Sign of spring
Bedard gives M’s a reason to smile as camp opens
PEORIA, Ariz. – Ten minutes, a few dozen or so pitches off a bullpen mound, and Erik Bedard had plenty to be happy about.
The Seattle Mariners lefty, whose recovery from shoulder surgery wasn’t enough to allow him to pitch in a single major league game last season, took the mound from Day One of spring training Monday for the Mariners.
If he’s healthy come opening day – a big if considering he has missed all or part of the past three seasons as a Mariner – Bedard is expected to be in Seattle’s starting rotation.
It’s a group that could use a veteran who has a history of winning at the big-league level.
“It’s been a long road and just glad to be healthy and have no pain,” Bedard said. “Just to be here and enjoy baseball.”
Bedard, 31, has been at the center of Mariners fans’ frustrations with the club, given the price the club paid to acquire him in a 2008 trade with Baltimore and the five stints he’s had on the disabled list since then.
The first was for a hip inflammation, then the throwing shoulder problems arose in the second half of 2008. Bedard had shoulder surgery that ended his 2009 season, but was re-signed by Seattle that offseason only to spend all of 2010 on the disabled list.
He said he hasn’t felt this good in two years, when Bedard finished 5-3 with a 2.82 earned-run average but was shut down after July 25, 2009.
“Roller coaster. Feeling good, feeling bad. Sometimes discouraged because you’re not making progress or you’re not even close to making it back,” Bedard said of his range of emotions over the past couple of years.
The goal now for Bedard is to be pain-free. Innings or pitch counts are secondary.
“He’s definitely not letting it rip, but I don’t think anybody that’s smart at this point is lighting it up,” said Josh Bard, who caught Bedard on Monday. “When you have a guy like him that’s played for a long time and he understands the long process of the season, the thing that I was really encouraged by is he threw some curve balls and they looked like they had good arm speed. Everybody in this clubhouse really cares about Erik.”
Bedard apparently cared a lot about his teammates, too. He spurned other offers to sign a non-guaranteed, one-year, $1 million contract and come back to the Mariners this offseason.
“I like everybody here. I like the staff, the fans, the city and I feel comfortable here,” Bedard said. “For me, feeling comfortable is important.”
Manager Eric Wedge said he and the staff are rooting for Bedard. On Sunday, he talked about how impressed he was by Bedard’s decision to re-sign with the Mariners.
“I don’t think we need to ease him in, I just think once we do get him going, we need to keep an eye on him,” Wedge said. “Right now he’s healthy, he’s on line, just let him prepare like everyone else. Keep communicating with him and make sure we keep seeing that free and easy. If we do that, I think we’ll be OK.”