Erik Bedard, 2007 Topps Allen and Ginter #112

Last night Erik Bedard had ten strikeouts and no hits allowed through the first six and one-third innings against the Mariners. However, he found himself working in a 2-2 game, thanks to a bit of sixth-inning wildness and some poor defense: three walks and two Jason Castro passed balls. After Bedard walked Justin Smoak (free pass number five overall) with one out in the seventh, Houston manager Bo Porter came to the mound to ask if the veteran lefty wanted to stay in the game. With his pitch count at 109, Erik told Porter that he was done. Naturally, reliever Jose Cisnero issued another walk, then a Michael Saunders two-run double. It proved to be Seattle's only hit on the night, and they won 4-2, with Bedard getting hung with the loss.

After the game, Bedard gave an honest, blunt explanation of his decision, as he typically does:

"I've had three shoulder surgeries. I'm not going over 110 (pitches). I'd rather pitch a couple more years than face another batter."

I can see his point, but I wonder how many loudmouths whose livelihood does not depend on the integrity of their left shoulder will hammer him for thinking that way...and especially for having the nerve to admit it.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Upper Deck #60

As promised, I watched nearly all of last night's surprising 8-2 Astros win over the Rangers. It didn't really have my undivided attention, but that's the beauty of baseball. I will watch many of my Orioles' 162 regular-season games intently, taking a moment to fret over the bad plays or to celebrate the good ones, but there will be plenty of Rangers-Astros or Tigers-Yankees or Phillies-Braves games that provide a soothing and familiar backdrop to my daily activities. Baseball is a ubiquitous part of my life for the next sixth months...seven, including the postseason.

Anyway, it looked like things would unravel for the underdog Houston team in the sixth inning last night. Starter Bud Norris was clearly running out of gas, and a pair of two-out RBI singles cut the Astros' lead in half. Suddenly a familiar face was summoned from the bullpen to put out the fire. Erik Bedard, the putative fifth starter for the 'Stros, got the call with the tying runs on base and lefty-swinging catcher A. J. Pierzynski due up. Bedard induced a fly out to center field on his second pitch, and the Rangers' rally was squelched. Rather than turn the game into a LaRussa-esque bullpen relay race, Houston manager Bo Porter stayed with the hot hand. Bedard was allowed to pitch the seventh inning...and the eighth...and the ninth. He was near-perfect, retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced an allowing only a one-out, ninth-inning single to Nelson Cruz. Though the home team added four insurance runs in the late innings, Erik earned his first career save the old-fashioned way. Coming off of a pretty miserable 2012 season with the Pirates, maybe the Canadian lefty has found a new role. It's something to consider if he falters in the rotation again.

Erik Bedard, 2003 Topps Total #283

In light of the Orioles' stunning playoff push, I've seen a lot of debate centered around one question: Who deserves the credit for the team's success? Do you give a hearty pat on the back to Andy MacPhail, who acquired several of the key contributors on the 2012 club? Was it Dan Duquette, who seemed to conjure quality minor league free agents and whose trades worked as well as could be hoped? How about Buck Showalter, whose every lineup and bullpen decision seemed to be the right one?

That's all well and good, but I'm thankful for Erik Bedard.

If you go to Dempsey's Army, you'll see Heath Bintliff's sharp-looking flow chart. It depicts the various ways in which the "What the Buck?" O's were assembled. Andy MacPhail's much-discussed February 2008 trade of Bedard to the Seattle Mariners seems to have finally matured, ultimately yielding three key players for this year's Birds. Adam Jones is now a two-time Most Valuable Oriole, and is currently enjoying a career year: .288/.336/.508 with 39 doubles, 32 home runs, and 81 RBI. He's played in all 160 games, and only shortstop J. J. Hardy (156 G) comes close to that. Righthander Chris Tillman had to wait until July to be freed from his extended apprenticeship at AAA Norfolk, but he has been the team's most dependable pitcher down the stretch: 9-2 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. (P.S.: He's still only 24.) The third player took a more circuitous route from the Bedard trade, so follow closely. One-time closer George Sherrill came over from Seattle with Jones and Tillman, but was traded to the Dodgers at the 2009 non-waiver deadline for Josh Bell and...Steve Johnson. Steve, Son of Dave has been just one of several pleasant surprises for the '12 Orioles, excelling as both a middle reliever and a spot starter: 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 38.1 innings. He's also striking out 10.8 batters per 9 innings, which is plenty unexpected for a young man with a fastball that sits around 90 and a career minor league K/9 of 8.5. Oh, and for the record, his dad had a major league K/9 of 3.5 and a minor league mark of 5.0. Yikes.

