Turning in one of the more interesting games was outfielder Eric Byrnes, who had juggling catch in the fourth inning, falling to the ground in the process. Then in the fifth, he doubled and slid head first into second. Only, he stopped about a foot from the bag, then bounced back up and hit the bag — falling victim to the same hard surface that helped befuddle Figgins and Wilson on those grounders. He lay there for a few seconds with Wakamatsu running out to make sure he was okay.

“Chin, nose and both elbows,” Wakamatsu said of Byrnes’ injuries. “Nothing serious but boy it’ll leave a mark tomorrow.”

Byrnes somewhat sheepishly called it later “a leaping head butt — I just head-butted second base.”

Of his slide, he said: “I took off soon, but I just hit the dirt and just stuck there. There was no slide. It was pretty hard out there. It’s not the first time I’ve done something like that and I promise you it won’t be the last time you guys see something like that. I continue to amaze myself every time I take the baseball field.”

Well, Adam Moore did the same thing, but you have to assume that Byrnes’ belly flop was far more out of control and, thus, more spectacular.

David Aardsma hasn’t had any problems with his strained groin since sitting out a little while.

Here’s what Wakamatsu said about David Aardsma, who threw 20 pitches in his first game of the spring: “We’re real happy he threw 20 pitches and he felt good with no problems with his groin.” Aardsma also said he was happy not to feel any pain and said that there’s no way to replicate the energy of a team — even in spring training — so merely throwing the first pitch and not feeling pain was a victory.

Erik Bedard is progressing well.  GM Jack Zduriencik says he’s ahead of schedule.

“There’s been no setbacks, so that’s the biggest key to the shoulder,” Bedard said. “Shoulders are a little more sensitive than an elbow or something, so right now I’m on track, and hopefully it stays like that.”

Bedard said he has thought all along a realistic return date would be June 15 — 10 months from the surgery.

I’ll take June 15th.  Of course, just about everyone is ahead of schedule until a setback, right? Bedard will throw from a mound on March 23rd.  In other news, the strange new media love affair with Bedard continues.  I don’t mind, but it’s… weird.

Rob Johnson still progressing after his surgeries and setback.  He’s slated to “catch” Cliff Lee for four or five innings today.  Adam Moore is making such a strong impression on both sides of the ball that the team may be more willing to let Johnson take some extra time at the end of Spring Training than they would have if they had to rely on the non-roster guys.

Jack Hannahan is still sitting out, and will be for a few days.  No news on that front.  Meanwhile, Matt Tuiasosopo is hitting the stuffing out the ball, and no doubt making Hannahan nervous.

Adam Jones was ready for big league action at the time of the trade and was penciled in as Seattle’s Opening Day right fielder.  Two short years later and he’s already made himself into a solid starting center fielder, with upside to be a minor star if not a full blown big league star in the Torii Hunter mold.  Chris Tillman was Seattle’s best starting pitching prospect and was making his way into the high minors at the time of the trade.  He’s now in the big leagues and projected to be a solid #2 or #3, something Seattle could have definitely looked forward to for 2011 (after filling out the back of the rotation this season).  George Sherrill was one of the better left handed setup men in baseball and still is.  On top of that haul the O’s received two other decent prospects in the oft-injured Tony Butler and reliever Kam Mickolio.  All for a pitcher that was won of the best left handed pitchers in baseball when healthy, if not the best left handed pitcher in baseball when healthy, but who had a long history of injuries including two Tommy John surgeries and various muscle strains.

It was a bad trade, and if Jones and Tillman pan out as hoped it will be one of the worst in recent baseball history.  And not to mention the nice haul the Orioles got when they traded Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I had to get that out of the way.  I’m so sick of hearing about that trade.  Now, no more Bavasi, Jones, Tillman or Sherrill references for the rest of the post.

Bedard came over to the Seattle Mariners and immediately hurt himself.  As I remember it, a hip injury led to a a shoulder injury, and he pitched through all of it until he arm was about to fall off.  But he was still pretty good, posting a 4.32 FIP over 80 innings.

It would have been and will be difficult for Bedard to ever be the pitcher he was in 2007 with the O’s.  He was absolutely studly.  In 182 innings he struck out 221 hitters (10.93 K/9), had an FIP of 3.09 and his curveball was worth way more than any other in baseball based on FanGraphs pitch values.

After recovering from July 2008 shoulder surgery to clean up his shoulder, Bedard may have looked as close to that Oriole ace as he ever will, minus some durability.  In 83 innings he struck out 90 hitters (9.76 K/9), producing a 2.82 ERA (3.55 FIP) and froze hitters on a regular basis with that curve.  He was dominant over an extended period of time for his first time as a Mariner.  And it wasn’t as if he was 100% healthy, because at some point in the season his shoulder started barking at him.  As far as we know, he hid much of the pain from the training staff and pitched until he could no longer bear it.  He was pretty good right up until he couldn’t take it anymore.  Gutsy, but dumb.  Bedard had a tear in his labrum (partial or full, we don’t know), and missed the second half of the season yet again.

That brings us to this offseason.  Bedard, recovering from another shoulder surgery, re-signed with Seattle on a low risk deal and, barring a setback, could debut for Seattle sometime between May and July.

