Erik Bedard News: Pro Sports Daily

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September 18

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Given his general demeanor, Erik Bedard wasn't about to spend much of the past three months talking about his injuries. He's not big on talking, and what would have been the point? Bedard couldn't pitch, his left shoulder was sore and it wasn't getting better. On Tuesday, Bedard and the Mariners agreed he needed to undergo exploratory surgery. On Wednesday, he talked about his painful first season in Seattle and the prospect of missing as much as half of the 2009 season. Hip pain sent him to the disabled list in April, though just before that, he first felt pain in his shoulder. He's due to undergo surgery Sept. 26. "The start after I hurt my hip, I felt discomfort in the last inning I ..."

Bedard to have shoulder surgery

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September 17

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"The saga of Erik Bedard's shoulder has been in the background of the Mariners season all summer. Bedard, who hasn't pitched since July 4, has spent 2 1/2 months trying to avoid surgery after suffering tightness in his left shoulder. Tuesday the Mariners and Bedard acknowledged rest and rehabilitation had failed. The club and the pitcher agreed exploratory surgery is the best option. Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform the operation Sept. 26. The left-hander had surgery on his left elbow in 2003. "I'm not concerned with surgery," Bedard said Tuesday after the Mariners' 6-3 loss in Kansas City. Other than that, Bedard put off talking about the process for the time being, leaving that to others. ..."

For now, rehabilitating Bedard must be content with 'baby steps'

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August 5

Tacoma News Tribune

"Exactly one month since Erik Bedard threw a pitch for the Seattle Mariners, it appears likely it will be at least another month before he's ready to pitch again. Sidelined by a shoulder impingement, Bedard is playing catch this week and looking ahead. "I'm not comfortable with the thought of not pitching again this season," Bedard said. "I kind of have to throw just to know I'm fine. One start wouldn't be enough to know I'm back at full strength - you've got to make a couple of starts to see how you bounce back." For now, playing catch is "baby steps," he said. "I've been doing a lot of weight work and things off the field, but without doing anything baseball related, it's tough to feel ..."

Mariners starter Bedard's first step back consists of 60 feet

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August 4

Tacoma News Tribune

"Rarely has a simple game of catch been so reported on in advance, or drawn so many questions once it was completed. On Sunday, for the first time in a month, Erik Bedard played catch. Trainer Rick Griffin talked about it to a swarm of reporters. "He said he felt good. This is the first step. Just the fact that he felt good throwing and didn't have any discomfort, that's a great sign," Griffin said. "Every day we'll add to it." Acquired in an offseason trade and named opening-day starter for the Seattle Mariners, Bedard has gone 6-4 with a 3.67 earned-run average - but missed time because of injuries to his hip, back and now shoulder. Playing catch in left field before the game, Bedard ..."

Former Oriole Bedard hopes for '08 return

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August 3

Baltimore Sun

"When Erik Bedard walked up to the top step of the Seattle Mariners' dugout during the ninth inning of the Orioles' 10-5 victory Friday, several of his former teammates yelled at him from across the field. Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera asked Bedard what was wrong, and the Mariners pitcher immediately pointed to his left shoulder. Injuries have limited Bedard, whom the Orioles traded to the Mariners in February for reliever George Sherrill, outfielder Adam Jones and three prospects, to 15starts. "Pretty much the one thing that I didn't want to happen happened," said Bedard, who is 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA. "I came here after a trade and got hurt. It's really disappointing that I can't help the ..."

No timetable set for Bedard's return

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July 28

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Another series came and went for the Mariners on Sunday and still no word on when left-hander Erik Bedard will be able to resume throwing. Seattle had previously hoped Bedard would pitch on the side during the club's three-game set in Toronto, but the 29-year-old didn't feel like his tight left shoulder was up to the task. "He's not at the point where he's ready to throw," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "It's going to take time, and I don't know when it's going to be." Even once Bedard agrees to resume throwing it will be quite a while before he is able to return to the rotation. Bedard hasn't pitched since July 4 against the Tigers and will require at least a couple of bullpen ..."

MRI confirms Bedard has sore shoulder

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July 23

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"The Erik Bedard saga took another twist Tuesday. With his left shoulder having improved only negligibly in the past few weeks, the Mariners starting pitcher had an MRI exam. Bedard threw a little in the batting cages Sunday, but when he didn't feel he could throw again Monday, the Mariners decided to see if an MRI could find a problem. "We'd hoped to have him throw a bit on Monday," manager Jim Riggleman said. "He didn't feel up to it, so we scheduled the MRI. Hopefully the news is good." It was, relatively speaking. The MRI and a subsequent exam by Mariners medical director Dr. Edward Khalfayan confirmed the original diagnosis of an internal impingement, or sore shoulder."

These big names could be going, going, gone

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July 20

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Between now and the end of the month, there figures to be at least a few big names being shipped around the league. Unlike in years past, trading partners aren’t waiting until the deadline to deal for big names like CC Sabathia or Rich Harden. But it still is fun to wait and see what happens July 31, when teams have to make moves without the players first clearing waivers. So who could be going to a new team between now and then? Here’s an educated (as in a Texas A&M education) guess regarding six big names who could have a new address by Aug. 1."