So sure, hand out your laurels and plaudits to the management types. I'll save my kudos for the guy who got released by the Pirates five months after taking the mound as their Opening Day starter. He was kind enough to let the O's trade him for building blocks before he fell apart.

Erik Bedard, 2008 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee #OPC-EB

Tonight, the Orioles are facing Erik Bedard for the sixth time since trading him to the Seattle Mariners in February 2008. They've never tagged him with a loss, although they did chase him early in a couple of games that they eventually won. Tonight, he's standing between the O's and their first interleague series sweep in two years. I think it's time to give Mr. Bedard a rude welcome back to Baltimore.

Erik Bedard, 2008 Upper Deck Spectrum #9

It's not easy being Erik Bedard. After spending the past four years as a starting pitcher for the If He Were Healthy All-Stars, the lefty signed with the Pirates for $4.5 million this season. So far in 2012, he's been perfectly healthy, and has shown that he's still got some value in that arm. Through four starts, he has a 2.63 ERA and a 135 ERA+. Sure, his strikeouts are down in the early going - 6.4 K/9 IP compared to a career figure of 8.7 K/9 IP, but he's also allowed only one home run in 24 innings.

He's also got an 0-4 record, because the Pirates are an offensive trainwreck. He lost the team's opener by a 1-0 score, with Roy Halladay holding the Bucs to a pair of hits in 8 innings of work. In each of his other three starts, Bedard has permitted two earned runs and received exactly one run of support. It looks like Erik will have to take matters into his own hands. So far he's got a single and four whiffs in eight at-bats this year, but when you account for his interleague appearances, he's a career .214 hitter (6-for-28). Through their first 15 games, the Pirates are hitting .202 as a team. Woof. It's enough to make you wonder if the ex-Oriole had any comparable contract offers last winter, and whether he's having second thoughts about going to Pittsburgh.

Erik Bedard, 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man #1034

When news broke today that Erik Bedard signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Pirates, my first thought was, "that poor bastard". After all, Pittsburgh is baseball's Siberia, a remote, desolate land where nothing grows. The Bucs have famously been the only team to out-bumble the Orioles for the past two decades, running up a string of 19 consecutive losing seasons. But on closer inspection, Pittsburgh is actually a more favorable destination for a ballplayer than Baltimore. Consider:

-After flirting with .500 into midsummer in 2011, a late swoon still left the Pirates with a 72-90 record, 3 games better than the O's. With breakout seasons from young players like Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata, the team could climb a little higher this year.

-The National League is widely acknowledged as being more favorable to pitchers than the American League, due in no small part to the absence of the designated hitter. Bedard had a career ERA of 3.70 in the A.L., and could certainly improve on that mark in the senior circuit.

-There are no Yankees or Red Sox in the Pirates' N.L. Central. 2011 division champ Milwaukee has reportedly given up on retaining free agent slugger Prince Fielder, and also may be reduced to resigning the awful Yuniesky Betancourt for their vacant shortstop position. The defending World Series winners in St. Louis seem likely to retain Albert Pujols, but they only barely scraped into the playoffs with 90 wins and a significant collapse by the wild-card frontrunners from Atlanta. The Cubs are rebuilding, the Reds are inconsistent, and the Astros are hot garbage. There are plenty of wins to be had in the division.

-For someone with Bedard's introverted personality, Pittsburgh is probably a good place to stay out of the headlines.

-Lastly, there's no reason to cry for a guy who averaged less than 100 innings over the past three years when he's getting four and a half million clams guaranteed. I don't think he'll be looking deeply into the bathroom mirror tonight, wondering what has become of his hopes and dreams.

