Summer Vacation is Over

And the school year is just beginning. So is the NFL season, and even though the baseball pennant races are lagging, there's still a great deal of intrigue what will actually happen once October begins. 

As if those three headlines weren't enough, here's some more big news: the Experience is back. Full time. I'm not half-assing it like I did over the first part of the summer, where I tried my hardest to deliver high quality blogs but just couldn't deliver. Hey, it was summertime. Time to relax and do absolutely nothing. I mean sure that's what I do all 12 months of the year, but it's taken up a notch or ten from that last final in May to the first class of September. And I just left my first class of the semester, a joke class "Animal Science 101" with about 850 people in it, and it's a renowned GPA booster. So I'm back in the swing of things.

My apologies again to the die-hards who were deprived of the Experience over the past month-plus. We're back, bigger and better than ever. Later on today I'll be delivering the 'ol NFL preview, complete with my Super Bowl pick, award winners, and other various thoughts on the upcoming season. We'll see ya then.

Erik Bedard Ain't No Savior

I'm not going to sit here and criticize the Red Sox for taking a gamble. Especially in light of today's news that Clay Buchholz has a stress fracture in his lower back, they'll need all the starting pitching depth they can get. But here are the cold hart facts on Erik Bedard:

• He's started more than 30 games in a season just once, way back in 2006.
• Since being traded to Seattle from Baltimore prior to 2008, he's started 15 games in both 2008 and 2009; missed all of 2010; and has made 16 starts thus far for the Mariners in 2011
• In 6 career starts at Fenway Park, he has a 6.99 ERA
• In 8 career appearances (7 starts) at Yankee Stadium, he has a 4.64 ERA, to go along with a 5.81 ERA in 5 career starts in Texas. The two teams the Red Sox are most likely to face in a potential ALCS showdown.
• He just came off the DL for the Mariners for his July 29 start vs. the Rays, and gave up 5 runs over 1 1/3 innings. Maybe he needed more time to recover?
• To be fair, in his 8 starts prior to going on the DL, he went 4-2 with a 1.77 ERA, striking out 68 batters while walking just 15.
• That being said, pitching in Safeco Field isn't exactly a hitter's haven. It's ranked 27 out of 30 ESPN.com's Park Factor list for hitters, which takes into consideration the rate of stats at home vs. the rate of stats on the road. 

Do I give Bedard the benefit of the doubt on most of those issues that don't seem to favor him? His career ERA of 3.69 is very respectable, and his 8.8 K/9 ratio will play well at Fenway. He's never pitched in a pennant race, never been part of an elite pitching staff. Of course, former Orioles executive Jim Duquette, who oversaw Bedard in Baltimore, had this to say about his former ace: “He’s not a ’spotlight’ guy. And he’s not reliable from a health standpoint — as we’ve seen. Caveat Emptor.” 

Was he a more worthy gamble than fellow Canadian Rich Harden? Each pitcher has made an identical 160 career appearances, with ERA's separated by a mere 0.04 of a run (3.69 for Bedard vs. 3.65 for Harden). And like Bedard, Harden too has started 30 or more games in a season just once, even further back in 2004, when George Bush and Kanye West were still on speaking terms. Clearly the Sox brass didn't like what they saw in Harden's physical, and what's the point in trading for someone if they're just going to spend the final 2 months on the DL? Also, Harden has made just 5 starts on the year due to injuries, posting a 4.30 ERA in the process. 

The bottom line is this: Bedard is more capable of filling Buchholz's spot in the rotation than Harden would have been. But if he breaks down, which is a very real possibility, get ready for your Game 3 starter in the ALDS vs. whoever wins the AL Central: John Lackey.