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Bedard back on the mound, with his manager hardly watching
Posted
at
12:50 pm
Erik Bedard threw his first bullpen session of spring training this morning and Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu gave it little more than a passing glance.
Wakamatsu said he spent more time watching other pitchers he needs to become more familiar with, although there seems to be a concerted effort not to put too much attention on Bedard. Last year at this time, remember, all eyes were on the left-hander after the big trade from Baltimore, then the early announcement that he would be the opening-day starter.
“To tell you the truth, I was trying to watch some of the other guys I haven’t seen,” Wakamatsu said. “I’ve seen Bedard strike out 17. I didn’t want to spend a lot of focus on him. He looked in shape and he looked healthy.”
Bedard, who had a cyst removed and a general cleanup of his left shoulder in a Sept. 26 surgery, had thrown five times off a plastic mound in his garage in Canada. He said his arm felt fine today.
"It’s normal because I’ve been throwing bullpens at home," said Bedard, who said he has long passed the point of worrying about his shoulder. "That was probably a couple weeks after I started throwing. At first it was stiff, which is normal because of the scar tissue."
There were plenty of eyes on Bedard's 12-minute bullpen session this morning, from team executives to trainers to media. Wakamatsu definitely downplayed any extra significance, and that could be by design.
“We’re not trying to put all the attention on one person here,” he said. “It is a team and we’re trying to treat everybody the same. It was a big help meeting with him prior to the year so I don’t have to worry about those things. We have a good relationship going, I’m trying to build some trust and he’s been great.
“He doesn’t want to be the center of attention and that’s fine. As long as he goes out there every five days, we’ll be happy.”
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