Erik Bedard, 2006 Bowman Heritage #124

Ah, the spoiler role. The last refuge of the damned as another baseball season churns to a finish. But this year, there's potential for some real fun.

Twelve days ago, we were staring at the depressing inevitability of another postseason featuring both the Yankees and the Red Sox. Boston had opened up a 9.5 game cushion over the Rays in the wild card standings. However, Tampa Bay got hot at the same time that the Sawx got hurt. The walking wounded in Beantown include three-fifths of their preferred starting rotation (who would've figured that Erik Bedard would come up lame?), Kevin Youkilis, and now David Ortiz. Dustin Pedroia is scuffling, and so is our old pal Matt Albers (as Jonah Keri hilariously put it, he came to a sudden, painful realization: "Oh, shit, I'm Matt Albers!"). In less than 2 weeks, the gap has been narrowed to 3 games with 16 games remaining for each team. Despite the comparative health of their respective rosters and all the fun talk of momentum, the reality is this: the Rays need help. They've got seven games upcoming against the Yankees. The Red Sox, as Keri and many others have pointed out, have seven games left against those poor, cobbled-together, playing-out-the-string Orioles.

I might be getting carried away, but the O's hold the fate of those hated Red Sox in their hands. Sure, they've been ground into hamburger with dismaying regularity in their head-to-head matchups in recent memory, but anything can happen in a couple of short series. Hell, the Birds have split their eight games against the Yankees since August 26. After years of loudmouth Boston fans jamming into Camden Yards and arrogantly referring to our beautiful stadium as "Fenway South", I can't think of anything sweeter than sending that big-spending, four-hour-game-causing bunch of bozos home empty-handed in October. I also wouldn't be heartbroken if Baltimore dropped the ongoing three-game set against the Rays, but I won't go so far as to root against them. A proper ass-whipping of the Sawx will do just fine, thanks.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch #SW-EB

I haven't done a whole lot of trading lately, but I did acquire this fine relic in a quick and easy transaction with Thorzul recently. Milwaukee's most profane card blogger had mentioned that he was interested in Clubhouse Collection relics from one of his favorite modern sets, 2007 Topps Heritage. I happened to have Chris Carpenter's jersey swatch card from that set, so I made an offer. I'm more than happy with my end of the bargain, as this is my first mutilated bit of jersey from one of the most talented and fragile pitchers in recent Oriole lore.

Bedard (BUH-DARD) is still gritting it out up in Seattle, where he has totaled 33 starts in three-plus seasons since Andy MacPhail traded him for Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler. He missed the entire 2010 season, and has given up 16 runs (13 earned) in 13.2 innings while losing all three starts this April. The really ugly stat: a league-leading six home runs allowed. I'm not sure how long it will take for Erik to get fed up and call it a career, but a morbid part of me wonders if the card companies will someday push the envelope by including bits of elbow and shoulder ligament in relic cards. Heck, they've already moved up to locks of hair from dead people.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Bowman Heritage #107

Since the Orioles (and their opponents, the Rays) are the only team that has to wait until Tuesday to start their season, I have the opportunity to wander into non-pertinent matters today. Translation: it’s time for show-and-tell. While the Erik Bedard retro-lookin' card I've chosen is pretty nifty, there's nothing quite like the real thing. Let's talk about old cards.

A quick pointer for any hobby shop owners (or even future hobby shop owners) who might happen upon this blog post: if you want your shop to be a must-stop destination for collectors, you’ve got to have a cheap vintage bin. This is one of the things that you can provide to set yourself apart from the Wal-marts and Targets of the world that deal only in current product and the eBays and Check Out My Cardses with their shipping charges and delayed gratification.

