SEATTLE (AP) -After 16 months, one canceled reunion and the overwhelming belief he has been a disappointment to his new team, Erik Bedard gets to face his old team.
And, no, the Baltimore Orioles’ former ace isn’t fretting.
“Seeing all the guys again,” Bedard said Monday, a day before he starts for Seattle against Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff and the few Orioles who remain from his time there, “I’ll try not to laugh.”
The ace of few words has always seemed bemused by the attention given to the 5-for-1 trade that brought him to the Mariners in February, 2008. Baltimore received a budding star in outfielder Adam Jones, a closer who became an All-Star in George Sherrill and a top pitching prospect in Chris Tillman.
Seattle went on to loss 101 games last season, and fire general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren along the way.
Bedard was scheduled to start in Baltimore on April 6, 2008, in the second week of the season after the trade. But he was scratched with a hip injury.
“I was scared,” he joked Monday.
As for Tuesday’s start.
“I haven’t thought about it,” he said of facing the Orioles for the first time since he won 28 games for them in 2006 and ’07. “It’s been what, a year and half now?”
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley was Bedard’s manager for the last 93 games of the 2007 season, when he set an Orioles record with 221 strikeouts. Trembley thinks it won’t be just another start for the left-hander.
“I would expect Erik Bedard would be at the top of his game,” he said.
That game hasn’t matched the price Seattle paid for it.
Bedard hasn’t been bad – 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 15 starts last season, 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA in nine starts entering Tuesday – just not dependable.
He pitched with a bum shoulder for the first half of 2008 before shutting down for good following a start on July 4. A cyst was removed from his pitching shoulder during arthroscopic surgery in September.
He said he’s finally back to feeling himself now, after having a recent start pushed back for a hamstring injury. He could become a free agent at season’s end.
Jones was the jewel of the trade for Baltimore and he’s blossoming into a star. He entered Monday having hit safely in 26 of the last 32 games, batting .346 in that span. He co-led the Orioles with 11 home runs.
He brushed off any significance to finally facing Bedard.
the toughest pitcher to face. And why not want to face one of the toughest pitchers?”
The rest of the deal hasn’t gone too badly for Baltimore, either.
Sherrill came to Seattle having converted 10 of his last 12 saves. He had 31 saves as a first-time All-Star last year.
The Mariners were on their fourth closer since Sherrill left Monday, because Mark Lowe was filling in for a tired David Aardsma. Aardsma has taken over for Brandon Morrow, who flopped trying to take over for the traded J.J. Putz.
Tillman, Seattle’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2007 as a 19-year-old, entered Monday 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore also got left-hander Tony Butler, who is 3-4 at Class-A Delmarva, and reliever Kam Mickolio.
Mickolio entered Monday 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA in 14 games at Norfolk.
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