Bedard maturing as pitcher
07/20/2006
BALTIMORE -- Some young pitchers have the tendency to just go out and throw. If they're on, they'll do well. Others -- the better ones -- go out and pitch. They can win games without having their best stuff.
Baltimore lefty Erik Bedard seems to be in the transition phase, and his current six-game winning streak serves as evidence to that. Five of the six victories have come after an Orioles loss, a sign that Bedard is becoming a more mature pitcher.
"He's a pitcher now," manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I think, before, he was a bit of a thrower and didn't have all of his pitches working for him. And now, he's confident, obviously. When he's got three pitches going for him and locates them, he throws hard, but he uses it effectively now. He keeps hitters off balance, and that's why you're seeing good results."
Then, over his last six starts, Bedard (11-6, 4.02 ERA) has a 1.07 ERA, striking out 44 batters in 42 innings. This month, he's 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA. The 11 wins are already a career high for the Orioles' sixth-round pick in 1999, far better than his previous best of six wins from each of the past two seasons.
"Right now, I'm on a roll, and I'm trying to roll with it," Bedard said.
And the 11 victories, which are tied for the most by a lefty this season, are second-best in baseball, ranking him with names like Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling and Kenny Rogers.
When pitching coach Leo Mazzone was asked where Bedard ranks among pitchers in the American League, his reply was: "Right with the names just mentioned. "He's got that kind of know-how. He's a very intelligent guy. A lot of people haven't realized how smart this guy is. It's not because I'm here, it's because he's been smart from the get-go as to what he wants to do."
Teammate Melvin Mora noticed how good Bedard could be before the season began.
"I was just talking to this guy in Spring Training, and he has no idea how nasty he is," Mora said. "I think he's one of the toughest left-handed pitchers in the American League right now."
Bedard, like several other Baltimore pitchers, missed time in Spring Training because of the World Baseball Classic. He pitched for his native Canada, tossing four scoreless innings in his one start.
"I didn't have him in the spring for a long time," Mazzone said.
But Mazzone and Bedard have made up for lost time. A big part of Bedard's recent success is owed to Mazzone, who taught Bedard how to throw a circle changeup. It wasn't until recently that Bedard learned the pitch and began to throw it effectively.
"It's huge," said Mazzone about the changeup. "It's got him to get some low-count outs, and it makes his fastball and his breaking stuff better. It was a no-brainer, really. He decided to trust it, and he's the one who had to go out there and trust it in the middle of a Major League season. A lot of people wouldn't do that."
Both Bedard and his catcher, Ramon Hernandez, understand the importance of the changeup.
"The changeup's a big factor," Bedard said. "Throwing strikes with that helps me a lot."
Said Hernandez: "If you want to win a lot of games in the big leagues ... you cannot come here and pitch with two pitches. You gotta have all of your pitches working, and you gotta be able to throw them anytime in the count in any situation."
The questions now for Bedard are whether he can maintain his consistency, and his health.
Even before Bedard's current stretch, he was streaky this season. Bedard started the year with four straight wins, posting a 2.77 ERA after those outings. Then over his next 10 starts before the six-game win streak, Bedard went 1-6 with a 7.26 ERA.
Last year was a tale of two seasons for Bedard, who went 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his first nine starts, but then sprained the MCL in his left knee, which led to an eight-week stay on the disabled list. When he returned, Bedard struggled, going 1-6 with a 5.01 ERA in 15 outings.
Bedard also missed most of the 2003 season after having ligament replacement surgery in his throwing elbow.
Health-wise, Bedard's been fine this season, and he's on pace to throw the most innings in his career. And although he's been streaky, it seems like Bedard is turning the corner toward becoming more of a pitcher, especially with the addition of the changeup.
"I think we want Bedard to continue to improve, to get over the hump so to speak. We always felt his stuff was good enough and Leo was able to give him a changeup and help that," Perlozzo said. "He's constantly improving. We'd like to see Erik continue to do that, continue to stretch out. He showed us in the game in Cleveland that he didn't have his best stuff and pitched well, and that's what we're looking for."
