The Mariners have acquired 25-year old lefty reliever Nelson Payano from the Braves to finish the Greg Norton trade. Payano has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in AA ball for the Braves and he was 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This was a decent return for a player that the Mariners didn’t have much use for.

This should have been done the same time that the GM was fired as McLaren was clearly overmatched as a major league manager. He compiled a 65-88 record (42.5% wins) in parts of two seasons with the Mariners. McLaren will be replaced by another sub-par manager in Jim Riggelman. Riggelman has managed parts of 8 seasons in the majors and he compiled a 486-598 record (44.8% wins). He also was 0-3 in the playoffs in 1998 with the Cubs.

With the Mariners sitting at 24-42 on the season it doesn’t make sense to leave their best prospect in AAA where he is dominating. After all, the Mariners are 16.5 games behind the Angels in the American League West right now and they are 14 games out of the Wild Card spot. Clement did have problems in the majors in his brief audition this season but they need to play him everyday to see what he can really do. Clement played in 15 games with the Mariners earlier this season and he was 8 for 48 (.167 avg, .536 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He also whiffed an amazing 20 times for the Mariners. The 24-year old lefty swinging Clement has nothing left to prove in AAA ball. He has played in 45 games in AAA this season and he is 58 for 163 (.356 avg, 1.193 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 14 homers and 43 RBIs. It’s amazing to me how poorly the Mariners ownership group is. It made absolutely no sense to give Kenji Johjima big money while the best prospect in the organization is a catcher.

The Mariners have placed closer J.J. Putz on the 15-day disabled list with a hyperextended right elbow. Putz was not pitching his best this season and it has seemed that he hasn’t been right all year. Putz has pitched in 20 games for the Mariners this season and he is 2-3 with 7 saves, a 5.21 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He has been all over the place with his pitches this season as he has walked 17 batters and whiffed 23 in 19 innings this season. It will be up to young righty Brandon Morrow to replace Putz as the Mariners’ closer. Morrow has been electric this season for the Mariners as he has worked in 22 games and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 1.00 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Morrow’s success this season has come from the fact that he has tightened up his control. He has only walked 7 batters while whiffing 25 in only 18 innings. Look for him to do a good job for the Mariners as long as he keeps throwing strikes. The Mariners have recalled righty reliever Roy Corcoran. Corcoran pitched well for the Mariners this April before being demoted to AAA ball. Corcoran has pitched in 8 games for the Mariners this season and he is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

It looks like Felix Hernandez is putting it all together this season for the Mariners. He has started 14 games this season for the Mariners and he is 5-5 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. King Felix would have a lot more than 5 wins this season if the offense didn’t play so bad when he pitched and if the bullpen backed him up better. Still, Hernandez is light years’ better than anyone else the Mariners could use to start a game on the mound as they have wasted a lot of money on stiffs like Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista and Carlos Silva.