Saturday afternoon I stopped in to the Baseball Card Outlet, which may just be the best hobby shop I’ve ever visited. It was my third time there, and I sought out the vintage bargain bins that I’d inexplicably overlooked in my previous trips. What I found was sheer joy. They have several different bins with progressive pricing tiers: 50 cents per card, a dollar per card, and two dollars per card. There may have been others, but I was focused on thrift. There’s even a bulk discount – the 50 cent cards are 25 for $10, the dollar cards are 25 for $20, and so forth. I started out rifling through the cheapest bin and selected a dozen cards before I decided to focus my efforts on the dollar cards. I limited myself to 25 of those so as to keep myself on a $30 budget, but I easily could have bought them out with a little less discipline. My total haul was 37 cards ranging from 1954 to 1964 (except for one 1972 Topps league leaders card), all for $27.50. Many would be considered “common” players, but you can’t beat the price considering the condition of the cards. Most are off-center, creased, and/or rounded on the corners, but they’re pretty decent for 50-to-60-year-old bits of cardboard. Yes, please.

I could easily bore you with a blow-by-blow account of my purchase, but instead I’ll go back to the 6-in-Thirty well and highlight a half-dozen of the new additions to my collection. Enjoy!
First we have Clint Courtney on the classic 1955 Bowman design, card number 34. Though he’s a member of the White Sox here, he has a special place in my heart as the first catcher in Orioles history. He’s also one of the all-time great characters of the game, the rare bespectacled backstop and a notorious fighter (hence his “Scrap Iron” nickname) and flake.
1955 Topps Monte Irvin #100. This is probably the most beat-up of the bunch, as the corners are practically non-existent. If that’s what it takes to get an ex-Negro Leaguer and a Hall of Famer for less than a buck, sign me up. This is also the first vintage New York Giant in my collection.
Speaking of former Negro Leaguers, here’s Dodger great Jim “Junior” Gilliam on his 1959 Topps card #306. I grabbed him because of his Baltimore ties; he was a three-time All-Star as a member of the Elite Giants and a member of their championship club in 1949. Other notable Elite Giants included his future Dodger teammates Roy Campanella and Joe Black. Junior was also a two-time National League All-Star and the 1953 Rookie of the Year.
This is immediately one of my favorite cards in my entire collection, a 1960 Topps Gus Bell #235. Sure, he’s the progenitor of the second-ever three-generation MLB family (which includes son Buddy Bell and grandson David Bell) and a star outfielder. But most importantly, look how happy he is! Gotta love the rarity of a candidly-photographed laugh on an old card.
One of my longtime sources of shame as a collector has been the lack of Don Mossi in my boxes and binders. He’s widely regarded as the ugliest player in baseball history, a man who makes Andy Etchebarren look like George Clooney. He was described in Ball Four as looking like a cab driving down the street with its doors open, and Bill James declared that he was “five-tool ugly”. I still need to supplement his 1961 Topps #14 with one of his other cards that actually shows his aesthetic gifts close-up. But this is a fine start.
Finally we have Roy McMillan’s 1963 Topps #156. Not much to say about this one. I already have Roy’s 1965 card depicting him as a Met, so this fills a need in the “one-player-multiple-teams” category. Other than that, I just dig his clear-framed glasses. Eat your heart out, Chris Sabo.

Well, I hope you got a kick out of seeing some moldy oldies. Every time I add cards like these to my collection, I realize that I’m having much more fun than I do when I buy the overpriced, gimmicky new stuff. Maybe if I put it down in writing enough times, I’ll be able to hammer the message home and resist those soon-forgotten impulse buys in Target.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Fleer Ultra #13

To all of my readers in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greenland, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and of course Erik Bedard's homeland of Canada: may you have a peaceful a fulfilling Boxing Day. Now no one can ever accuse this blog of being provincial.

In related news, there is still a fair chance that this sore-armed, snarky prodigal son may return to Baltimore as a free agent signee for 2010. I like it, and think the potential reward outweighs the risk, especially with the starting rotation for next season looking more settled than it has in years. I also would enjoy the nasty little exclamation point it would put on the lopsided trade that sent Bedard to Seattle just two years ago. But it's unbecoming to gloat. I guess.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Bowman Chrome #26

With Erik Bedard becoming the latest starting pitcher to make Baltimore's batting order look bad, now is as good a time as any to check in on the ex-O's who have scattered across the league. In essence, I'm building upon a post written by Stacey over at Camden Chat. It's interesting to note that the Yanks and Red Sawx have not wasted an MLB roster spot on a single former Oriole in 2009, and they're doing pretty well with that strategy. There are more of these guys than you'd imagine, so I'll be skipping the more forgettable of the bunch. Onward!

