Bedard finally dumps on the Os....

by zknower on Feb 9, 2008 1:49 PM EST

...not that I blame him:

Now, all's well, especially for Bedard. He is excited to be out of Baltimore.

"That's the big thing. With Baltimore, it seemed like we were always going backward," said Bedard, who had a team-record 221 strikeouts and allowed a league-low 6.97 hits per nine innings last season.

"When I first got there it was fun, because we were signing a lot of guys and were looking forward to competing with Boston and New York. It all went downhill from there."

...he said the Orioles never made a true effort to sign him to a long-term contract; MacPhail said Bedard never wanted to stay.

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I'd be pissed...

...except almost everything he says is true. I'm inclined to believe that Bedard really did not want to stay here long term, and I doubt either side made any true effort at negotiating an extension, the Os because they knew trading him was a key to rebuilding, Bedard because, like most elite athletes, yes he wants to get paid, but he also wants to win.

by KenDixonFanClub on Feb 9, 2008 2:05 PM EST reply actions

He's stating the obvious...

and he's putting it diplomatically. It's not like he's saying Baltimore is a horse** town or anything. He can say whatever he wants about the organization (chances are I've said worse), as long as he doesn't badmouth the town or its fans, I won't hold a grudge.

by rebop on Feb 9, 2008 3:48 PM EST reply actions

Yep on all counts.

Forget it, Jake. It's Birdland.

by Titov on Feb 10, 2008 2:21 AM EST up reply actions

Erik

"he said the Orioles never made a true effort to sign him to a long-term contract; MacPhail said Bedard never wanted to stay."

And Erik just gave credibility to MacPhail's story (i.e. Erik didn't want to stay) by trashing the O's.

Rocky Cherry, O's pitcher, not John C. McGinley's love child.

by birdman on Feb 9, 2008 3:55 PM EST reply actions

"trashing" is a bit strong

Did you expect him to lie? I don't think any of us imagines that Baltimore has been one of the most fun places to play the past few years. It hurts to hear that stuff about your team, but it's the truth. I didn't think Erik was rude or out of line with any of his comments.

As far as the apparent contradiction of "he said the Orioles never made a true effort to sign him to a long-term contract; MacPhail said Bedard never wanted to stay," that jives with what MacPhail said at his press conference. Early in the offseason he had preliminary talks with Erik's agent but he could tell the agent was just being polite by listening and didn't want to extend, so MacPhail never made serious efforts to do so.

by Stacey on Feb 10, 2008 9:52 AM EST up reply actions