SEATTLE -- Jeff Clement's first callup to the Mariners this season on April 30 was nothing short of a disaster. No power, no average and, frankly, no contact.

With 20 strikeouts in 48 at-bats and a .167 average, Clement looked nothing like the kid down in Triple-A Tacoma who was besieging Triple-A pitching on a nightly basis.

"I think he got caught up in the situation; he was doing things different," Mariners manager John McLaren said.

His demotion on May 18 was short-lived though, as he quickly rediscovered his sweet stroke and had 14 homers, 43 RBIs and a .337 average in Tacoma (.287, nine homers, nine doubles, 23 RBIs in the 23 games since the demotion) before getting another callup Monday night and arriving at Safeco Field for Tuesday's game against the Marlins. He was not in the starting lineup.

"You know when I was here, I didn't feel like I was far off, but it doesn't take much to be off," he said. "And I think that I had a little tension every time I stepped up to the plate trying to do too much probably ... and it was good to go back down there and relax and have a little bit of success again, and hopefully it'll carry over this time."

Clement said he started listening to a few too many ideas while he was up in the Major Leagues and failed to just continue on with what had made him an offensive monster in Triple-A.

"I think I probably tried to do some mechanical things that weren't really the issue," he said prior to Tuesday's game. "It was kind of my mental approach going out there."

Well, he certainly should have a chance to get relaxed in Seattle this time around. McLaren said that he thinks Clement will be with the big club for the rest of the season, with plenty of time spent at catcher -- his natural position.

"We're going to try to get him settled," McLaren said. "Last time we tried him as DH and that's an awfully difficult situation for a young kid, so he's going to catch quite a bit."

When McLaren later said again that Clement would catch a lot, he was asked if a lot meant three out of five games.

"That or more," he replied.

"You know, he's made a lot of improvements. We've been happy with what we've been seeing," McLaren said of Clement's work at the position. "And he calls a real good game, he's a smart kid, he's got a good arm ... we think he's going to be a good catcher."

Clement's placement behind the plate throws another catcher into the mix with Kenji Johjima and Jamie Burke. And McLaren's assurance of consistent playing time there also led to the question of whether Burke will still be the personal catcher for starting pitcher Erik Bedard.

"We don't have any combinations anymore, OK?" McLaren said. "The combinations are done. I'm tired of combinations. We're just going to put the best team we think can win."

Placing Clement at catcher could also affect his performance with the bat.

"When you step up to the plate you're not really thinking about it as much," he said. "And as a DH sometimes you can carry the at-bat with you until your next at-bat, which just shows a lack of maturity."

And after a humbling experience still just a month or so old, he's set to try and make this Major League callup the final one.

"I think the key is not to take it too seriously," Clement said. "I mean there's going to be bad days and there's going to be good days, but just kind of stay on that even level that everybody talks about.

"You don't want to be too up or too down because this game is tough. It's a game of failure, and if you let that failure beat you down, then you're not going to get back on top."