Kevin Millar: Kevbo is chugging along with a .277 AVG and 3 HR, 18 RBI as Toronto's #2 first baseman and designated hitter.

B. J. Ryan: Attempting to come back from elbow surgery, the $47 million Jay has lost his closer's job and sports an 8.74 ERA and 2.11 WHIP. But he's not even the worst ex-Bird to toe the rubber for Toronto this year. That honor goes to...

Brian Burres: The gawky, soft-tossing lefty made two starts for the injury-wracked Jays, allowing seventeen men on base in 6 and 1/3 innings and losing both games before being bum-rushed back to AAA.

Lance Cormier: Still doing his long-relief thing, Lance has fashioned a 2.19 ERA in 18 games for the Rays.

Luis Hernandez: Looie Looie, of the Five-Headed-Shortstop-Monster of 2008, has appeared in 10 games for the Royals, with predictable results (.497 OPS, 1 RBI).

Sidney Ponson: Sir Sidney inexplicably remains on the K.C. staff, despite a 1-5 record, 7.27 ERA, and 58 hits in 43 and 1/3 innings.

David Dellucci: Is he really 35? A rookie on the 1997 wire-to-wire team, he batted a fairly empty .275 in 40 at-bats for the Indians but had largely been a disappointment since signing a three-year deal in December 2006. They released him earlier this week.

Greg Aquino: An absolutely miserable reliever in his few appearances in Baltimore last year, Aquino tantalized Tribe fans with four scoreless appearances in May before imploding against the Yankees on Monday night (1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 4 ER).

Kris Benson: After missing 2007 with shoulder surgery and spending 2008 rehabbing in the minors, Anna's husband is languishing in the Ranger bullpen (18 ER in 20 IP, 1.95 WHIP).

Gary Matthews, Jr.: The outfielder is batting .262 with a .346 slugging percentage and 15 RBI in 32 games for the Someplace in California Angels. Money well spent, guys.

Guillermo Quiroz: Despite a sub-Mendoza batting average at AAA, he was just recalled by the Mariners, who are very weak at catcher even when their #1 and #2 guys are healthy. He's 1-for-4 with 2 RBI, so that's something right there.

Erik Bedard: Despite the 4-2 record and 2.37 ERA, and 9 K/9 IP, I still feel pretty good about the O's end of the trade with the Mariners.

Garrett Olson: One of last season's shaky young pitchers has picked up where he left off, giving up 26 hits in 25 innings and working up a relatively lucky 4.68 ERA in seven games in Seattle.

Jack Cust: Stumblin' Jack is doing his usual thing in Oakland (.253 AVG, .345 OBP, 8 HR).

Jamie Moyer: The 46-year-old control artist is off to a rough start with the Phillies (4-5, 6.75 ERA), though he pitched well in his last start. Then again, it WAS the Nationals.

Fernando Tatis: A veteran that the Mets snatched from oblivion, he's not quite been up to his 2008 performance. He's at .269 with a pair of home runs.

John Maine: He's still plugging along in the middle of the Met rotation - 5-3, 3.75 ERA.

Hayden Penn: The only question here is why the Marlins have used him fifteen times. A 7.48 ERA and 2.12 WHIP won't have the Birds longing to reunite with their former "top prospect". But hey, he's got 27 K in 21.2 innings.

Alex Cintron: 2-for-26 for Washington before they turfed him. And he was our BEST-hitting shortstop in '08.

Daniel Cabrera: Hoo boy. He was 0-for-5 with a 5.85 ERA and 2.08 WHIP in D.C. 35 walks, 16 strikeouts, 10 wild pitches in 40 innings. "I was tired of watching him," was GM Mike Rizzo's quote after Danny Cabs was released last week. The Marlins are interested in him for god knows what reason.

Jorge Julio: Posting him back-to-back with Cabrera can make a guy dizzy. 7.79 ERA, 15 BB, 13 K. After giving up five runs without getting an out on Monday night (including 2 HBP), he was finished in Milwaukee.

