This Week’s Man Crush: Erik Bedard

This week's Man Crush is a little early, but I couldn’t contain my emotions about Erik Bedard – he has the best sports agent in the world. I mean, Bob Sugar has nothing on this guy.

After a half season of injury-riddled work in which Bedard was 6-4 and a cancer in the clubhouse, he got a $775,000 raise. He earned $7 million last season and will take down $7.75 million base salary in 2009. With incentives, he could make another $600,000 based on innings pitched. Let’s hope those innings pitched don’t average out to three a game, otherwise just cut him a check for 600 large right now. On the bright (?) side, the salary increase means the Mariners avoid salary arbitration with the enormous ass clown.

Many, including myself, were hoping for a trade, outright release or driving him in the middle of nowhere and leaving him for dead. That way we wouldn’t have to watch Bedard puss out after 100 pitches and pull himself from games. That's assuming he's even healthy enough to play. He had surgery in September to repair his shoulder and hasn’t pitched in a game since July. He gets a pass by seam heads who think he's misunderstood and undervalued by casual fans. I might go along with the with that if Bedard showed he gave a rat’s ass about pitching or playing baseball.

Maybe the extra money will help pry open his mouth and get him to utter more than one word answers when questioned by the media. But I doubt it. You know what Jackass, when you get paid nearly $8 million a year to throw a baseball, consider it part of your job to talk to the media and let fans who pay your salary know what the hell is going in that 10 cent head of yours.

You gotta love these guys!

About the Man Crush: This is a weekly installment for the blog where, for good or for bad, I’ll highlight one stand-out player or sports celebrity.