Bedard

[i_miss_cal]

Tonight will tell me alot about Eric. Has has thrown well against the Rays in the past and right now a few of their hitters are struggling. Tonight is a good night for him to go out and have a consistent outing. Seven strong would be a welcome site and it would be nice to win the series tonight. Its time to step up and be the ace that everybody thought he would be this year.

[Sports Guy]

Why is every start for Bedard some kind of start that "tells you alot about who Erik is" and "this is what an ace would do"??

I have seen this alot on here. It seems like there is a thread almost every time Erik starts stating stuff like this(not picking on you i_miss_cal, just something i have noticed).

[clapdiddy]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I still believe that Bedard is the one chip we may have that could land us 2 or 3 high quality prospects and help us turn this franchise around. I'd hate to lose him, but if he's not going to be here after next season (or is it 2009?), then I'd have to strongly consider what we could get for him.

[Sports Guy]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I still believe that Bedard is the one chip we may have that could land us 2 or 3 high quality prospects and help us turn this franchise around. I'd hate to lose him, but if he's not going to be here after next season (or is it 2009?), then I'd have to strongly consider what we could get for him.

We have him until 2009.

I agree with you though.

[Frobby]

SG, the reason you are seeing threads like this is because Erik has been somewhat disappointing. You'll keep seeing these threads until he gets into a streak where he is dominating.

That said, the team is 5-2 in the games Erik has started. No complaints there!

Shields has been pitching very well lately and I think Erik will have to be sharp to beat him. I look for a low scoring contest tonight.

[i_miss_cal]

I think everybody including myself looks at Erik very closely because we all see the talent he has but to be honest he has been very inconsistent this year. Last year he threw the ball well and dominated over streches. But this year we crowned him the ace of our staff, and when your the ace you need to be more consistent. I am waiting for Erik to take that step to the next level where he becomes one of the better pitchers in the league. Also, it be nice if he gets to the point where you look at the starting pitchers for a game and see Bedard and think to yourself, man there's a pretty darn good chance we will win tonight because we really havent had that in a starter since Mussina was in his prime as an Oriole. I love watching Bedard pitch and just want to see him be more consistent and be that guy that goes out every fifth day and gives the pen a break and puts our team in position to win.

[Sports Guy]

SG, the reason you are seeing threads like this is because Erik has been somewhat disappointing. You'll keep seeing these threads until he gets into a streak where he is dominating.

That said, the team is 5-2 in the games Erik has started. No complaints there!

Shields has been pitching very well lately and I think Erik will have to be sharp to beat him. I look for a low scoring contest tonight.

Personally i think he has been as unlucky as he has been disappointing..Plenty of blame on both sides.

However, we saw these threads last year as well, even in his streak.

Threads like..." If Bedard is a true ace, he will stop the losing streak tonight"...."He is our stopper, this is his job".

It is like, everyone puts to put a ton of pressure on him for a Wednesday night start against KC.

Not every start will make or break who Bedard is as a pitcher.

[tim27]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I still believe that Bedard is the one chip we may have that could land us 2 or 3 high quality prospects and help us turn this franchise around. I'd hate to lose him, but if he's not going to be here after next season (or is it 2009?), then I'd have to strongly consider what we could get for him.

He'll be here for at least two years AFTER this year. I think it'd be really foolish to trade him at this point. I'm sure he would garner us a fine package in return but even if he went into firesale mode I'd hang on to him unless the offers were just absurd. We should be looking to build around Markakis, Loewen, DC, and EB.

[Sports Guy]

He'll be here for at least two years AFTER this year. I think it'd be really foolish to trade him at this point. I'm sure he would garner us a fine package in return but even if he went into firesale mode I'd hang on to him unless the offers were just absurd. We should be looking to build around Markakis, Loewen, DC, and EB.

But if you aren't going to extend Bedard, now is a perfect time to trade him...It will be at the deadline, when teams are begging for top pitching. You will have an all out bidding war on him.

Also, he is still cheap, so alot of different teams could go after him. He is also under their control for a while, which also makes him even more attractive.

Plus, and this has to be considered with Erik's history, he is healthy now. That could always change, especially with a pitcher.

Now, if we show a willingness to extend him and get it done, great...If not, trade him this July.

