rebuilding mode, he doesn’t want to come back anymore, since “I’ve done that once already.”

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 20:01:33 +0000

A player combination that would be interesting is Derek Lowe and Omar Visquel. Now, I stress AND, since Lowe is a ground ball pitcher, and having Jose “Let’s play catch with the nosebleed section” Lopez still playing short would be a BAD combination. I’ve heard Omar is quite willing to come back to Seattle, and he had quite a good year, proving our health concerns a bit paranoidal (why is that always only with free agents and never with our own staff?) He is getting older, but a year or two contract until Lobbing Lopez can mature a bit…

By: John in NV

John in NV — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 17:21:01 +0000

You’re right BUT our “pasture” is pretty green for pitching stats, too, though. FA pitchers have to look at Franklin and Co. and love the possibilities.

By: James

James — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 16:44:15 +0000

I’m just gonna throw this out there as a bitter Cubs fan, who went to plenty of Matt Clement starts this year…

He probably would have won 15 games this year if the Cubs could have scored for him at all.

What makes you guys think the Mariners can do any better for him?

If he’s smart, he’ll head for greener offensive pastures.

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 16:18:41 +0000

After the success of Akinori Otsuka this year (he got my top IBA vote for NL RoY), Japanese relievers are likely to become very popular. Sure, Sasaki was good before, and Takastu is already here, but Otsuka wasn’t a guy with hype. I think everyone now knows that there are many great pitchers in Japan.

I’d love to see Matsuzaka in an M’s uniform.

By: PaulP

PaulP — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 16:14:57 +0000

Back to the pitching coach thing. I think it’s as much Moyer as Price in teaching the changeup. Mostly from the standpoint of who is the best person in the majors to teach you a changeup? Probably Moyer. You might not listen to most people, but since the only reason Moyer succeeds is his changeup, you might actually try something new….

By: Bela Txadux

Bela Txadux — Tue, 12 Oct 2004 15:21:36 +0000

Yo Dave,

I’m with you %110 on Clement, and you state the case very succinctly and in detail. He won’t draw super high bidding; the Ms can be top dollar here without being nuts. As of today, Clement is slightly _better_ than Freddy, particularly because he keeps the ball in the park, unlike Garcia. But even better, Clement’s best three years are the last three, whereas Garcia’s best were his first three—I look for big declines for Garcia over the course of his deal, I’d have been extremely reluctant to sign him, and was tremendously relieved to see him dealt. Clement by contrast has a better than even chance to get _better_. He is the kind of pitcher I mentioned in another post, power pitcher on the wild side, especially a sinkerballer like Clement, but slowly sharpening control. Even a small improvement in his control at this point will pay major dividends. I hope the Ms sign the guy.