Bonjour...again

When the Seattle Mariners acquired Erik Bedard from the Baltimore Orioles in February 2008, a friend who I consider to be a very honest Mariners fan summed up Bedard with the following remark: "He's French-Canadian". The implication being that Bedard was an asshole.

Early reports on Bedard made my friend look more honest than John Mayer. (Pretty sure Mayer has some sort of verbal diarrhea disorder). Hailed as the pitching savior to a Mariners team that somehow won 87 games in 2007, Bedard was every bit the asshole my friend said he would be.

Compounding matters was the fact that Bedard would ask out of games after 100 pitches, and the entire Mariners organization was functioning on about the same level as Charlie Sheen's home life.

To top things off, it was looking increasingly clearer that the Mariners made one of the most lopsided trades in history when they sent future all-stars George Sherrill and Adam Jones, along with top-rated pitching prospect Chris Tillman to the Orioles to acquire Bedard. (Such a haul of talent is now known as "A Bedard Package").

The one silver lining was that when Bedard was healthy (rarely), he was incredibly effective. At one point last year, I wrote that the Mariners should consider signing Bedard to a long-term contract and trading Felix Hernandez (not my best idea).

After Bedard's 2009 season ended in August due to surgery to repair a torn labrum, most people assumed Bedard's days in navy blue and northwest green were over.

Fast forward six months and the Mariners have undergone their second consecutive Heidi Montag-esque roster overhaul. And to the surprise of many, Erik Bedard is back.

Give M's GM Jack "The Genius" Zduriencik even more praise. Signing Bedard to an incentive-laden 1-year contract at $1.5 million could ultimately be the coup d'etat in this bullish free agent market.

When Bedard returns at full strength, he will immediately become the best third starter in baseball. Bedard transforms an already formidable starting rotation into a potential postseason nightmare.

The low base salary makes the Bedard re-signing look even better. Oakland just gave Ben Sheets - a pitcher just as likely to breakdown as Bedard, $10-million guaranteed.

So in the past two weeks, The Genius has spent $2.45 million total on Bedard, outfielder Eric Byrnes and first baseman Ryan Garko.

To put that in perspective, the special needs child who previously held the title as Mariners GM spent $54.9 million on Double Stuff Silva, Carl "gays being gay is wrong" Everett and Rich (roider) Aurillia.

The trade that brought Bedard to Seattle was foul from the day it went through. But if Bedard can help the Mariners reach their first postseason in almost a decade, it will go a long way to making the trade look less lopsided.

Here's hoping Bedard isn't a connard in 2010. (That's asshole in French).