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First Pitch: Erik Bedard is Like a Weekend in Vegas

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Erik Bedard is a really good pitcher. That is when he’s healthy. When healthy, he’s a number two starter, or a number one in a weak rotation.

In a way, Erik Bedard is like a weekend in Vegas. You go in to the weekend knowing that the odds are against you. You just hope the odds don’t go in favor of the house on Friday night. In Bedard’s case, you know there’s going to be an injury, or more likely, injuries. You just hope they don’t come until later in the season.

If you get off to a hot start in Vegas, you kind of forget that it’s extremely possible to lose. That kind of happened with Bedard. He was pitching so well, and it was hard to imagine him getting hurt. I mean, think about it. He stands and smiles at the plate and then makes bad swings, so there’s little chance of him getting hurt on the bases. He’s a pitcher, so there’s always a chance for an arm injury, but you don’t really think about how any number of things can go wrong. Then he suddenly has back spasms out of no where, which is the equivalent to the house showing a three, then making a soft 21 after you split tens and got two hands that both equaled 19. You didn’t see it coming, and next thing you know you’re eating McDonalds the rest of the weekend.

Fortunately this injury doesn’t sound serious for Bedard. The Pirates also have some options in Triple-A, so they won’t exactly be eating at McDonalds if Bedard does miss some time. But don’t assume that the Pirates can beat the house here. Bedard will have another injury this year. The house always wins. That’s why the Pirates were able to sign him for $4.5 M, despite his talent. The hope is that the Pirates can hold off on the house winning for as long as possible, and get to the part in the season where all they’re doing is playing with house money with Bedard. And that point comes after start number 15.

Links and Notes

**Don’t forget to join the Draft Street fantasy baseball free roll. It’s a one night fantasy baseball contest that takes place Friday night. The contest is FREE to join, and you compete for part of a $250 prize pool. Plus, you help the site out in the process. CLICK HERE to enter.

**The Pirates beat the Nationals 4-2. Game story here.

**Kristy Robinson reports on Bedard’s injury.

**Prospect Watch: Justin Wilson throws six shutout innings, and Gorkys Hernandez homers for the second night in a row.

**Keith Law released his top 100 draft prospects.

**The Pirates need to get the bottom of the lineup going.

**Kevin Creagh looks at some potential loopholes in the international signing period.

**Pirates Notebook: Lincoln Learning New Role in Bullpen.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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