Should we offer Bedard a contract?

[Dojji]

I know I would.

 

Starters are valuable. Lefthanded power starters even more so. Guys like Bedard do not grow on trees and are worth taking a few risks to keep around. I know the guy supposedly has character issues, but he's been about what you'd expect for us so far, and the upside reward if he can pitch a healthy year for us would be exciting.

 

Our rotation next year without Bedard has a question mark at the end, since we're not sure what we expect from Daisuke. Right now it looks like Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Lackey, and one of Miller or Wakefield. Now Miller looked pretty good last night, and has definitely showed progress and signs of far greater consistency for us than he's ever shown before, but earmarking a regular rotation spot for him is a stretch, and as for Wakefield, his best use is as emergency depth. We could definitely make use of one more good quality starter, especially a power LHSP. And with Miller in the wings (pretty sure we keep him, there's an option in his contract IIRC and a guy who's 7-1 mid 4's ERA would be silly to let walk) we're well protected in case he spits the bit or can't get the job done.

 

So if you can get him to sign, I would definitely do it. He is a man who can help us going forward if he wants to stay. Just don't earmark him mentally for more than about 150 innings, and handle him with a bit of care. These are things we can do here with our depth, so I don't consider that a bar to holding on to him.

[Palodios]

Bedard will be evaluated in November. No sense in giving money to an injury-risk player if he might not even help this team.

[SCM33]

Lets see how damaged his arm is. From what I understand, many pitchers dont come back from his injury. Way too early to tell.

[iortiz]

I like what I have seen from him, but patience, patience.... We need to wait till October and evaluate his arm after the season.

[BornToRun]

Yeah, might be jumping the gun a bit with this one. Let's wait and see.

[BeepBeepYoureDumb]

Lets see how damaged his arm is. From what I understand' date=' many pitchers dont come back from his injury. Way too early to tell.[/quote']

 

That used to be the case, but a number of players have come back successfully from labrum tears in recent years. We've come a long way in a short time with labrum tears

[Jasonbay44]

Sure, I'd be fine with a rotation of Lester-Beckett-Buchholz-Lackey-Bedard for the upcoming years. I think if Bedard is the 5th starter we can afford to limit his innings to try and keep him healthy for the whole season, if possible.

[SoxSport]

Why not wait? So far, so good. He has pitched pretty well--let's see what happens. Hasn't had Lackey-type support in runs scored (and the media). And they'll have at least one opening with Wake gone next year.

 

Left handed starters are in vogue. The Yankees will be lurking.

[Palodios]

Why not wait? So far' date=' so good. He has pitched pretty well--let's see what happens. Hasn't had Lackey-type support in runs scored (and the media). And they'll have at least one opening [b']with Wake gone next year[/b].

 

Left handed starters are in vogue. The Yankees will be lurking.

 

 

I'll believe it when he I see it.

[redsoxbeatz]

And not go after King Felix in the off-season!? ahha

[BeepBeepYoureDumb]

Whether or not Wake is here next year probably doesn't matter. They're not going to give Wake a spot in the rotation out of spring training. They haven't since '09. If he's back, he'll be the same thing he was this year: a plan B or C. Bedard could definitely be a solid plan A if he can stay on the field. I love what I'm seeing from him. He's had some hard luck since coming over too. He's due for BABIP to smile on him and make happy things happen.

[SoxSport]

On this Bedard vs Lackey thing, which has been a subject at the Globe and the Herald, Chad Finn

of the Globe said today what I've said--Bedard has a better record (ERA/Whip) than Lackey this year

with Seattle and Boston--and is the better #3 starter right now. He said Lackey gets hit (1.5 whip); Bedard has shown a very good curveball. Good to see Finn has taken the anti-Bedard bias in the media out of the equation. Chad is a straight shooter.

 

The Sox are in trouble every time Lackey or Wake gets on the mound. Look at Wake tonite against Oakland. They have to score a ton of runs to win. Everybody should pray Wake gets his 200th soon, so they can put him out to pasture. Lackey they're stuck with.

[SoxSport]

 

I'll believe it when he I see it.

 

Ha. Chad Finn said today Tito would still be pitching Timlin if Theo hadn't pulled the plug

on him. Watch Theo pull the plug on Wake.

[BornToRun]

On this Bedard vs Lackey thing, which has been a subject at the Globe and the Herald, Chad Finn

of the Globe said today what I've said--Bedard has a better record (ERA/Whip) than Lackey this year

with Seattle and Boston--and is the better #3 starter right now. He said Lackey gets hit (1.5 whip); Bedard has shown a very good curveball. Good to see Finn has taken the anti-Bedard bias in the media out of the equation. Chad is a straight shooter.

 

The Sox are in trouble every time Lackey or Wake gets on the mound. Look at Wake tonite against Oakland. They have to score a ton of runs to win. Everybody should pray Wake gets his 200th soon, so they can put him out to pasture. Lackey they're stuck with.

 

Has Lackey really been that awful lately? I mean honestly, has he been deserving off all the s*** he gets. He's been nothing but solid since the break.

[a700hitter]

He's being bumped back a day from his next start. His knee is bothering him.