Ramon Hernandez: Razor is a .282 hitter with 3 HR and 21 RBI in Cincinnati. I do not miss him even a little bit.

Jerry Hairston, Jr.: The one-time second baseman of the future is hitting .262 with the Reds, but has gone deep seven times. Say what?

Arthur Rhodes: At 39, he's the second-oldest ex-Oriole in the bigs, and he's been great as a LOOGY (0.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 18 IP).Good pickup for Cincy.

Ryan Freel: If Joey Gathright never plays a game for the O's, I'm alright with the trade that sent Freel to the Cubs (3-for-18, currently on the DL again).

Miguel Tejada: The 33-year-old (whoops, 35!) shortstop is playing like gangbusters (.362, 20 2B, 6 HR). Of course, he's walked six times and his Houston team is lousy, so nyahhh.

LaTroy Hawkins: I'm a bit perturbed that he's closing for the Astros. A 2.38 ERA and seven saves, and he doesn't get many opportunities.

Russ Ortiz: What? How? 3-2 with the 'Stros with a 4.76 ERA. A 1.86 WHIP suggests that things could get worse.

Juan Castro: .341 with 12 runs scored in 15 games for the Dodgers. That's it. The O's have to petition for a move to the National League.

Eric Byrnes: A .645 OPS, and still another year left on his 3-year, $30 million extension after this. Call it buyers' remorse.

So there you have it. Is there anyone in that rouge's gallery that you'd like to have back? I'd probably prefer Cormier to Mark Hendrickson, and Rhodes to Jamie Walker. That's probably it. I'm not completely sold on Maine for some reason.

"Erik Bedard", 2008 Topps Opening Day #24

One of the enjoyable quirks of card collecting is the error card. Not the contrived, sleazy fake error cards that Topps has used to sully their entire brand in recent years, but genuine "Whoops, I guess I shouldn't have had that liquid lunch" errors. You may remember the Frank Thomas No Name on Front rookie, or the John Smoltz card that actually features Tom Glavine. Believe it or not, Topps still has room for those old-school oversights in this overly gimmicky day and age.

I remember pulling the base set version of the card above from my hobby box of 2008 Topps. My first thought was that it was probably the last Orioles card of Erik Bedard that I would lay my hands on, as he'd been traded to Seattle two weeks earlier. But as I looked closer, everything was not as it seemed. First of all, there's the "5", indicating that the jersey number is fifty-something. Erik has worn #45 for much of his career. More to the point, this just doesn't look like Erik Bedard. So who could it be? Let's see...lefty pitcher, number in the fifties, stupid necklace thingy. Well, the necklace thingy was a dead end, as far as my Google search. But I was still able to find a match: bingo. Erik Bedard's last Topps base card as an Oriole features a photo of Brian Burres. The error was never corrected, so there's no scarce version of the card, and no one particularly cares.

Well, almost no one.

Erik Bedard, 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones #95 (060/150)

The 2008 baseball season ended (mercifully) for the Baltimore Orioles eight days ago. As has often been the case for the O's of the 2000s, the team fought hard and surprised a lot of people in the first half, maintaining a record of 42-39 at the midpoint of their schedule. The rest of the slate also went according to script, as injuries and fatigue exposed a saddening lack of depth in pitching and the club sputtered to the finish in excess of 90 losses. The Birds could have used the Erik Bedard who set a team record with his 221 strikeouts in 2007, but he mustered only 72 K's in 81 innings this year, reverting to his injury-prone form. Believe it or not, that's good news for Baltimore.

For the first time in several years, the O's - and general manager Andy MacPhail in particular - had the good sense to sell high on a player. It's unfortunate that Bedard's hip and shoulder problems sidelined him, but these things happen in baseball, and Oriole fans know it better than anyone. But even if the inscrutable lefty from Canada had showed up in Seattle and matched or exceeded his career-best performance of last year, the guys in orange and black would have made out like bandits in their 5-for-1 swap:

-George Sherrill, a 29-year-old specialty reliever and ex-independent leaguer, became a cult hero with as the new closer, creating a fashion sensation with his flat-billed cap. He was the team's solitary All-Star, and saved the American League with three shutout innings in the Midsummer Classic. Though he was injured for much of the second half, he should contribute to the bullpen in 2009, even if he returns to a lefty specialist role. And he was almost an afterthought in the deal.

