Bedard gets a talking to

[blueberryale77]

Roch is busy tonight. He just posted another blog entry after the lineup. In this one, he says...

Trembley told reporters that he called Bedard into his office today and lectured him on the importance of talking to the press after games. Trembley apologized to the assembled media and said it wouldn't happen again.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I'm glad that Trembley takes his role as disciplinarian seriously and stresses professional conduct in all aspects of the game. On the other, I'm not sure I like him making a point to the press that he had that talk with Bedard. I think the best course of action might have been to have the talk with Bedard privately and ask him to apologize to the reporters on his own behalf rather than let the press know he got "called into the office." What do you guys think?

[JTrea81]

Roch is busy tonight. He just posted another blog entry after the lineup. In this one, he says...

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I'm glad that Trembley takes his role as disciplinarian seriously and stresses professional conduct in all aspects of the game. On the other, I'm not sure I like him making a point to the press that he had that talk with Bedard. I think the best course of action might have been to have the talk with Bedard privately and ask him to apologize to the reporters on his own behalf rather than let the press know he got "called into the office." What do you guys think?

Interesting. Bedard could get pissed off and want out after that or he could take the criticism and start talking to the media. Hopefully it's the latter...

[LookitsPuck]

It was rather curious that he told the media about that. Not sure I like that move. I do like that he talked to him, though.

[blueberryale77]

I'm sorry, but I could give two sh!its if Bedard talks to the press. As long as he pitches like he did last night, he can do whatever the hell he wants. I don't like that Trembley made it sound like it's such a huge deal talking to the press. That sounds like he is just trying to save face with the media, and get people to talk positively about him. I say don't do anything to piss off our best pitcher who might leave in two years.

I know this is an overused cliche, but baseball is a business. Teams need media to cover their games or they wouldn't make much if any money and would not be able to employ Erik Bedard in a baseball-throwing capacity. Talking to the media is not a major part of the job, but it is a small part, because it's something that needs to be done to keep the business running. Trembley may have made too big of a deal out of it, or that may have been driven by the press themselves because they have had a bit of animosity towards Bedard for awhile over this, but I can't possibly fault Trembley for thinking that he as manager has a right to correct his player over failure to perform a part of his job, even if it is a very small part. The bone of contention is whether he should have allowed that to become public or not. I don't think Trembley was consciously thinking about winning favor with the media for himself, but I do think he may have made the wrong decision in how he handled the issue with them.

[YardBirds13]

I know this is an overused cliche, but baseball is a business. Teams need media to cover their games or they wouldn't make much if any money and would not be able to employ Erik Bedard in a baseball-throwing capacity. Talking to the media is not a major part of the job, but it is a small part, because it's something that needs to be done to keep the business running. Trembley may have made too big of a deal out of it, or that may have been driven by the press themselves because they have had a bit of animosity towards Bedard for awhile over this, but I can't possibly fault Trembley for thinking that he as manager has a right to correct his player over failure to perform a part of his job, even if it is a very small part. The bone of contention is whether he should have allowed that to become public or not. I don't think Trembley was consciously thinking about winning favor with the media for himself, but I do think he may have made the wrong decision in how he handled the issue with them.

Agree with you that baseball is a business. However, is it good business to make a guy who is quite possibly your best player, get all pissy and make him not want to re-sign when his time comes?

Look, I understand your point, but there are 24 other guys the media can feast on after the games. I understand they want to talk to Erik, but you know what, if you ran a business that actually consisted of a winning team, no one would care that Bedard didn't like talking to the media. That should be the concern of this team, not if their best pitcher wants to talk to the media or not.

[El Gordo]

I don't blame anyone for having reservations about dealing with the press. Eddie Murray did, and look what happened to him. I'm sure Erick is going to be more predisposed to sign that extension now.

[orioles119]

Look, I understand your point, but there are 24 other guys the media can feast on after the games. I understand they want to talk to Erik, but you know what, if you ran a business that actually consisted of a winning team, no one would care that Bedard didn't like talking to the media. That should be the concern of this team, not if their best pitcher wants to talk to the media or not.

