Erik Bedard, hot commodity

It would be remiss to not make note of the first trade rumours of the season surrounding Erik Bedard, the Seattle Mariners pitcher from Navan, Ont., near Ottawa.

"Bedard, who is reasonably priced at $7.75 million, could enhance several rotations, including those of the Phillies, who could now lose Brett Myers for the year (which they have -- Ed.), plus the White Sox, Brewers and others.

"... Bedard, who is 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA and back to showing his immense talent after a rough initial year in Seattle, is the clear headliner."

FOXSports.com's ubiquitous Ken Rosenthal (when does that man sleep?) reported the defending World Series champion Phillies believe they have "only one move," which is to add a top-end starter.
The experts wonder if the low-key, small-town Bedard could hold up pitching in Philly, which seems like a legitimate question.

Meantime, Bedard is a top-end starter ... when he's on. He is, after all, a 30-year-old pitcher who has worked more than 190 innings only once. The numbers quoted above might have got a boost from his competition. His three wins this season are against Oakland and L.A., two of the poorer hitting teams in the American League.

He does have to be used carefully with regard to pitch counts (don't let him go past 100). However, when he had his best season with the Orioles in 2007, he was able to get a lot of ground balls, which is a prereq to pitch at the little bandbox ballpark in Philadelphia. The Phillies could do a lot worse for a trade-deadline addition.

As Peavy saga drags on, Bedard may become hot commodity (Sports Illustrated)