Aching shoulder may keep Mariners starter Erik Bedard out until August

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July 19

Seattle Times

"There appears a growing chance that Mariners starting pitcher Erik Bedard won't get back on a mound until August. Bedard rejoined the team Friday and told the coaching staff he was unable to throw on the side during the All-Star break without any discomfort in his shoulder. The team has shut Bedard down for a few days as a result; he won't even attempt to play catch until Monday at the earliest. Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said he'd like to see Bedard play catch a couple of times before allowing him to throw a bullpen session. That makes it nearly impossible that Bedard would make more than a single start by the July 31 trade deadline, if even that."

Bedard still hurt, trade value dead

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July 19

Tacoma News Tribune

"Pitcher Erik Bedard returned from his All-Star break Friday and told the Seattle Mariners that his tender left shoulder – which has sidelined him since July 4 – is no better than it was last week. “We’re going to shut him down until Monday, and hope he can play catch then,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “There’s no timetable on getting him back. We’re not trying to pitch him before July 31.” That, of course, is the major league trading deadline. It’s clear now that Bedard won’t be dealt, as a) he may not be off the disabled list by then and b) interested teams would want to have seen him pitch."

Shift in the trade market

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July 9

Seattle Times

"On the one hand, the move limits the markets available for the Mariners to deal Bedard to ? though Chicago was always a longshot at best. The flip side of that, though, is that the trade of the oft-injured Harden, one day after CC Sabathia was dealt to Milwaukee, leaves Bedard as one of the few viable options for a contending team hoping to land a top-of-the-rotation arm. The trouble with Bedard is that he has battled an assortment of hurts and now has trouble going more than five or six innings. Seattle will have to try to get Bedard healthy enough to pitch deeper into games after the break if it hopes to maximize any returns for him on the trade front. Any serious returns for ..."

Injuries still hindering Bedard

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July 6

Seattle Times

"After watching his team's big winter acquisition toil through long innings and leave too early again, Mariners manager Jim Riggleman surmised Saturday that injuries could still be bothering Erik Bedard. "I don't think he's really totally feeling right, with whatever was happening before ?hip, back and all that," Riggleman said. "He may be pitching a lot more than he should." Bedard allowed one run in five innings and 99 pitches on Friday, his sixth consecutive start dating to May 28 in which he didn't throw more than 100 pitches or get into the seventh inning."

Bedard likely to start Sunday for Hernandez

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June 26

Seattle Times

"Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is increasingly unlikely to make his scheduled start on Sunday against the Padres, with Erik Bedard now penciled in to pitch the game. Bedard hasn't pitched since coming out of last Friday's game in Atlanta after three innings with a back spasm. Bedard hadn't even been able to throw, other than playing catch on flat ground, until Wednesday, when he had a bullpen session that pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre termed "very good." Stottlemyre said that as long as Bedard comes through last night's cross-country flight to San Diego and another bullpen session on Friday without any setbacks, he's their pick to face Jake Peavy on Sunday."

How do you solve a problem like Erik Bedard?

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June 13

Seattle Times

columnist Larry Stone

"As if the Mariners don't have enough pressing issues percolating in their troubled world, the future of Erik Bedard is one that must be addressed very soon. Too early to worry about it? Not with the trade deadline approaching rapidly, and this team having very few chips to play."

Bedard Rumors Every Time He Visits Toronto

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June 10

Seattle Times

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"Erik Bedard continues to be a topic of interest in Toronto, which is about a three-hour drive from his Navan, Ontario, home. Bedard is set to become a free agent after the 2009 season, and there is widespread speculation he could sign with the Blue Jays. But sources in Toronto indicated on Monday that the team has cooled on Bedard and may no longer be interested in acquiring him - now or later. The Jays have had some public-relations issues the past few seasons with A.J. Burnett, a pitcher expected to use an escape clause to opt out of his five-year deal with Toronto after this season. Several Toronto-area writers requested to speak with Bedard during this series, but he declined ..."

Bedard can still help Mariners - in a trade

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June 9

Tacoma News Tribune

columnist John McGrath

"It’s time to begin the dismantling of Seattle’s $117 million flophouse. Your move, wrecking ball. With seven weeks remaining until the interleague trading deadline, the Mariners don’t have to hold an “All Items Must Go!” clearance sale – not yet, anyway – but there’s an opportunity at hand, and if the front office chooses to be as passive in the midsummer swap meet as the players are in a one-run game at Fenway Park, we’ll recall 2008 as merely the graffiti-writing on the wall before a decade of blight. Who goes? The better question is: Who doesn’t?...The more I watch Bedard throw 70 pitches in three innings, the more I suspect he belongs in the National League, where ..."

Bedard excellent in 1-0 Mariners win

May 29

Seattle Times

"One could taste the nostalgia building up in the stadium as strike after strike was fired by the home team. Those watching the Mariners dismantle the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox from the mound could reflect back to a simpler time. Back when Erik Bedard was still a savior, destined to bridge a gap to late-inning relievers Brandon Morrow and J.J. Putz. Not to mention a long-awaited playoff berth. Bedard finally delivered all that and more in this 1-0 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night."