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Clement: Take Two - 06/18/2008

BY Aaron Gleeman

Reyes tweaks hamstring, hopes to play Weds.

Dodgers'KurodatoundergoMRIonshoulder

Red Sox place Colon on DL with stiff back

Konerko placed on DL with oblique strain

Mets fire Randolph, Peterson

Mariners adding Clement, demoting Balentien

Ichiro plays right for first time since 2006

Moving Ichiro Suzuki back to right field in order to get Willie Bloomquist's horrible bat into the lineup is a mistake, but the Mariners made a good decision Tuesday in the wake of firing general manager Bill Bavasi by recalling Jeff Clement from Triple-A. He got all of 56 plate appearances to prove himself last time and struggled, but hit .287 with nine homers, nine doubles, 23 RBIs, and a .670 slugging percentage in 24 games at Tacoma following his demotion. Clement didn't start Tuesday because the Mariners were facing a left-hander and clearly needed Jose Vidro to go 0-for-5 while dropping his OPS to .578, but should see the bulk of the action at designated hitter against right-handers. He has a strong all-around offensive game that includes 25-homer power and could emerge with mixed-league value wherever he's eligible at catcher. For now, count on him being an asset in AL-only leagues if the Mariners show some patience.While the Mariners hopefully allow Clement more than 15 games to sink or swim this time, here are some other notes from around baseball .

Brandon Webb was pulled from his start last Wednesday after just five innings and 58 pitches amid concerns about decreased velocity, saying afterward that he may be going through a "dead arm" period. If that outing caused worry among his fantasy owners, Tuesday's start against the A's may cause something a little closer to panic. Webb allowed seven runs without making it out of the fourth inning, once again showing diminished velocity and shaky command.Webb served up multiple homers for the first time in 39 starts and walked five batters for the first time in 31 starts. Since beginning the season 9-0 with a 2.56 ERA, Webb has gone 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA. That's hardly disastrous, of course, but something clearly isn't right with him right now. He's scheduled to face the Twins in Minnesota on Sunday, but pushing him back wouldn't be such a bad thing given his recent struggles and 5.11 career ERA on turf.

Tuesday was rough on the Dodgers' rotation, as Brad Penny landed on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis and Hiroki Kuroda was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday with shoulder soreness of his own. An MRI on Penny's shoulder revealed no structural damage and for now the injury is expected to sideline him for just 2-3 starts, but returning after the minimum 15 days on the DL is far from a sure thing given that he's been complaining of soreness all month. Kuroda is scheduled to undergo an MRI instead of pitching Wednesday, at which point the team should have a better handle on his status. Derek Lowe will take his place, with recent call-up Eric Stults taking the mound Thursday and Clayton Kershaw getting the call Friday. Saturday's start may go to either Chan Ho Park or Hong-Chih Kuo unless the Dodgers want to call up another prospect. Stults has minimal fantasy potential, but the injuries give Kershaw more job security.

Bartolo Colon surprised everyone by looking like his old self through five starts for the Red Sox, going 4-1 with a 3.41 ERA. Unfortunately, Colon struggled in his sixth outing Monday and was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with back soreness. He apparently tweaked his back while taking a big cut at the plate, meaning that like Chien-Ming Wang he's sidelined thanks to interleague play. Unlike Wang, he's not expected to miss a huge chunk of time. In fact, Colon indicated Tuesday that he may have been able to avoid the DL altogether, but the Red Sox understandably chose to play it safe. Colon's injury means that Justin Masterson will now remain in the majors once Daisuke Matsuzaka returns from the DL this weekend, giving the Daily Dose favorite at least a couple more starts to impress. Masterson is 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA through five starts and has induced a grounder on an outstanding 54 percent of his balls in play.

AL Hits:

Closing with J.J. Putz (elbow) sidelined, Brandon Morrow slammed the door on a one-run lead Tuesday to give Felix Hernandez his fourth straight win . Jon Lester tossed seven shutout innings Tuesday, allowing three or fewer earned runs for the 10th straight start . Milton Bradley is considered day-to-day after leaving Tuesday's game with a strained quadriceps, but given his injury history some time off should be expected . Jason Giambi homered twice Tuesday and is now sporting a ridiculous .376/.485/.788 line since mid-May . Livan Hernandez came into Tuesday's game 0-3 with a 9.38 ERA and .438 opponent's batting average over his last six starts, but held the Nationals to one run over seven innings . Scott Kazmir was on track for his eighth streight Quality Start before being pulled from Tuesday's game in the fifth inning due to a high pitch count . Mike Aviles smacked a game-winning solo homer Tuesday and now has nine extra-base hits in a dozen games . Mark Ellis reached base five times Tuesday, homering twice and scoring four runs . Edgar Renteria collected his 2,000th career hit Tuesday and is still nearly two months shy of his 33rd birthday.

NL Hits:

Jose Reyes is considered day-to-day after leaving Tuesday's game with a strained hamstring . Much to Bill Hall's chagrin, Russell Branyan homered Tuesday for th! e eighth time in 18 games . Chase Headley made his season debut Tuesday, starting in left field and batting sixth while going 2-for-4 with two strikeouts . Manager Joe Torre said Tuesday that he doesn't expect Rafael Furcal (back) to return before the All-Star break, clearing the path for Nomar Garciaparra to see time at shortstop soon . Chris Carpenter (elbow) was cleared to resume throwing after Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage during an exam Monday . Ryan Braun went deep twice Tuesday, giving him 15 homers over the past 34 games after homering a total of five times through his first 35 games . John Lannan tossed seven innings of two-run ball Tuesday against the Twins, but took the loss as the Nationals failed to give him more than two runs of support for the sixth straight start . Manny Parra allowed a career-high 10 hits in his last start, but bounced back Tuesday with seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays.