One of the quietest stories of the year has been Seattle's meltdown. And one of the quietest stories within that story has been about how disappointing Erik Bedard has been. And, as disappointing as his numbers has been, his taciturn attitude toward the press and fans in Seattle may have actually trumped it.

My favorite quote of the year thus far has been from Bill Bavasi (via the Baltimore Sun), on his way out the door in Seattle, when asked about why Bedard couldn't get past 100 pitches in six of his first 12 starts:

"You got to ask him," Bavasi said. "Good luck. And he's going to have some stupid answer, some dumbass answer."

The Sun amended Bavasi's language. He didn't say "dumbass".

Interesting article on Bedard, which postulates bad things about his future:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/fantasy/article/erik-bedard-windup-worries/

It seems like everybody is looking for an excuse to avoid this guy, from an injury history, which isn't very serious, to weak performances against the a.l. west, which seems irrelevant, to seattle's defense and bullpen, both of which seems more than adequate to me. He is a lefty in his prime in a good ballpark on a decent enough team in a lousy hitting division. What more is there? With Santana and Haren gone and, thus, fewer aces in the league, Bedard, schooled by all those games against the Yankees and Red Sox, is certainly worth top dollar.

I'm not quite sure why there is hesitation here. Bedard stepped up big time last year on a bad team. Now he's in a better pitchers' park with a better team with a better defense, not to mention a good bullpen. Every pitcher is an injury risk, and this guy hasn't really had a pitcher's injury since 2002. Since Johan is out of the AL, there is no clear #1 guy. If you don't want Bedard, I'll be happy to take a chance that he's that guy, that he stays healthy, that he's worth $30.

This guy has a long list of injury history dating back to his minor days. Sure he broke through in 07 but are you going to pay top $ to find out if he can stay healthy AND sustain it?

I bought him for $27 in the Sportsline expert auction. He was the first pitcher thrown out there, and I had a little buyer's remorse when C.C. Sabathia and Josh Beckett went for $26 in the second round. Bedard's got more upside because of the whiffs, but Beckett and especially Sabathia have a better chance of earning more.

I'm not going to keep plugging a pitcher who Rotoworld already has listed in their Draft Guide at #1 for 5x5 and tied for #2 in 4x4 for A.L. only. But it is worth pointing out the nature of all of these injuries.

2005: Went on the DL with a sprained ligament on his knee.

2006: No DL time. Missed a couple of starts due to food poisoning.

2007: Went on the DL due to a strained oblique.

Granted, Bedard had TJ surgery in 2002. But I haven't seen any lingering effects from it.

These other injuries aren't arm related. That doesn't mean that Bedard might not have a conditioning issue. But I'd worry at least as much about Josh Beckett, whose blister problems have had far more of an impact on throwing than Bedard's non-arm-related injuries.

Older than you think, never pitched 200 innings, Seattle's defense is worse than reputed, the bullpen is now shakier, and they won't score runs with that projected line-up... Pass.

There's something very A.J. Burnett about all of this (who frankly could be a better value with similar skills in '08).

Here's the thing about Bedard. In a start-over or non-carryover league, you can decide that you'd rather have Verlander, Lackey, Beckett, Kazmir, Sabathia, Felix, D-Mat or Halladay as your ace. In my keeper league, only Bedard, D-Mat and Halladay are going to be available. If you're thinking about buying two second-tier options like Escobar, Shields, Jered Weaver, Vazquez, Burnett, McGowan, or Wang instead, I'm sorry to tell you that all of these guys might be kept too, with the possible exceptions of Burnett or Escobar.

Assuming a 20% inflation rate, a raw $29 bid price puts Bedard at $35. Given the lack of pitching available, even that might not be enough to get him. It will take some nerve to go over $35 for Bedard but - if you really want him - you'll have to. If you don't want him, that's fine, too. Just keep in mind that Halladay isn't going much cheaper in this scenario, and D-Mat's got enough post-hype buzz that he's not going to fall in at a bargain price either.

BB - your analysis boils down to a 6 inning outing in Safeco last year on June 4th? A game where Bedard struck out 7 and walked none? A game where he gave up 2 hits after the third inning? And a game Baltimore was winning until John Parrish imploded in the bottom of the 8th?

His numbers against the West were terrible? I went back and looked. He pitched 6 games against the West, and none against LA. In those 6 games (approximately 41 innings), Bedard had an ERA of 2.85 , a WHIP under 1.00 (and it would have been much lower if not for 8 walks against Oakland - he had none against TEX or SEA), and a BAA under .200.

I went back and I tried to do you a favor and look at his 3 year AL West scan to support your argument. While I can agree with you that he is terrible against LAA, generally speaking, he has been as good against the West as anyone else, and he has only pitched three games in Safeco in three years.

Before you post, take 5 minutes and actually look at his statistics? Thanks.