What can we expect from Bedard?  That is an unanswerable question.  Labrum tears are serious, and there is no promising that he’ll make a full recovery.  For all we know, Bedard has thrown his last pitch as a big leaguer.

Hopefully it goes a little better than that and Bedard can give Seattle the boost they’ll need in the second half, but I’m not holding my breath.  He now has multiple surgeries on both his elbow and shoulder.  How can he keep pitching at a high level?  We’ve seen crazier things, but I worry about his fastball velocity and the bite on his curveball.  The curveball especially, given that he is a two-pitch pitcher and that curveball is what makes him who he is as a starter.

Third ace?  Probably not.  But if he can be a solid #3 Seattle will be in pretty good shape down the stretch.

I love Erik Bedard, as I’m sure you know by now.  Most of the fan base seems to hate him, or at very least feel resentment toward him, but for whatever reason I’ve a huge fan.  Some of this was because I forced myself to be okay with the trade when it happened, even though it was pretty obviously a major overpayment by the Mariners.  Maybe it’s the way he aggravates the local beat.  I understand they’ve got a job to do, but how can you not laugh at an exchange that goes something along the lines of

Bedard: Okay, you guys get four questions.
Reporter 1: Why only four?
Bedard: Three questions.

That’s comedy right there.  I believe that was last spring.  I also love his quiet competitiveness.  Many fans seem to get the feeling that he doesn’t care and is only standing on the bump for the paycheck, but I’ve always gotten the feeling that he’s one of Seattle’s greatest competitors.  He’s a low key guy, but when he’s on the mound it feels like he’s acting like he doesn’t care just piss off the hitter he just made look silly.  Besides, I hate the Joba Chamberlains of the world, so any strikeout pitcher that avoids the dramatic fist pumps and goes about his business gets some bonus points from me.  There’s no way of knowing his actual levels of desire and competitiveness, so feel free to disagree.

Here’s hoping Erikkkkk can contribute in the second half!

All we have to worry about is the $1.5M at this point.  Assuming the escalators are tied to games, innings pitched and roster time it’s hard to imagine Bedard will max out the contract.  But, if he does or gets close, you have to think he’ll be earning it.

The mutual option is just a formality.  In order for Bedard to return on that option, both he and the Mariners have to agree to exercise it, and that rarely happens.  If Bedard puts together a relatively healthy season he’ll probably be looking to try and secure a multi-year deal via free agency, thus declining when the Mariners accept.  If Bedard has setback after setback or simply doesn’t pitch up to or near his former ability, he’ll accept and Seattle will decline.  At that price a mutual agreement doesn’t seem impossible, but it’s certainly unlikely.

I’ve got to think that Petit will be claimed when he hits the waiver wire.  If so, that’s too bad, but not a big loss considering the dozen other similar arms in-house.  If he clears, cool.

I was interested to see how the roster situation would shake out, assuming the team would find a way to keep that roster spot available.  But, as Dave mentions, Bedard can’t be placed on the 60-day DL until the season starts, so he’ll be using up one of those 40-man roster spots until then.  Ryan Feierabend and Kanekoa Texeira are probably the prime candidates to be cut if another player is brought in.

Bedard!

Some fans don’t like the idea of bringing back Bedard, obviously.  A lot of this stems from the trade that brought him to Seattle.  A lot of the frustration caused by then-GM Bill Bavasi has turned into resentment for Bedard.  I understand how that could happen, but I think it’s a little ridiculous.  Bedard didn’t have anything to do with how much of the franchise’s future Bavasi traded away for a guy with a history of injuries and durability issues.  Bedard came in and did what he could, which was pitch brilliantly and until his arm was about to fall off.

I also understand how it is difficult to separate a potential re-signing from the trade.  After all, if Cliff Lee were to sign an extension with Seattle after the season, wouldn’t we see that deal as even more of a success?  But I would think that the change in management makes the differences clear.  If Bavasi was still around and he brought back Bedard under the same circumstances it would probably look like he was trying to recover a sunk cost.  It’s different with Zduriencik.  He knows that those prospects are a sunk cost, and it’s not like he cares about any moves made before his hiring anyway.  If Bedard is a Mariner in 2010, it’s because he’s a good fit for the team.

At $1.5M plus incentives, the dollar figure reported by Jim Street, Bedard is a smart pickup.  If you see him returning to his normal performance levels it’s a no brainer.

Of course, Bedard cannot be counted on to be the same guy that was worth almost as many wins above replacement in 83 innings last season as Jarrod Washburn was over the course of the entire season.  He cannot even be counted on to be a big league caliber starter at this point.  Recovering from surgery on a torn labrum is not like recovering from Tommy John surgery.  This has been a career-ender for a lot of guys.  Granted, the surgeries are becoming more and more successful, as noted in Larry Stone’s writeup on the subject, but we still don’t know what’s next for Bedard.

