Bedard, Sherrill and Albers looking good this season

[Frobby]

Although he lost yesterday (3-1), and is 4-6 on the season, Erik Bedard is looking pretty good this year. His ERA stands at 3.00 and he's tossed 90 innings in 15 starts already, the most he has pitched since leaving Baltimore. I'm really happy for the guy, and I'm even happy for Seattle for sticking with him for 4 years and numerous surgeries.

Another guy who is more or less getting it done is George Sherrill, who has a 2.25 ERA in 20 appearances over 30 games. Oddly, although he is being used as a LOOGY some of the time, he has been much more effective against RHB (.471 OPSA) than LHB (.778 OPSA) this year so far. It's good to see him bounce back after an awful 2010.

Finally, Matt Albers has posted a 3.03 ERA for Boston. I'm not happy about that, since he plays for the hated Red Sox, but I do take some satisfaction from a "told you so" point of view. I never understood dumping him and picking up Accardo, who we've now relegated to the minors.

[bobmc]

If I could talk to Albers I'd ask what he's doing differently since leaving Baltimore (assuming his performance isn't a result of just being healthy and that this is more than just a matter of sample size). The reason for asking what he's doing differently:

His K/9 is 8.19 --> 36% better than his career average and 24% better than his career best.

His BB/9 is 3.64 --> 13% better than his career average and 10% better than his career best.

Looking at some numbers, his average FB is full mph more than last season and he's throwing it less often. He seems to have exchanged his curve ball for his slider. If Pitch Fx is to be believed he's throwing fewer four-seam fastballs while throwing a lot more two-seamers.

Again, if he maintains something close to those rates, that's pretty significant improvement. Yes, this could just be an aberration, but if isn't then maybe the Orioles need to look at the approaches of their pitchers. What is he doing differently than he did in Baltimore (other than pitch selection)?

I don't care about this year's SSS, when I tuned in recently, he was giving up a jack just like the old Matt did for us every year.

[Sports Guy]

Sherrill and Albers proving how idiotic it is to give relievers big money because you never know what you are going to get from one year to the next.

So, Albers leaves the Orioles and shows increased velocity and Bmat and Tillman lose velocity...Interesting.

BTW, I am still glad Albers is gone.

[Tony-OH]

Although he lost yesterday (3-1), and is 4-6 on the season, Erik Bedard is looking pretty good this year. His ERA stands at 3.00 and he's tossed 90 innings in 15 starts already, the most he has pitched since leaving Baltimore. I'm really happy for the guy, and I'm even happy for Seattle for sticking with him for 4 years and numerous surgeries.

Another guy who is more or less getting it done is George Sherrill, who has a 2.25 ERA in 20 appearances over 30 games. Oddly, although he is being used as a LOOGY some of the time, he has been much more effective against RHB (.471 OPSA) than LHB (.778 OPSA) this year so far. It's good to see him bounce back after an awful 2010.

Finally, Matt Albers has posted a 3.03 ERA for Boston. I'm not happy about that, since he plays for the hated Red Sox, but I do take some satisfaction from a "told you so" point of view. I never understood dumping him and picking up Accardo, who we've now relegated to the minors.

I still don't understand signing Accardo to a guaranteed $1.05 million contract after he was average at best in AAA last year. At best he was the kind of guy you take a flyer on, but at no point do you hand him a guaranteed million contract. I always liked Albers despite his difficulties at times with consistency. I could understand the Orioles wanting to upgrade but thinking Accardo was the upgrade is/was flummoxing .

[flashjordnk]

Bedard was DLed yesterday with a knee injury...Man. If he can't bounce back I don't see Seattle being able to stay alive with pretty much the worst offense in baseball.

[SammyBirdland]

Bedard was DLed yesterday with a knee injury...Man. If he can't bounce back I don't see Seattle being able to stay alive with pretty much the worst offense in baseball.

Their offense will be better next year once they acquire Prince Fielder.

[flashjordnk]

Their offense will be better next year once they acquire Prince Fielder.

I mean last year Seattle had the historically worst offense in AL DH history. And Ichiro is only getting older.

Don't they have Smoak? I don't really see them being in on Fielder, but maybe. Chone Figgins...now there was a terrible signing.

[Frobby]

Bedard was DLed yesterday with a knee injury...Man. If he can't bounce back I don't see Seattle being able to stay alive with pretty much the worst offense in baseball.

Well, that sucks. You'll recall that Bedard was lights out for us in 2005 for 8 starts, then had a knee injury that seemed minor but ended up lasting for close to 2 months. I hope he isn't similarly derailed this time.

[wildcard]

I had no problem with the O's letting Albers go if they were going to replace him with someone better. They didn't.

[Frobby]

Mariners manager Eric Wedge isn't ready to announce his rotation following the All-Star Game next week, but said on Tuesday the plan, right now, is for injured left-hander Erik Bedard to return somewhere in the four-game home series against Texas immediately following the break.

Bedard, on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left knee, is on the current seven-day road trip to Oakland and Anaheim. He's yet to throw on the side, but is expected to do so in the coming days, with the idea of pointing toward a return when his DL stint ends on July 13.

"As of right now, that's what we're shooting for," Wedge said.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110705&content_id=21452776&notebook_id=21456996&vkey=notebook_sea&c_id=sea

Hope so.

[Frobby]

Eric Wedge said that Bedard, who is just now starting to play catch again, won't start in either of the club's first two series after the All-Star break and is problematic for the third, in Boston [July] 22-24.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sportsxchange-000360856_injury-hurts-bedards-trade-value

Sigh. This is so typical any time Bedard gets hurt.

[Frobby]

Matt Albers took a huge nosedive in August that saw his ERA climb from 2.09 to 4.69 as of Sept 2. He has settled down his last few appearances, but his numbers now look a lot more like his Orioles numbers usually did.

George Sherrill has had a good year as a LOOGY for Atlanta, posting a 3.00 ERA in 36 innings over 51 appearances. He's currently on the DL with an elbow inflammation.

Erik Bedard had his start skipped this week due to soreness in his knee, the same knee that landed him on the DL in July for the Mariners.

We could be seeing all three of these pitchers, plus David Hernandez, in the playoffs.

[byrdz]

Maybe Albers was released for other reasons because he's pitching like he has a chip on his shoulder. I've heard (through the grapevine) some not so flattering things on his personality but nothing I could back up. Maybe he just wasn't a Buck "guy".

I'm guessing he reverts back to his old self, if not this season, next season.