[jacksonianmarch]

You guys are complaining about players being injury prone and now you want to extend Bedard? The Mariners have been trying to pawn this guy off for a big haul since they got him in 2008. He has thrown 280IP over the past 4 seasons, which would be good for a reliever. His stuff has declined (he's 2mph off from where he was in 2007), he doesnt throw strikes anymore and is at most a 6IP pitcher. Now, the knee that cost him a few weeks this yr is barking again. This guy is the definition of a rental.

[Palodios]

You guys are complaining about players being injury prone and now you want to extend Bedard? The Mariners have been trying to pawn this guy off for a big haul since they got him in 2008. He has thrown 280IP over the past 4 seasons' date=' which would be good for a reliever. His stuff has declined (he's 2mph off from where he was in 2007), he doesnt throw strikes anymore and is at most a 6IP pitcher. Now, the knee that cost him a few weeks this yr is barking again. This guy is the definition of a rental.[/quote']

 

Besides Dojji, none of us have advocated extended Bedard.

[jacksonianmarch]

Sorry, then this is directed at Dojji solely.

[a700hitter]

Sorry' date=' then this is directed at Dojji solely.[/quote']Doji thinks that the Red Sox have some program that promotes pitcher's health. I guess that is why we never have any healthy pitchers in September. This season we have had bad elbows, broken backs, bad knees and now a sprained ankle.

[italstallianion]

In my opinion, it depends on 2 things, the most important being his health (as everyone here has mentioned) and the second being what Bedard wants. If we can get a fair value for him (which I doubt) then I'd consider it. I like him better than some of our options, and with a really good long reliever in the bullpen to back him up, I think we could do a lot worse than to have Bedard.

 

That said, we need to clone Aceves and fast.

[example1]

I say no. I would happily replace Lackey with Bedard but since they can't do that I would advocate being very aggressive for a good trade. He's injury prone, seems like a malcontent (or just disinterested) and not elite.

 

I see another year of Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Lackey and Wake/Miller.

[jacksonianmarch]

Bedard needs to go year to year. Someone is going to overpay.

[BeepBeepYoureDumb]

I say no. I would happily replace Lackey with Bedard but since they can't do that I would advocate being very aggressive for a good trade. He's injury prone, seems like a malcontent (or just disinterested) and not elite.

 

I see another year of Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Lackey and Wake/Miller.

 

Considering the Sox haven't gone into a season with Wakefield as a plan A since '09 and Miller has been even worse, I think its pretty unlikely that they go into a season with Wake or Miller penciled into the rotation. If you think Wake/Miller would be a better option than a healthy Bedard, you're beyond help. If you think it will just be the more cost effective/likely move, want to explain why? Like I said, it's been a little while since Wake has been in the rotation out of ST and for the past two years he's been a back up plan. Miller has never proven he can go out of the rotation in the majors. Not sure why anybody thinks the Sox would go with such a bad back of the rotation.

 

Bedard has had an injury history, but this latest bout with shoulder problems is less scary considering he's still pitching in september, looks good and that in recent years there has been a lot of progress in treatment of labrum/other shoulder injuries. Look at Chris Carpenter.

 

Your other two points make zero sense to me. I don't know if you're in the Sox clubhouse on a regular basis but saying he's a malcontent seems pretty much out of no where. He seems happy, says all the right things and Boston is one of his favorite cities to pitch in. So because he isn't the most emotive guy in the world, he isn't a good investment? Lol. What? That doesn't matter at all. It's his style. You'll never see a team field an entire roster of Beckett/Youk/Pedroia types who are fired up emotional competitors. Every guy has their own style. Bedard is a bit more subdued than those guys. What does that have to do with his onfield performance? Speaking of which, he's not elite? When he's healthy, he certainly can be. Erik Bedard's career ERA+ is 120. Compare that to Verlander ( 124 ), Sabathia (125) Cliff Lee (116) and Beckett (116). He is certainly capable of pitching at a very high level I think.

 

Sure, you can say all day that health is a big "if" with him but if thats all you have against considering a Bedard re-signing, thats weak imo. The Sox have access to his medicals and have the opportunity to examine his every pitch under a microscope for the duration of his stay in Boston this season. While his health is a valid question mark, if they feel comfortable investing 8-12 mil per year over two or three years or whatever the case may be, obviously they've seen enough to feel comfortable taking a gamble on his health. I'm ok with that. Since they've got a lot more information at their disposal than we do, if they do pursue him, I'd say they feel confident in his health, and I would have no problem with Bedard on the Sox for the next couple years. There aren't going to be a lot of better options.

 

Lackey has proven to be a bottom of the barrel 5th starter at this point with the potential to get back a bit closer to his career norms. The other three guys we know are complete locks, beyond that, there really isn't a good option for SP within the organization. Nobody we can count on for slightly above average or solid production over 175 - 200 innings. Maybe Bedard has that in him. I'm not 100% on the re-sign Bedard bandwagon, but there isn't a compelling argument for letting him walk.

[SoxSport]

The jury rests until the end of the season.

[BeepBeepYoureDumb]

The sox sport cops out until the end of the season.