If Bedard experiences setback after setback, all the Mariners have to deal with is a bit of frustration and a relatively small salary.  If he can come back and pitch effectively, he could be a nice little boost for the club.  It’s simple, really.  Would you rather have Doug Fister (or whoever) from April through September, or would you rather have Fister from between April through June and Bedard from July through September?  Some will inexplicably pick the former for the stability, but they’re not thinking clearly.  As our buddy Jeff Clarke writes, Bedard was worth more last season (in terms of WAR) than Jason Vargas, Fister, Brandon Morrow and Ian Snell combined.  Granted, those negative WAR players make the argument easier, but the bottom line is that Bedard was worth 1.9 WAR while all of those guys were worth 0.3 WAR or less.  He goes on to note that “Bedard+jobshare was one of the top 25 starters in the AL.”  A nice way to put it in perspective.  Many will dismiss the idea of bringing Bedard back because it’ll be frustrating, but that simply isn’t a smart way to view the situation.

Some people aren’t fond of this development because they feel like signing Bedard stops Seattle from making a better move; that the opportunity cost of signing Bedard is Washburn or Aaron Harang or [insert pitching target here].  I doubt that, however.  Again, Bedard is no sure thing to give Seattle anything in 2010.  Seattle is not banking on Bedard, they’re gambling on him.  All of the other AL West teams have pitching gambles from Rich Harden to Ben Sheets to Scott Kazmir and Ervin Santana, and Seattle figures they may as well get their own lottery ticket.  If the money and resources are there to upgrade over the in-house back of the rotation guys, I doubt Bedard will stop them from making a move.

As far as Washburn goes, he is shit out of options.  As far as we can tell, he limited his options to three teams or retirement, the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and our Mariners.  The Brewers went another route, the Twins offered him a $5M contract and spent that money on Orlando Hudson when it went unaccepted, and Seattle has seemingly placed him on the backburner indefinitely.  If Washburn wants to play in 2010, he’ll have to take relative pennies from Seattle (unless Minnesota has more money than I think), in which case he’s no risk for Seattle and there is no reason not to bring him aboard. As far as the other potential trade targets, Seattle has other iffy spots in their rotation.  Snell didn’t show much promise last season and, while it’s easy to forget, Ryan Rowland-Smith missed much of the year trying to get himself right after an elbow injury.  If you’re worried about bringing in Bedard plus one other guy, don’t forget that those guys aren’t exactly reliable either.  I’m sure Seattle could find a way to get everyone in.  It would be a nice problem to have.

I love Erik Bedard.  He’s one of my favorite Mariners of the 2000s, without a doubt.  One of my favorite Mariners ever, really.  But it isn’t just my fandom that has me supporting this signing.  I find it hard to see such a deal in a negative light.  At very worst it’s a “why not?” or “it can’t hurt” deal, right?  If Bedard can’t get healthy, or can’t perform, or has any other problems, that’s too bad.  But if he can string together a handful of good starts he’ll be worth it.  If he can be a third ace for half the season and into the playoffs, even better.  I’m not counting on it, but there is no reason not to take that gamble.

It’s hard not to justify a $1.5M contract to a pitcher of Bedard’s caliber, despite his injury history or complete lack of durability.  We’ll talk more about Bedard if he indeed re-signs with Seattle.

Addendum: I’ve been letting this marinate a bit, and I am have a hard time believing it.  Why would any team sign Bedard at this point in the offseason?  Furthermore, why would any team offer him guaranteed money at this point in the offseason?  Maybe it’s a good faith move by Seattle, but until we get further confirmation I’m having a hard time buying in.

Update (9:00 AM): MLB Trade Rumors tweets: “MLB.com’s Street clarified via email that source says an agreement with Ms/Bedard has been reached, but not done deal due to shoulder tests.”  Far from a done deal, then.

Update (1:45 PM): Bedard tells Street’s homeboy Larry LaRue that “no one’s made a concrete offer.”  Meanwhile, FOX’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that Bedard is close to a deal with Seattle according to a source.

At this point, I’d guess a deal gets done as long as the Mariners are content with what they find in the physical examinations.

Update (Friday, 8:30 AM): Lookout Landing passes on a report that says deal is a go pending a physical.

• Larry LaRue and Jon Heyman are both reporting that the Mariners are interested in bringing back Jarrod Washburn.  LaRue also says they’d like Erik Bedard back at the right price.  Here’s hoping the Brewers outbid Seattle for Washburn.
• Heyman reports that GM Jack Zduriencik isn’t thinking about trading Felix Hernandez right now.  “Felix is our property. We’re going to have him for the next two years and we’re looking forward to having him beyond that,” Zduriencik said here at the GM meetings.
• Mark Feinsand adds these quotes:

“He’s our property this year and next year and we’re looking forward to him being part of our organization as we move forward,” Zduriencik said. “He’s one of the best in the game.

“I can’t control people calling or people wanting to have discussions. Certainly we’ll dot our Is and cross our Ts, but where we stand right now is that he’s an integral part of what we’re doing.”

• Jim Street got some quotes from Russell Branyan, who is still waiting for the Mariners to call with a new contract.  “I’m not looking to break the bank. All I want is to be treated fairly.”

Small update: The Mariners aren’t ignoring Branyan.  Apparently they told last month that they are working on putting together a proposal.