It was three days later that outfielder Adam Jones was pulled from a winter-league game in Venezuela and told reporter Augusto Cardenas of the newspaper Diario Panorama that he had been traded to the Orioles for Bedard.

And it was 11 excruciating, confusing days later one year ago today that the Bedard deal was finally consummated, to a mixed chorus of cheers and catcalls.

Perhaps never in Mariners history had a trade been dragged out so endlessly (or so publicly, giving the blogosphere ample time to weigh in from every angle, even as a small cadre of reporters dug deep for daily updates).

To proponents, Bedard was the final piece of a surefire Mariners pennant contender, the ever-elusive ace pitcher to team with Felix Hernandez and give the Mariners a devastating top of the rotation.

"I really thought he was the missing ingredient to be an outstanding staff," Mel Stottlemyre, the Mariners' pitching coach last year, says now. "I was so excited about the pitching staff."

To detractors, however, the Mariners had paid too vast a price for even a pitcher with Bedard's undeniable track record and potential. Besides Jones, a former No. 1 draft pick and the top position prospect in Seattle's farm system, they gave up reliever George Sherrill and three minor-league pitchers, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler.

Sherrill became an All-Star closer for the Orioles, who still believe Jones can develop into an All-Star-caliber outfielder. Mickolio finished the season in the big leagues, while Tillman is now rated as one of the top pitching prospects in all of Baseball.

Bedard, beset by injuries, pitched in just 15 games, none after July 4, when he was shut down for good because of shoulder pain. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Sept. 26 to remove a cyst and unhealthy tissue.

But MacPhail, the Orioles' GM, warns not to make a final judgment on the outcome of the deal quite yet.

"It worked out fine for us," he said by phone from Baltimore. "I would remind Mariners fans those trades can go through multiple lifetimes. If Erik wins 17 games this year, which he's easily capable of doing, it might look a lot different than it does now."

Dave Cameron of the popular Web site USS Mariner, however, highly doubts that his negative viewpoint will change.

Cameron was relentless in his criticism of the trade from the moment it became clear how much the Mariners were giving up for a pitcher he admittedly admires.

"Short of a championship parade, the trade was always going to be a debacle," he said.

There was, of course, to be no parade for the Mariners in 2008, other than the parade of executives out of town after their disastrous 101-loss season. Bavasi and manager John McLaren who named Bedard as his No. 1 starter on one of the first days of spring training were both fired in June.

It's unfair, of course, to pin Seattle's troubles solely on Bedard, who showed flashes of his form when healthy, going 6-4 with a 3.67 earned-run average. Their dysfunction went far deeper than that, but there seems little question it was an unhappy season for the 29-year-old pitcher (he turns 30 in March), who is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

"It's understandable there's frustration all around, from the front office to fans to players themselves," said Mark Pieper, Bedard's agent. "It was a trade they gave up a lot for. Unfortunately, Erik was hurt for a big part of the season, which nobody anticipated.

"He was really good when he was out there, but his season was cut short. Everyone has different expectations going into this season, especially Erik."

Bedard could not be reached for comment, but manager Don Wakamatsu said Friday that his reports on Bedard's health are positive, and that he should have no restrictions coming into camp. Wakamatsu added, however, that the staff will take it slow with Bedard at the outset of spring training.

"Our main concern is to have him ready to go in Minnesota," he said of the season-opening series. "We have time to play around with it. We'll make sure we don't push too much, yet get him ready."

Wakamatsu has already tried to bond with Bedard, meeting him in person during the winter meetings in Las Vegas as well as conversing on the phone.

"I didn't want to go on speculation," he said. "I wanted to go on who he really is. We seem to have a good relationship. He's a guy who's an introvert, but he's also a guy that has a sense of humor.

"I'm hoping to see a different guy because of his health status. He said a lot of his problem last year was his arm. Anyone who's hurt and tries to compete, it's pretty devastating, especially with the responsibility he had coming in."

Stottlemyre, fired as pitching coach after the season along with the rest of the holdover staff, is frank in his assessment of Bedard's season.

"Sometimes you get a guy and he's a little different than he looks from outside," he said. "Not to knock him, because he's a great talent, but basically he didn't have the leadership qualities I thought we were getting."

One sticking point was that Bedard didn't tell the coaching or medical staff he was having shoulder problems. Bedard acknowledged at the end of last season that he first felt discomfort in his second start of the season but tried to pitch through it for months.

Finally, in July, Bedard couldn't go any longer and came out of a start against Detroit after five innings.

"I was the first one he admitted to he was hurt," Stottlemyre said. "He sort of threatened me if I told anyone else. I went back to the dugout and got to thinking, and decided he couldn't do that.

"I went back to him, caught him coming out of the training room. I said, `You turn around and tell them you're hurt. I'm not going to keep this a secret.' He told me had been trying real hard to pitch hurt for a period of time."

Added Stottlemyre, "To me, it explained a lot of things about him. Thinking back now, you have to give this guy the biggest benefit of the doubt there is to come back this year and be a different guy."

Jim Riggleman, who finished the year as interim manager, expressed admiration for Bedard's perseverance at the time, telling reporters, "He's trying to give more than he can give. He should be commended for that."

But Stottlemyre added, "The timing when he finally did admit he was hurt was so bad, organization-wise. It wasn't any secret, they were probably trying to deal him. I really questioned myself: Why didn't they put him on the DL earlier? They held off a long time, and the only reason I could see was they were trying to make a deal.

"That whole thing, I think it was misplayed on both hands, organization-wise and Bedard-wise. I think he made some bad choices, but I expect him to pitch real well this year. It's a year to try to get a nice contract somewhere, his free-agent year."

Stottlemyre also admits that the Mariners probably erred in naming Bedard the opening-day starter so quickly. An unnamed coach told the Tacoma News Tribune after McLaren's firing that the decision caused consternation in the clubhouse.

"You had guys watch Felix [Hernandez] work his [butt] off in camp and watched Bedard do the minimum and Bedard was the opening-day starter," the coach said.

Says Stottlemyre now: "To answer bluntly, yes. I think it's a mistake any time a manager or pitching coach names his starting pitcher so early in spring, especially when you have several people, like we did, who were capable of being No. 1.

"In retrospect, it was a mistake. I'm not slapping Mac, who I think the world of. We myself included made the decision to announce that way too early."

The Mariners are hoping that the turmoil of Bedard's first season will disappear if he remains healthy. His future with the club is sure to be an issue as the expiration of his contract nears, with speculation already starting that he could be dealt at the trade deadline.

Pieper said that discussions of a contract extension "are the furthest thing from anyone's mind. We have to see how he bounces back, how the season goes."

MacPhail said of Bedard, "The best thing you can do for Erik is let him do his thing. He's just not comfortable with a lot of attention. I'm sure that's well known now. I expect he's going to have a considerably better year in '09."

If so, then the two-year anniversary of the Bedard trade might have an entirely different spin.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com

Bedard in 2008

6-4

Win-loss record

15

Games started (he averaged 28 starts in previous four seasons)

81

Innings pitched (he averaged 164 innings in previous four seasons)

3.67

Earned-run average

72

Strikeouts