Well... considering that the media is just doing their job as well. Who wouldn't want to talk to the pitcher who shut out the Yankees in seven innings of work leading to a shutuout victory for the team?

I say good for Trembley.

[Baltimoron]

I am absolutely floored people would think that Trembley should have done anything else.

Bedard was supposed to meet with the media and didn't. Trembley apologized to the media, explaining he spoke with Bedard and said it won't happen again. Not speaking to the media is a problem.

Part of the manager's job is to deal with the media on behalf of his players. He did, nipping any issues in the bud, instead of forcing EB into what is apparently uncomfortable for him to do, which is meet with the media.

Would people have rather him ignored the issue or "forced" Bedard to meet with the media?

[Baltimoron]

Agree with you that baseball is a business. However, is it good business to make a guy who is quite possibly your best player, get all pissy and make him not want to re-sign when his time comes?

You do realize Trembley was acting in Bedard's best interest in speaking to the media?

[JohnD]

Holy crap, this ant hill is not Mt. Everest.

Part of Bedard's job responsibility is to talk with the media. It's in the rules, and I think even part of his and every player's standard MLB contract, though I'm not sure. Trembley showing a little courtesy to the media isn't a bad thing. It's actually rather nice of him to make them aware of the situation, since it had become rather routine.

That said, when the hell was Bedard ever going to walk up to MacPhail and ask for a new contract? And if this single incident is going to be a deal breaker of sorts then wow, good riddance anyway. This ranks right below whether the locker room has gatorade or powerade in stock. You guys are amazing sometimes.

[Baltimoron]

That's not the point.

You have no problem with him telling the press about a private conversation?

There is no private matter here. This was a public affront to the media that was (as I understand it) in defiance of his obligations as a member of the Orioles. The notion this is a private matter is ridiculous.

[Chollie Eckman]

It's all about carrying yourself as a professional. It's about time somebody starts holding these guys accountable.

[blueberryale77]

Also, in regards to it being a part of Bedard's job. That may be somewhat true, but I can't see it impacting the bottom line (how much he makes). I seriously doubt it is brought up in arbitration hearings, except for with maybe a really desperate team. I can pretty much guarantee it doesn't come up once he becomes a FA. I can see it now:

Well Erik, we were going to offer you a 5/60 deal, but because you don't talk to the press we're going to drop it to a 5/50 deal. (and yes, I'm being somewhat facetious.)

It may not make a player more money, but it does have its impact. If Brian Roberts were an a-hole to the press, we'd have Adam LaRoche on our team right now.

[UMDTerrapins]

It's hard to know how or why he took this course. Some people are very good at managing people, and telling the media may have been his way of dealing with the response he got from Bedard.

In Trembley's position, if Bedard responded poorly to the meeting, I could see him saying "I don't approve of how you deal with the media, I'm putting you on notice that you're accountable from now on, and I'm going to let them know how I feel because you WILL change this behavior".

Some people require this kind of treatment. If you watched one of Bedard's post game press conferences in a hallway about a month ago, you'd probably agree that he thinks the media are lower life forms. This may be true, but they're a part of the job.

What I do like is that Trembley is not afraid of showing anyone on this team that he is running the show. That earns big points from me as a fan.

[Guest rochester]

Holy crap, this ant hill is not Mt. Everest.

Part of Bedard's job responsibility is to talk with the media. It's in the rules, and I think even part of his and every player's standard MLB contract, though I'm not sure. Trembley showing a little courtesy to the media isn't a bad thing. It's actually rather nice of him to make them aware of the situation, since it had become rather routine.

That said, when the hell was Bedard ever going to walk up to MacPhail and ask for a new contract? And if this single incident is going to be a deal breaker of sorts then wow, good riddance anyway. This ranks right below whether the locker room has gatorade or powerade in stock. You guys are amazing sometimes.

I was going to say the same thing..and probably much, much better..but...err, ok, not nearly as well. I even thought of an ant hill analogy but still not as good.

I like Trembley doing this...this IS part of being a professional! His teammates do it, and last time I looked this is a team. Trembley has been VERY clear that this is a team..no primadonna stuff.