Source: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/
BALTIMORE -- Some young pitchers have the tendency to just go out and throw. If they're on, they'll do well. Others -- the better ones -- go out and pitch. They can win games without having their best stuff.
Baltimore lefty Erik Bedard seems to be in the transition phase, and his current six-game winning streak serves as evidence to that. Five of the six victories have come after an Orioles loss, a sign that Bedard is becoming a more mature pitcher.
"He's a pitcher now," manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I think, before, he was a bit of a thrower and didn't have all of his pitches working for him. And now, he's confident, obviously. When he's got three pitches going for him and locates them, he throws hard, but he uses it effectively now. He keeps hitters off balance, and that's why you're seeing good results."
Then, over his last six starts, Bedard (11-6, 4.02 ERA) has a 1.07 ERA, striking out 44 batters in 42 innings. This month, he's 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA. The 11 wins are already a career high for the Orioles' sixth-round pick in 1999, far better than his previous best of six wins from each of the past two seasons.
"Right now, I'm on a roll, and I'm trying to roll with it," Bedard said.
And the 11 victories, which are tied for the most by a lefty this season, are second-best in baseball, ranking him with names like Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling and Kenny Rogers.
When pitching coach Leo Mazzone was asked where Bedard ranks among pitchers in the American League, his reply was: "Right with the names just mentioned. "He's got that kind of know-how. He's a very intelligent guy. A lot of people haven't realized how smart this guy is. It's not because I'm here, it's because he's been smart from the get-go as to what he wants to do."
Teammate Melvin Mora noticed how good Bedard could be before the season began.
"I was just talking to this guy in Spring Training, and he has no idea how nasty he is," Mora said. "I think he's one of the toughest left-handed pitchers in the American League right now."
Bedard, like several other Baltimore pitchers, missed time in Spring Training because of the World Baseball Classic. He pitched for his native Canada, tossing four scoreless innings in his one start.
"I didn't have him in the spring for a long time," Mazzone said.
But Mazzone and Bedard have made up for lost time. A big part of Bedard's recent success is owed to Mazzone, who taught Bedard how to throw a circle changeup. It wasn't until recently that Bedard learned the pitch and began to throw it effectively.
"It's huge," said Mazzone about the changeup. "It's got him to get some low-count outs, and it makes his fastball and his breaking stuff better. It was a no-brainer, really. He decided to trust it, and he's the one who had to go out there and trust it in the middle of a Major League season. A lot of people wouldn't do that."
Both Bedard and his catcher, Ramon Hernandez, understand the importance of the changeup.
"The changeup's a big factor," Bedard said. "Throwing strikes with that helps me a lot."
Said Hernandez: "If you want to win a lot of games in the big leagues ... you cannot come here and pitch with two pitches. You gotta have all of your pitches working, and you gotta be able to throw them anytime in the count in any situation."
The questions now for Bedard are whether he can maintain his consistency, and his health.
Even before Bedard's current stretch, he was streaky this season. Bedard started the year with four straight wins, posting a 2.77 ERA after those outings. Then over his next 10 starts before the six-game win streak, Bedard went 1-6 with a 7.26 ERA.
Last year was a tale of two seasons for Bedard, who went 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his first nine starts, but then sprained the MCL in his left knee, which led to an eight-week stay on the disabled list. When he returned, Bedard struggled, going 1-6 with a 5.01 ERA in 15 outings.
Bedard also missed most of the 2003 season after having ligament replacement surgery in his throwing elbow.
Health-wise, Bedard's been fine this season, and he's on pace to throw the most innings in his career. And although he's been streaky, it seems like Bedard is turning the corner toward becoming more of a pitcher, especially with the addition of the changeup.
"I think we want Bedard to continue to improve, to get over the hump so to speak. We always felt his stuff was good enough and Leo was able to give him a changeup and help that," Perlozzo said. "He's constantly improving. We'd like to see Erik continue to do that, continue to stretch out. He showed us in the game in Cleveland that he didn't have his best stuff and pitched well, and that's what we're looking for."
Source: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/
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