-Center fielder Adam Jones more than held his own in his first full major league campaign, hitting .270 with 37 extra-base hits and improving on defense as the season progressed. He and Nick Markakis give the Orioles two-thirds of an outfield that is primed to be one of baseball's best for quite a few years yet.

-20-year-old pitcher Chris Tillman shined at AA Bowie, going 11-4 with a 3.18 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 135 and two-thirds innings for the Eastern League Champion Baysox. Baseball scouts are suggesting that a few years' hindsight may show that Bedard for Tillman straight-up would have been a steal for the O's.

-6'9" reliever Kam Mickolio had an up-and-down year, scuffling at Bowie before excelling at AAA Norfolk and finally struggling in a September callup to the bigs. Still, he's fairly young (24) and allowed one run in his final six-and-one-third innings, spanning six appearances.

-Another 20-year-old pitcher named Tony Butler was fair-to-middlin' (3-4, 4.42 ERA) at A-level Delmarva before an elbow injury shut him down. But hey, to expect immediate dividends from all five men would have been greedy.

As someone who still bristles at the mention of Glenn Davis, it's refreshing to see my guys on the right side of a trade that looks so promising. Meanwhile, the Mariners were one of the few teams that finished below the Orioles in the win column, a big fall for a club that won 88 games in 2007. The general manager who surrendered two top prospects, an All-Star reliever, and two additional pitchers for a banged-up southpaw with a snarky attitude didn't last the season.

I don't mean to gloat, but I thought that I should remind myself (and the Birdbrains who read me) that there's still reason for optimism in Charm City.

Erik Bedard, 2005 Topps #593

This may be my last chance to talk about Erik Bedard while he's still an Oriole. Sure, the trade rumors have been swirling all winter with nothing doing yet. But given Andy MacPhail's stated January 31 deadline, and the discrepancy between his side of the story and Bedard's...I just have a hunch that this is getting done.

To baseball fans around the country, Bedard is known as a rising star. He set the Orioles' single-season record in strikeouts with 221 last year, in just 182 innings. He received Cy Young consideration despite the fact that he missed all of September with an oblique injury and played for a crummy team. Plus, you know, he's left-handed, which sets general managers' hearts a-flutter.

However, many Baltimore fans think of Erik as a surly wiseass. He's known for his frosty relationship with reporters. On the days that he doesn't bolt from the clubhouse before the media even arrives, he'll often respond to queries with curt, one-word responses. Sometimes he'll flat-out tell a reporter that his question is stupid. I'm of two minds about this. There's a part of me that wonders who cares about how "nice" a guy is as long as he gets results on the field. On the other hand, I do think Bedard goes a little far sometimes. He's got to realize that as a top-shelf major league pitcher, he's a public figure and people are going to *gasp* pay attention to what he does and says.

Some fans whispered that Bedard was soft last year, that a muscle strain in his ribcage was a poor excuse for shutting himself down while his team struggled to find healthy arms. That's a dangerous road to walk, because most athletes work through pain that you or I couldn't imagine. Only Bedard can really know how much pain he's in, when it comes right down to it.

I was annoyed when I first read Bedard's comments in the Baltimore Sun on Friday. It's hard to hear a pitcher who's had half of the teams in baseball drooling over him, a guy who's in line for a major pay day, complain of being "unwanted". But more and more, I'm taking what I know about him and coming to the conclusion that he's playing a game with the media for old time's sake. I just don't see how he could call the Miguel Tejada trade a surprise with a straight face. He also claims that the team hasn't showed interest in signing him to an extension, when his agent admits that the team floated the idea of a contract extension.

I'm sure there's some part of Erik Bedard that has enjoyed his time in Baltimore and will miss his teammates and coaches. But he's going to a better place, and I think he's protesting a bit too much to actually be serious in his remarks. We'll have to wait and see who has the last laugh.