Bedard trade, so far, a major plus for Orioles
It's never easy trading away a young, star player -- especially a pitcher -- and when the Orioles sent Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners in the off-season deal, there was considerable apprehension, even among Orioles fans who realized that the team needed to rebuild and that you have you give up something to get something.
But in the early going, at least, the Orioles seem to have gotten a steal -- actually a couple of steals, in the five-for-one trade that made the lefty a Mariner. Those would be center fielder Adam Jones and pitcher George Sherrill.
Last night's deciding run, a solo homer in the seventh inning that helped the O's to a 3-2 victory over Minnesota, came courtesy of the 22-year-old Jones, whose play has been quietly encouraging. He hasn't shown enormous power by that should come as he develops. After going quiet at the plate for the last 10 days or so of May, this month Jones has hit .368 with 7 RBIs, including a couple of game-winning blows. For the year, he's a respectable .256 with three home runs and 24 RBIs batting mostly at the bottom of the order.
Sherrill, meanwhile, has been one constant in an up-and-down Orioles' season that now sees the O's again inching toward .500 (29-30). A rock as a closer, Sherrill last night notched his 20th save.
Meanwhile, in Bedard's time with Seattle, he has been something far short of the Cy Young-caliber pitcher Orioles fans recall from last year. And his new team is similarly suffering at 18 games under .500. In a column in today's Sun, I wrote about the tribulations suffered by both Bedard and former manager Sam Perlozzo, now a coach for the Mariners, earlier this week. Bedard is struggling at 4-4 with a bloated ERA of 4.47. After failing to get out of the fourth inning Tuesday in a loss to the Angels, Seattle fans booed him off the mound.
Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, in an interview with a Seattle paper, wouldn't say he was disappointed with Bedard but did admit that he was perplexed. Bavasi on Bedard: "He cannot seem to get his feet on the ground in Seattle. He cannot get his arms around it yet. You see a brilliant outing, and then you see an awful outing. Right now, I wish his wheels didn't come off so easily."
Comments
Who is Bedrad?
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Thanks we got the typo fixed.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 6, 2008 10:47 AM
That was the best thing the orioles did trade bedard. he was a malcontent who always seemed to get a little injury towards the end of the year. Andy deserves lot's of credit for that trade.Sometimes as i myself found out in life grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Posted by: bob lancione | June 6, 2008 11:52 AM
Too bad about Bedard being booed. I feel really sorry for him.
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Tom,
In the reports from out there when McLaren went out to get him, Bedard barely looked at the manager. It sounds a little ugly.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Tom in FL | June 6, 2008 12:09 PM
By the way, the trade is even more valuable if you consider that right now George Sherrill could likely fetch a decent, starting LF or 1B. Probably a player like himself in the 3-4 years experience group. Sherrill's salary for this year ($980K) and the way he'd performed have to make him very valuable. Do you keep or trade? It's like the stock market in that regard. One thing is that his trade value might never be any higher than it is right now. Atlanta needs a closer. You could trade Sherrill and Peyton for a starting outfielder to go with Jones and Markakis? Then JJ becomes closer until Ray comes back? Bradford moves back to the 8th inning and Loewen works the 7th? I like the guy but do we really think he's going to save 90-95% of his games and get 50 saves a year?
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Tom,
Boy, you make an intiguing point. Sherrill may be having a career year ... he could get 50 saves this season, if the Orioles put him in a position to do that, but this is something of a pleasant surprise. It really comes down to Ray. If you think he's going to come back, he's four or five years younger than Sherrill and makes George expendable for the right price. That's a big if, though, and closers are worth their weight in gold. You just don't know how long they'll last, though.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Tom in FL | June 6, 2008 12:15 PM
I like Erik. Personally, I think its pressure. Seattle gave up a lot for him and he is trying to justify it.
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Capt.,
He's also been hurt. A hip inflammation back in April. He can be a little moody, according to people who have been around him. When McLaren went out to get him on Tuesday, Erik barely looked at the manager, according to reports from out there. Maybe it means zero but maybe this is a little uglier than it even appears on the surface. I think he'll pull out of it but right now, it looks like the O's did the right thing and the Mariners only signed him to a one-year deal, I believe.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Captain Jack | June 6, 2008 12:27 PM
Bill, I think it's far too early to judge this or the Astros trade. Bedard may win 12 games in a row, the Mariners may get hot and grab a playoff spot. Bedard may also have a CY-Young career and/or win 200 games-who knows?
Adam Jones may well be another Andruw or Chipper or he could be Lynn or Rupert. Sherill is doing a great job but who knows if the other 3 guys we received will ever pan out.
Obviously, as a die-hard O's fan, I hope all 10 guys end up Oriole all-stars or at least decent players. As far as who got the better of the deal(s), it really doesn't matter to me as long we receive production from the new guys. If Tejada and Bedard keep playing well for their new teams-great!
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Terry,
You're right ... and I wasn't saying it was the Louisiana Purchase. Just what the case has been so far. Thanks for wriring.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: TerryP | June 6, 2008 1:50 PM
Bill, I agree with you that Bedard will eventually pull out of his funk . Bedard may be moody sourgrapes kind of person , but he is also competitive , which makes me think Bedard will break out sooner or later .
If Bedard doesnt live up to his ability , then it will be Seattle's version of Glenn Davis Trade . At least they didnt hand Bedard a Zito-like contract YET.
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Yeah, that one-year deal could turn out to be a good thing for them.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Allan | June 6, 2008 2:26 PM
My grand son's friend who hit against our 1st. pick says he can't miss. Stan is a real good hitter and said that our #1 pick is tough to hit. Lots of movement. We'll see!
Posted by: Herb | June 6, 2008 8:32 PM
As great as the trades have been so far for the O's, I think they'll only get better. Wasn't Troy Patton supposed to be the centerpiece of the Tejada trade? Although he's hurt this year, he could turn out to be something special in the coming years.
And I think Chris Tillman will be the gem of the Bedard trade once he's ready -- even more than Adam Jones and that's saying a lot! Kudos to Andy McPhail... keep up the good work.
Posted by: Paul | June 7, 2008 11:27 AM