Now that the Erik Bedard saga is over and he has been dispatched, fittingly, to the left coast, you might think the Orioles have unloaded their biggest wart, rather than the ace of their beleaguered pitching staff.
That, of course, is not the official position emanating from The Warehouse, but it sure seems like the consensus generated in the media is good riddance ? take those six-plus dominating innings per game to Seattle, where your personality and the weather should be a perfect match.
It should be noted that also waiting in Seattle is J.J. Putz, the kind of intimidating closer who might?ve earned Bedard a couple more wins last year and could transform him from a potential stud to one of baseball?s premier pitchers. Everybody seems to be in agreement that this is a trade Andy MacPhail had to make if the Orioles were going to lay the groundwork if they are ever going to turn the corner ? but they also know he can?t afford to be wrong on this one.
In an era of over specialization, where dominant closers are “one inning wonders” who need effective setup men to be successful, Bedard has often been criticized for leaving the job unfinished. Usually that criticism has come when the back end of the bullpen failed to do its job, and after his high strikeout total ? he averaged more per inning than any starter in baseball last year ? had pushed his pitch count beyond the dreaded 100 barrier.
Bedard hardly is the first pitcher to be tagged with the “early exit” rap ? and, in fact, it was worn by the pitcher involved in the most spectacularly successful trade in club history. When Milt Pappas was dealt to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson more than four decades ago he carried the same reputation Bedard takes with him to Seattle ? despite the fact that he completed 48 percent of his starts (37 of 77) his past three years with the Orioles. That, obviously, was a bum rap that stuck on Pappas, who came to the big leagues to stay as a 19-year old.
That was a much different era, and pitchers were judged differently, more harshly, if you will. Jim Palmer was another who too often was accused of seeking an early exit, despite logging 211 complete games in his Hall of Fame career.
“It?s a different game now,” said Bill Hunter, the Orioles? third base coach and later manager of the Texas Rangers during the Pappas-Palmer eras. “I wasn?t around Pappas that much (1964-65), but he was our best pitcher when he was traded. And Bedard is by far the best pitcher who?s been around here for awhile.
“How many guys pitch seven innings now? They don?t expect them to go that far,” added Hunter, noting that complete games have almost vanished from the game. “My guess is he (Bedard) would?ve won a few more games if the bullpen had held up.”
Bedard had one complete game last year, the only one of his career. But perhaps surprisingly, that leaves him only five behind Johan Santana, the darling of this year?s trade market who has had more than one only once in his career. Despite the obvious difference in the teams they play for, the statistics of Santana and Bedard over the last two years are remarkably similar ? and most scouts insist the same is true of the quality of their pitches.
Santana?s track record is two years deeper than Bedard?s, but his innings pitched over the last two years are not significantly better. From this perspective that leads to the fairly obvious conclusion that it?s not the length of his starts, but rather his interviews, that left a sour taste.
I?ve never dealt with Bedard one-on-one, but it?s obvious he?s not very comfortable in those situations. He?s not very effusive in whatever dialogue he does engage in, and away from his teammates he probably would be considered an introvert.
He?s hardly the first athlete to fall into any of those categories. And we all certainly know he?s neither the first nor last who would prefer not to deal with the media, very often much to our chagrin.
Maybe Erik Bedard won?t win any more popularity contests in Seattle, or any other subsequent stops, than he did here, but it really doesn?t matter. He won 28 games here over the past two years, no small feat considering his supporting cast, and figures to win a lot more before his career is over as long as he stays healthy, in which case MacPhail knows the Orioles better be able to show a substantial return from the trade.
A Baltimore native who has covered the local and national sports scene for more than 40 years, Jim Henneman is a past president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and an active voter for baseball?s Hall of Fame. His column also appears weekly in Press Box. He can be reached at [email protected].
