Some stuff

[Birds08]

Obviously that's up to the other side.

You don't consider it remotely possible that the Ms and Dodgers have told the O's what their final offer would be if they don't get Kuroda.? Not saying they have, but its certainly possible.

[GoOs3]

Looks like the Dodgers might be pulling ahead again...

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071214&content_id=2326932&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Not sure what "moved closer" means there, but one would hope the Mariners also moved closer...

Props to the Royals. I have no clue what there plan is... but at least they are in the mix for the high-profile players. And PEACE did mention a mid-west team in on Bedard...

[Sports Guy]

Erik Bedard was one of the best lefties in the game in 2007. He's not one of the best lefties in the game, period.

Why did I even go there.

Sure he is...Just because you don't think so doesn't make it so.

Most scouts and GM's seem to feel this way with the way Bedard has been talked about this offseason.

He was arguably #1 last year and was very good the year before.

Put him in the NL and he really blows up, especially in the NL West and Dodgers stadium.

[Peace21]

Erik Bedard was one of the best lefties in the game in 2007. He's not one of the best lefties in the game, period.

Why did I even go there.

And he is only going to get better.

Man im starting to sound like EB's agent.

[davearm]

You don't consider it remotely possible that the Ms and Dodgers have told the O's what their final offer would be if they don't get Kuroda.? Not saying they have, but its certainly possible.

This is a pointless semantic argument, but even if what you're saying is 100% accurate, it's still the O's waiting on the M's/Dodgers.

[GoOs3]

Erik Bedard was one of the best lefties in the game in 2007. He's not one of the best lefties in the game, period.

Why did I even go there.

Can of worms, opened. For the sake of keeping the peace. I'll pretend you didn't say that.

[davearm]

And he is only going to get better.

Man im starting to sound like EB's agent.

That's not a very compelling argument when the subject is 29 years old.

Odds are good that 2007 was his career year.

[os1971]

Which team is more likely to win?

Loney Kemp Furcal LaRoche, Pierre Jones Kemp/Ethier with a rotation of Schmidt?, Penny Lowe, Billingsly, Loiaza; or Loney Kemp Furcal LaRoche, Pierre Jones Ethier with a rotation of Bedard, Schmidt?, Penny, Lowe, Billingsly, Loiaza? You can't just trade Pierre, he has no value with his contract, you are stuck with him.

,

The latter but you have them keeping Kemp and Loney in both situations.

The Dodgers are weaker offensively than they are in the pitching department. Even if they eat salary on Pierre and Furcal, they will save more money by playing Kemp and Hu at the ML minimum and get better overall production. So, better to keep those two (Hu/Kemp) than to deal them.

That being said, I believe the Dodgers highly covet Bedard. I'd say Kershaw could be had, but I doubt its Kershaw and Loney or Kershaw and Kemp. I just don't see it happening. Hope I'm wrong, but don't see it going down that way.

[Peace21]

Can of worms, opened. For the sake of keeping the peace. I'll pretend you didn't say that.

I like that line.

[davearm]

Sure he is...Just because you don't think so doesn't make it so.

Most scouts and GM's seem to feel this way with the way Bedard has been talked about this offseason.

He was arguably #1 last year and was very good the year before.

Put him in the NL and he really blows up, especially in the NL West and Dodgers stadium.

Hopefully for the Dodgers' sake, "he blows up" is figurative, not literal.

[UMterp08]

Peace, who are you trying to convince? The Dodgers know Bedard is better, but guys like Kemp, Kershaw, LaRoche, Hu, etc, are valuable players to give up. If they think they can win the West w/o Bedard (not that unreasonable) then it's their right to think that. They're not wronging anyone by prefering to sign Kuroda over trading for Bedard.

[JTrea81]

That's not a very compelling argument when the subject is 29 years old.

Odds are good that 2007 was his career year.

That could be true, but the point is are other teams willing to take the risk that he can maintain that dominance? Chances are if he moves to the NL, especially in a pitchers park such as Chavez Ravine, he would have a pretty good shot. I would say the three teams involved for him all have favorable environments for him to pitch in so I think he's got a good shot at repeating his success moreso than if he stayed with the Orioles.

[Peace21]

That's not a very compelling argument when the subject is 29 years old.

Odds are good that 2007 was his career year.

If the guy (Bedard) actually had a decent bullpen behind him and some good run support he would be a 20 game winner. The Dodgers have that dont they?

[os1971]

What seems to get lost in all of this is that what the Dodgers need more than anything is more offense. They've got pitching.

Sure more is always better, but nevertheless, it becomes counterproductive to trade for Bedard if the lineup will be weakened (thinking specifically of Kemp).

It's much like how losing Pie to upgrade from DeRosa to Roberts doesn't make much sense for the Cubbies.

Exactly. Of course anybody could use a guy like Bedard, but not at more expense of your primary weakness.

[Lucky Jim]

That's not a very compelling argument when the subject is 29 years old.

Odds are good that 2007 was his career year.

Why do you do this? Obviously, there's no way to know if, over the course of the next several years, Bedard will be "one of the best" or "the best" left-handed pitcher in the game. He was utterly dominant when healthy this year. He was very good last year. He's obviously on the short-list of guys who could be considered upper-echelon pitchers, right- or left-handed.

Further, there's nothing in his numbers that scream fluke - his numbers are dominant. High K-Rates, low hit rates, good command. Combine that with the fact that he was a bit unlucky on HRs this year, and you've got the markings of success.

He might not be THIS good next year, but that still leaves plenty of margin for error. Further, playing in LA, in cavernous Chavez Ravine, in the weaker NL, there's a strong chance that Bedard would stake a claim to exactly what you'd like to deny him.

But you know all this. You're just trying to stir up trouble because that's what you do. You troll under the guise of objectivity. And you've been doing it for years, here. Don't get me wrong, you bring a lot of good stuff to the table. But this is the least attractive part of your presence. It's just plain tacky.