Bedard's first start for the M's

[oriole_way]

Looks like Bedard will be under a lot of scrutiny in Seattle this year. Maybe the spotlight isn't NY like bright, but considering Erik's disdain for the media, it's enough where it may quickly become a problem.

Here's the relevant portion of the article (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2004252749_mari01.html)

The groans of Mariners fans could almost be heard all the way from the Northwest. But at least these games don't count.

On a sunny Friday in Scottsdale Stadium in the first Mariners game of spring training, Erik Bedard — the pitcher Seattle obtained in a blockbuster trade that cost them effective relief pitcher George Sherrill, top prospect Adam Jones and more — didn't much resemble the No. 1 starter the Mariners made him after the offseason deal.

In fairness, Bedard threw strikes on 31 of his 44 pitches in a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, showing fairly good command. There will be more appearances in the spring and a full month to improve before opening day, March 31.

Bedard's two-inning outing Friday didn't live up to the hype. Yet it hardly seemed to bother the left-hander, who had little to say and didn't enjoy being peppered with reporters' questions after he allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout in two innings of work.

"I already forgot about it," Bedard said in the Mariners clubhouse after his stint, "when I sat down on the bench."

Bedard maintained that everything was fine and didn't appear even half as rattled on the mound as he was when later asked about his performance, tersely dismissing questions and remarking that he was being asked too many.

Catcher Kenji Johjima said he saw good things, though he observed that Bedard got some of his pitches up. Mariners manager John McLaren was also satisfied, downplaying the significance of Bedard's first outing, and he hoped the fans had some leniency.

"I thought Erik threw fine. I thought he was around the plate," McLaren said. "We're not looking for shutouts every time he pitches; we're looking for him to get right for March 31."

The original plan was to have Bedard throw about 30 pitches, with the idea that he'd hit that mark in two innings. That plan apparently was changed to 40 pitches during the past couple of days, but Bedard didn't look worse for the wear.

Bedard was more sharp than not. He threw nine pitches to the first man he faced, Rajai Davis, but threw six total to the next three hitters. He threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of 12 hitters and got called first strikes on five consecutive Giants in their three-run second inning.

"He knows exactly what he's doing out there," McLaren said. "He's not in shape yet, and he's working his way into shape. I think this is a bigger deal than it should be because he's new.

"Naturally because of the interest, we're making a bigger deal of it. What I saw was fine. He's right on target. Got his pitch count in and worked on all his pitches. That's what we want to see."

Today it's Felix Hernandez's turn in the spotlight, in his role as No. 2 starter against San Diego in Peoria. Bedard is scheduled to pitch again Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels if the team follows its five-man rotation.

"We're not looking to win the Cactus League, we're looking to win the American League West and that starts on March 31," McLaren said.

He added that Bedard "shouldn't be judged on his first spring-training game, for God's sake. Cut him a little slack here."

[Boy Howdy]

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59074

Sounds like that Bummer guy that used to post here was a pretty representative M's fan.

[bryanman8]

Lolll...same old Erik. Apparently the media there didn't find out what we all already knew about him. Geez though, it's Spring Training for God's sake. Who the heck cares if he downplays that? It doesn't mean anything.

[LA2]

I just hope those antsy reporters & fans don't throw Bedard off his proper ST routine. It's the manager's responsibility to put all this in perspective and to make sure the press doesn't over-react to Erik's understandable non-chalance abt ST boxscores.

Of course, if Jones tears it up during the pre-season it will just make the situation worse, I guess.

[rooter]

Big deal... Erik had a 6.09 ERA last April... I think he did OK for the season all things considered... lol

[Lucky Jim]

This is going to be fun to watch.

I'm with Erik on this one. It's the first ST game. He's supposed to validate the trade there? Oy. The Seattle press is going to be in for a long season.

[AgentOrange]

I hope Erik pitches lights out. He was my favorite bird from following him though the system. I hope he can get a huge pay day.

Of course everyone is going to be up in arms with everything he does, they traded a lot to get him and people want the ROI right away.