Darrin Beene is entering his seventh year at The News Tribune, having covered the Tacoma Rainiers in 2005 and Major League Baseball for two years before that. Beene, a former assistant sports editor at The News Tribune, also worked for the Los Angeles Daily News and Los Angeles Times. He lives in the South Sound with his wife and two children.
This blog is about baseball in general but specifically the Seattle Mariners and the Mariners’ Triple-A team, the Tacoma Rainiers. It will contain news, analysis, answers to your questions and audio reports.
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A head's up for the Futures Game, which happens just before the All-Star Game in July:
Two Mariners minor leaguers, outfielder Wladimir Balentien and infielder Yung Chen, were picked to the World Team on Wednesday.
Balentien is hitting .245 with 12 homers and 39 RBI at Double-A San Antonio. Chen, playing mostly second base, is hitting .335 with five homers and 45 RBI for Single-A (high) Inland Empire.
The game, which will be shown by ESPN2, is on July 9.
Last year, Yuniesky Betancourt and Shin Soo Choo played for the World Team.
Got a question today about the Rainiers and their catching situation, which is a good one for general discussion considering Jeff Clement's arrival in Tacoma.
Here's what I know about Rob Johnson, the Rainiers' current catcher.
Johnson is a strong defensive catcher who calls a nice game. Think Dan Wilson, minor league version, and you're pretty close to what Johnson can do behind the plate. The same applies to his offense, which is not necessarily a putdown. wilson was an OK hitter in his earlier days and was very serviceable.
Johnson's been banged up a little bit lately and could use some time off. Clement isn't exactly 100 percent healthy, either, so I would not expect him to play everyday at catcher. He'll get some time at DH, manager Dave Brundage told News Tribune reporter Jon Naito on Wednesday.
Clement, who has missed about a month, needs to play. That he's getting some time at Triple-A a year after being drafted shows how much the Mariners think of him.
Offensively, Clement has a higher ceiling than Johnson, at least what we know about him so far. If he hits in Tacoma, he could be positioning himself for some time in September.
