Erikkk - Blessing or Curse (5)

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Bedard had me from "four questions".

For those who just joined us, the press conference of course, in which Erikkk opened with "Okay, four questions today."  "Why only four?"  "You're down to three."

  

Don't know if LL is kidding here, but I'm not.  My son and I have a joke that never gets old.  He's a 6'2", 250-lb. defensive lineman who never, not once in his life, has ever shouted at anybody.  Not once! Has he ever snapped.  And he is a scary guy.

He gets treated unfairly enough, he'll look up to the right, he'll stare blankly, and the muscles in his jaw will striate furiously. 

We watch Bedard interviews carefully:

So, Erik, congratulations I guess.  8-1 over the Yankees today.  It was tight there for a while, though, wasn't it?  What happened on that solo homer in the seventh?  Did you get the pitch up, or why did you throw him a fastball there when the curve is your best pitch?

Blank stare up to the right... 

I love the fact that Bedard has no possible way to explain baseball to the people asking the questions, except to Baker, who doesn't ask those questions.  I love the fact that he is one of the few baseball players who truly fathoms the gap in communication. 

And I love watching him restrain his urge to choke ever so tightly, like I love watching my son restrain his... ever see the scene where Inspector Dreyfus chokes his shrink to death from behind?

 

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You expect him to be good as soon as he comes back, but the prospect is still exciting, because it feels new. Ichiro is a video game. Erik Bedard is a toy in a box.

Keepin' it fresh, homey... that's actually a whale of an insight.  I mean, think if Felix only pitched two months a year, how fun his starts would be...

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Erik Bedard is factoring into some peoples' thoughts of a playoff team next season. Is that right? Does it matter? The thought of Erik Bedard makes people happier with a team that's made a lot of people unhappy.

And, though it's true that it wouldn't matter ... it also does (incidentally) matter.  How'd you like the Angels to stick Bedard in their hip pocket?

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The only thing Bedard really lacks is actual on-field contribution.

Heh!  As if he's got 9 of 10 things checked off...

Echo'ing the fact that the only thing that Mariner games lack, is an actual pennant fight.  And as baseball junkies, we continue to prove that the actual on-field success isn't really the point.

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In a way, he's perfect.  And it's just a matter of time before he comes back and ruins everything.

The wittiest line of all, the big finish, and the one line that's five degrees off, 'cause if he does come back, he's the one pitcher who is guaranteed not to ruin anything.

Hold it.  Does Sully mean, "Ruins the frustration"?  Oh... okay, perfect :- )

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 Q.  Could Erikkkk come back and make 25-30 starts a year for several years?

A.  For me, this question is about the same one as the question, "Of the ten pitchers most like Erik Bedard right now, how many came back strong?"  Answer this question, and you answer the other one.

You can't answer either question.  You're guessing, I am, and Zduriencik is.  Amigos who go, "He'll never pitch again," or "He'll be fine," are commenting on themselves, not on Bedard.

..............

The wide variety of injuries is damning.  But on the other hand, Bedard is one of those rare types who does not have to be healthy to be great.

Bill James wrote somebody like this up once, "as long as he can limp out to the mound, he'll dominate, but who knows when that will be."  Wish I could remember who it was.

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Q.  In roto, would you draft him?

A.  In roto, I like injury bets better than ----> skill-upside bets.  Skill-upside bets (like some non-Safeco team taking Lopez) feel safer, but aren't.

At $1.5M, you've got a great percentage play for your cash.  Can't ask for better. 

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Only thing we lack is a 3-4 hitter,

Dr D

 





Comments

1
RockiesJeff's picture

Well done Jeff. Thanks. It doesn't take much to start naming off ways the M's have flushed a 1.5mil+ down the drain when you knew the potential reward was far less. Good points. And loved the pictures!

2

Erik Bedard to me is the pitching version of Kirk Gibson. 
Kirk Gibson has his MVP year, limps his way around the bases after his unforgettable HR in the World Series, and then was never the same again...but was still an above-average hitter. 
Busted up, he retires...only to come back on the urgings of his manager and putting in 3 more above average years.  When he took the field, he could and would play through anything and be productive.
 
  
I agree with you, Bedard is likely to strike out 9 per whenever he takes the mound.  His problem when he was injured was that he was taking a lot of pitches to do it and could rarely get beyond the 5th.
  

Is that problem likely to continue?  I don't know.  Can he get back on a mound?  I don't know.  Can he stay healthy?  Don't know.
 
  
But out of the injured great pitchers who are available, Bedard will probably be cheaper than Brandon Webb and has the same shot of being able to stay on that mound that Webb does.
 
  
Bedard is not a decent pitcher, or a good pitcher.  If he can take the mound, he is a great pitcher. 
My only quibble with Bedard is that I want some veterans who can show the kids a thing or two.  Bedard lives in his own world, it seems, and his only team contribution is the one he makes by stepping on the mound.
 
  
That's not necessarily a bad thing - most times that's what I want from a player.  But we look to be so young this coming year that some leadership skills might not be the worst thing to have in a vet pitcher.  Kirk Gibson was a leader, which is the one thing Bedard the competitor isn't.
 
  
Being able to strike out 9 per every 6th day is useful too, though, I'd have to say.  If we gave him a similar deal to the one we had last year, I wouldn't be upset.
 
 
Winning involves taking risks.  I'd rather take my risks on a world-class talent still in the prime of his career, all things considered.  We just need him to be more Schilling/Carpenter, that's all.
 
~G

4

By our inability to disagree on much this offseason :- )
...............
The fact that Bedard was taking 100 pitches to go 4.1 innings, the media screaming bloody murder on a nightly (and next-morning) basis ... that such turned out to be an injury did not surprise...
At least Kelley (IIRC) had the decency to take back the accusations of gutlessness ... none of the rest ever took anything back, that I noticed... oh well whatever nevermind...
What DID surprise was that the MARINERS started talking about a changeup, to reduce the foul balls on strike two...  that THEY should be in the dark is pretty weird if you ax me...

5
RockiesJeff's picture

Does naming them allow one to include all the AAAA retreads (stock piling minimum salary does add up) or the hoped stars like a Cirillo or Spiezo, trying to get someone on the rebound like a Weaver, Byrnes (I watched him play Rockies and would not have given him a second thought except he is a funny announer) or Sexson (an exception clause here with one good year wasn't it?).
Those are the easy ones to pick on and all teams do that to one extent or another. But one thing that did during those years was discourage the kids coming up that they had no real future.
Those guys make Bedard's upside look amazing.
 

6
RockiesJeff's picture

Please note I never mentioned Washburn or Silva or Eduardo Perez or even remember Kevin Mitchell? LOL....I will stop now but I have to reboot my Windows 3.0 mind to start reliving all those fond memories.

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