Bedard Deal Between Mariners And Orioles Is Close

Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard finally might be moving west. The Seattle Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles are in the final stages of a possible trade that would invole multiple players. The is from yesterday's ESPN dot com. I'll be back with a comment after you read this...

"The long-awaited Erik Bedard trade to the Mariners reportedly may be nearing completion. Erik Bedard was good in his first 14 starts of 2007 but he was absolutely great in his second 14 starts.
The Baltimore Sun and Seattle Post-Intelligencer are reporting that Mariners outfielder Adam Jones -- the key prospect the Orioles are expected to receive for Bedard -- is in Baltimore to take a physical.
The Sun, citing an unnamed source, reported Monday that the trade of Bedard from Baltimore to Seattle is pending only completion of physicals. The newspaper reported that if Jones passes his physical, a trade could be announced as soon as Monday.
Baltimore is expected to receive a package of players from Seattle that includes Jones, reliever George Sherrill and pitching prospect Chris Tillman."

Peter here, and in the second half of 2007, Bedard went 9-1 with an ERA of 3.72. Those are quality numbers for ANY pitcher on the planet, and the Mariners will be a much better team because of him. And the Red Sox, MY team, will be seeing far less of Erik if he is traded to a west coast team, and that translates to more wins for the good guys.

In other news, Andy Pettitte spoke before a Congressional committee yesterday in preparation for his hearing later in the month. This is from the Boston Herald...

"Roger Clemens, seven-time Cy Young Award, winner is scheduled to give a deposition to lawyers from a congressional committee behind closed doors Tuesday, one day after his former New York Yankees teammate and workout partner Andy Pettitte delivered sworn testimony for about 2�½ hours.
Both pitchers’ private interviews with staff members from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are part of the preparation for a Feb. 13 hearing. That public session is expected to focus on allegations made in the Mitchell Report by trainer Brian McNamee that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with performance enhancers.
The 45-year-old Clemens ranks eighth in major league history with 354 career wins. He put off retirement yet again in 2007, returning to the Yankees in June and going 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA.
"Roger is not going to take the Fifth Amendment," one of Clemens’ lawyers, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement e-mailed by spokesman Joe Householder. "He is going to answer the committee’s questions truthfully under oath."

Peter here, and I must echo that last statement. Roger, DO NOT PLEAD the 5th, for that would make you seem guilty as sin, and TELL THE TRUTH! That's all. Words of wisdom? Maybe. It all up to you now, Rocket Man.

Hey, the Red Sox news is slim and none. And there's nothing wrong with that. It WOULD be nice to see 'Tek get a contract extension...next year he is eligible for free agency! And signing Tito to a multi-year deal would be nice, too. We're approaching the one week mark before pitchers and catchers are due to report for Spring Training, and time is running out. I'm sure Varitek would not want to negotiate once the regular season begins, but the Red Sox front office has time. Hey, I hope you all enjoy the NY Giants' victory parade at 11AM this morning (yeah, right), but again, they DO deserve to be congratulated...THEY OUTCOACHED BILL BELICHICK AT HIS FORTE...DEFENSE. 'Nuff said.

Have a great Tuesday as another week begins to fly by. Please click on the title for the entire Boston Herald article concerning Roger and his FIRST day before Congress. As always, BE SAFE AND BE WELL. And I'd love it if you left me some comments...I'll reply to each and every one. RED SOX FOREVER. And ever!!!!