Forgive the tabloid headline, but if you don’t have a little fun blogging, what’s the point. And so few people know Erik Bedard …
The left-hander, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery, has been working so hard – and this comes from Mariners team doctors and trainers – that he’s progressing at a faster pace than expected.
Does that mean he’ll be back in the Seattle rotation sooner than mid-to-late May? Not necessarily, but it’s viewed by the Mariners as good news indeed.
Bedard will move from long toss to a light bullpen session on the mound on March 23. Initially, the team didn’t expect him to get on a mound for any reason before April.
“He’s really worked hard, on and off the field, and done a lot of things nobody sees because they’re back in the training room and weight room,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “Erik’s feeling great.”
It’s not just Bedard’s arm that’s better. His sense of belonging on this team has grown, and not only is he accepted by everyone in the clubhouse, he’s having fun with teammates.
During team stretch, for instance, Bedard snuck up behind ace Felix Hernandez and seized him with a bear hug – a Canadian bear hug – and both laughed.
That never happened in 2008. It didn’ happen in 2009. This spring, Bedard is getting healthy, and he’s at peace with himself and his teammates.
Good news! A healthy Bedard along with Felix and Lee has got to be the best top 3 rotation in baseball.
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If Bedard joins the team in May or June at 100%, and Trader Jack gets the backing of the owners to take on payroll at the all star break for an RBI man from a team that’s out of it wanting to dump payroll, I see nothing to stop us from our first world series. Our bottom of the rotation is better than the critics are saying, and they can win with a little run support. They do have a good defense behind them
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The defense behind them is not just *good* – it’s great! Really the only less-than-stellar defenders in the field will be Bradley (who I’m still hoping is mostly going to be a DH once the real season starts, same way as Griffey was handled after last spring) and wherever Lopez is playing.
Actually now that I think about it, I have no idea what our pitchers are like fielding-wise. And Moore is apparently a decent defensive catcher, but Johnson’s not particularly good. But they’re not *behind* the pitcher anyway.
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This could be the feelgood story of the year!
Re Westside Guy: Am I the only Rob Johnson fan in Seattle??? (other then Wak)
I think he is a superb Catcher & likely a superb hitter if he ever gets healthy. I also suspect Moore will eventually be the starter as he’s something really special, but imo a healthy RJ is good enough to be a productive starter for most teams.
When Felix & other pitchers demand that RJ catch them he must be doing something right!
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Moo, while I’m not a fan of his with regards to raw ability, you are right that the pitchers like him – so he must be very good working with the pitchers, which is not a trivial thing. Especially since we all (including me, for sure) tend to forget he doesn’t have all that much major league experience.
His passed ball + wild pitch rates tend to be not so great, and I am not sure that the low batting average is a result of injury (btw I totally realize this is just one guy’s opinion). This year will be a good test to see where his true talent level lays.
But let’s say for argument’s sake he’s about as good this year as last, and in the long run he ends up being a backup. Even backup catchers are considered valuable commodities, especially when they have the “works well with pitchers” mojo. Look at Jamie Burke for example – not really a star, but he’s had a good long major league career largely because he’s “good enough” offensively and defensively, knows how to work with a pitcher AND especially how to mentor other catchers. Even with my more cynical view of Johnson, I think he’ll be around a long time in one capacity or another for these very reasons.
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Don’t rush him! Two solid months, that’s about all he’s got.
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