Erik Bedard

SEATTLE -- Two boys and a girl stand next to a massive promotional photo outside Safeco Field and smile widely for their father's camera. Five feet to the right of them looms a similar-sized picture of Ichiro Suzuki, currently the most popular athlete in the Emerald City. But Ichiro's pensive mug doesn't get a second glance. On this morning, the father wants to forever preserve the moment in which his kids first stood beside Erik Bedard's Seattle Mariners mural. In a city that hasn't tasted a World Series in the club's 31-year history, Bedard isn't just the new face, a quality left-handed starter acquired from the Orioles in February.

SEATTLE -- The No. 45 on the back was familiar, as were the days-old stubble on the baby face and the involuntary reddening of his cheeks as the game's intensity increased. It was Erik Bedard as Orioles fans remember him, except for the name on the front of the jersey and an inability to control his devastating curveball. Pitching his first regular-season game apart from the only organization he has known since the 1999 amateur draft, Bedard labored but survived his Seattle Mariners debut.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With fewer than two weeks remaining before the Orioles break camp and move their rebuilding project north, their final roster is far from set. Decisions loom in the lineup and on the bench, in the rotation and in the bullpen. The No. 1 starter is just as unclear as the 25th player. A relatively quiet camp is expected to start humming after yesterday's lone off day on the exhibition schedule. Orioles manager Dave Trembley is orchestrating competitions that will separate his in-house candidates.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Players started arriving in the cramped clubhouse at Fort Lauderdale Stadium before 8 a.m. yesterday, walking briskly to their lockers while nodding at unfamiliar faces. A couple of hours later, after the hugs and handshakes and thorough physicals had commenced, Orioles pitchers and catchers emerged from the dugout to a smattering of applause and officially began preparations for the 2008 season. At a time in the sport when optimism reigns, the Orioles will train for the next six weeks here amid low expectations.

It took a couple of years and he waited until he was safely on the opposite side of the country, but Erik Bedard -- that talented and tight-lipped left-hander -- finally said something interesting. Bedard's stoicism and peaceful demeanor always seemed to hint at an unappreciated intellect, so that's why it's worth noting that the first time he opened his mouth as a member of the Seattle Mariners, he was wrong. "With Baltimore, it seems like you were backwards," Bedard told Seattle reporters Friday.

Knight an excellent coach but falls short as human being While I'll readily admit that Bob Knight was an excellent college basketball coach, he was a surly, bitter and often repugnant human being. Any university who hired him as a coach knew it would have to unfortunately deal with the whole package. Just be ready to cringe when Knight became unhinged. He could easily be goaded into explosive acts of inexplicable tantrums. Role model? Hardly. A hard-nosed no nonsense coach, sure, but he had an immature, churlish persona to trump his coaching abilities.

The Orioles will hold their first workout for pitchers and catchers Thursday at Fort Lauderdale Stadium in Florida. Meanwhile, club president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail still has plenty to accomplish as spring training approaches. 1. Decide Brian Roberts' fate When the offseason began, it was expected that Miguel Tejada would be the first Orioles veteran standout to be traded, followed by Erik Bedard and then Brian Roberts. Well, Tejada and Bedard are gone, and Roberts' future hangs in the balance.

Seattle -- It wasn't exactly the 12 days of Christmas, but the protracted trade of Erik Bedard from the Orioles to the Seattle Mariners finally ended yesterday with the 28-year-old left-hander smiling like a kid staring at a stack of Santa's loot. No, there was no contract extension from the Mariners, but it didn't matter. For Bedard, the idea of moving cross-country to a team that can compete in the American League West -- to a team other than the Orioles -- was worth the wait. "With Baltimore, it seems like you were backwards.

"I feel the [Erik Bedard] trade is moving us in the right direction. I think Andy MacPhail is doing the same blueprint as he did in Minnesota." Tony Spinnichio, Baltimore "I think they are doing what they always do: get one good pitcher and get rid of him." Bob Mitchell, Canton "I like it. I think [second baseman Brian] Roberts should go next. If you're going to rebuild, do it right." Dan Stachowski, Baltimore "As long as they continue to rebuild the team, then I'm all for it." Jason Presson, Baltimore "It looks good for the future of the team, but we should have kept [Bedard]