[Frobby]

Personally i think he has been as unlucky as he has been disappointing..Plenty of blame on both sides.

However, we saw these threads last year as well, even in his streak.

Threads like..." If Bedard is a true ace, he will stop the losing streak tonight"...."He is our stopper, this is his job".

It is like, everyone puts to put a ton of pressure on him for a Wednesday night start against KC.

Not every start will make or break who Bedard is as a pitcher.

I doubt Bedard is feeling any pressure from the posts on the Hangout.

By the way, last year 11 of Bedard's wins followed an Oriole loss, and 9 of them followed a losing steak of 2 or more games. He broke up a 4-game losing streak 5 times. So in that sense, he really did pitch like a true ace last year.

I agree with you that he's been a bit unlucky so far. I think that he eventually will rip off one of those long winning streaks like he had at the beginning of 2005 and in June/July last year.

[bgfield]

Why is every start for Bedard some kind of start that "tells you alot about who Erik is" and "this is what an ace would do"??

I have seen this alot on here. It seems like there is a thread almost every time Erik starts stating stuff like this(not picking on you i_miss_cal, just something i have noticed).

Same thing with Cabrera. Good thing every start is an important one for him, that way he'll be ready for such pressure when he pitches in the playoffs for us!

[tim27]

But if you aren't going to extend Bedard, now is a perfect time to trade him...It will be at the deadline, when teams are begging for top pitching. You will have an all out bidding war on him.

Also, he is still cheap, so alot of different teams could go after him. He is also under their control for a while, which also makes him even more attractive.

Plus, and this has to be considered with Erik's history, he is healthy now. That could always change, especially with a pitcher.

Now, if we show a willingness to extend him and get it done, great...If not, trade him this July.

I'd like to extend him as well but I don't think it is absolutely neccessary right now. His departure isn't imminent. We could still trade him next year and get the same kind of offers- more or less- for him. It's too early in my mind to be thinking of trading one of the young arms we've spent so much time and effort cultivating.

Also, Eric's chances of getting hurt aren't any higher than any other pitchers. There is always that risk but in his case it isn't extreme. I mean by that logic any pitcher becomes expendable simply because of the nature of thier postion.

[NJOriolesFan]

He hs actually pitched very well this year with bad luck. He will have a dominant/lucky stretch soon. His 3.3 BB/9 IP is very good. Last season he was at 3.1 per 9 innings. His over 3.00 K/BB ratio is exceptional (his best ever). His groundball rate is 48.2%. Last year was his best ever at 48.8%. However, his homerun rate is out of whack compared to the fly balls he has allowed. It stands at 18% and 9% is normal. The last couple of years he allowed 9.8% and 7.5% of hi flyballs to be home runs.

His line drive % is uncharacteristically low but the team defense behind him has been awful. However, it hasn't been as awful for any of our other starters. His xFIP, ERA which takes into account standard fielding rates and home run rates per fly ball as it relates to the ballpark and the pitchers peripherals that he controls, stands at 3.36. That is a good indicator of how well he has pitched and what we can expect going forward.

I do not worry about him at all. The results will fall in line. He is actually pitching as well as he ever has over a full season although he has had some truly dominant stretches. I feel a dominant stretch coming on for him.

[Mackus]

I'm as worried about Bedard as I am of being mauled by a polar bear on my morning commute.

He's gonna close out the season with a 3.50 ERA or so, his overall ERA will be skewed by the rough start, but he'll still be nasty.

I'd hate to see him traded, but if we do decide to blow things up and we can't extend him for the next 3-4 years, it'd be a great time to look to deal him. We'll get more in return for him than we will for Tejada. I'd much rather extend him than trade him, but if we can't, I'd see what offers are out there. He's not a guy we'd have to move though, since we still have him for two more years and his trade value isn't going to be getting any lower.

[Sports Guy]

I'd like to extend him as well but I don't think it is absolutely neccessary right now. His departure isn't imminent. We could still trade him next year and get the same kind of offers- more or less- for him. It's too early in my mind to be thinking of trading one of the young arms we've spent so much time and effort cultivating.

Also, Eric's chances of getting hurt aren't any higher than any other pitchers. There is always that risk but in his case it isn't extreme. I mean by that logic any pitcher becomes expendable simply because of the nature of thier postion.

Have you paid attention to his career?