M's pitching pretty, but don't ask new ace Bedard about it

Mariners: Five things to know

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Erik Bedard is well aware of the talk. Bedard and Felix Hernandez, best 1-2 starter combination in the American League. Best 1-2 starter combo in Seattle franchise history.

Best ... to pipe down, as far as the quiet Bedard is concerned.

Erik Bedard's arrival gives the M's perhaps the most potent rotation. (Getty Images)

"It amuses me more than anything else," says the Mariners equivalent of a brand new sports car sitting in the garage, awaiting the summer. "I don't look at it like that. I look at it like we're all just teammates, and we're trying to help each other win. I don't get the rah-rah stuff."

Bedard is a lot of things: Potential Cy Young winner; best lefty to come through Seattle since Mr. Randy Johnson himself -- even if his debut season here does remain three weeks away. One of the Mariners' great hopes to help unseat the Los Angeles Angels as AL West division champions.

He decidedly is not rah-rah.

"He's kind of quiet," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre says. "He doesn't talk too much about himself. Even in my discussions with him, he doesn't like to talk too much about his preparation, or what he does."

"Quiet and intense," Mariners lefty Jarrod Washburn says. "We've talked fishing and hung out away from the park a little bit."

Bedard's lack of interest in conversing has become quite the topic in a spring camp obviously lacking in drama and controversy. After his first outing, he told Seattle reporters he'd answer four questions. "Why only four?" one of them asked. "You've got three left," Bedard replied.

Even manager John McLaren can't help chuckling when recounting that one. Maybe orneriness isn't required of a staff ace, but it never seemed to hurt those who had a streak of it. (See: Johnson, Big Unit.)

"I like everything I've seen from Bedard," McLaren says.

Far as the Mariners are concerned, as long as he does his talking on the field, that's all they'll need. Randy Johnson and Chris Bosio? Johnson and Jamie Moyer? Moyer and Freddy Garcia? Page back through the record books, pick out whatever special Mariners seasons you wish, and the thought around here is that they've never had a duo with the potential to dominate like Bedard and Hernandez.

"We always had Randy," says McLaren, who spent 21 seasons as a coach -- 11 with the Mariners -- before replacing Mike Hargrove as skipper last summer. "When you have a No. 1, you know you're going to win that day. I've been with Roger Clemens in Boston, Dave Stieb in Toronto, Jose Rijo when he was right in Cincinnati, and Randy here. We feel good here about one through five. And I'm not making expectations too high, because we've got them set high."

There was no camouflaging that from the moment the Mariners acquired Bedard from Baltimore in exchange for five players, including outfield phenom Adam Jones, on Feb. 8. The message was obvious: The Mariners think they can win right now.