Don’t call it a setback: Erik Bedard cancels bullpen session

Erik Bedard was slated to throw off a mound today for the first time since August shoulder surgery, but the Mariners canceled those plans with trainer Rick Griffin explaining: “He’s not ready, in our opinion.” Griffin went on to clarify that the cancellation isn’t a “setback” for Bedard, but given that the bullpen session was actually put on the schedule several weeks ago it’s hard not to view it as such. “He’s so far ahead of what he’s supposed to be,” Griffin told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. “He’s doing very well. We just want to make sure we don’t have setbacks.” My view of this may be too simplistic, but it sure seems like either the Mariners over-anxiously had a bullpen session on the docket for a pitcher who wasn’t likely to be ready yet following surgery or Bedard has at the very least fallen behind schedule. Whether or not that’s technically a “setback” is debatable, but “he’s so far ahead of what he’s supposed to be” and “he’s doing very well” seems like some serious spin control. Whatever the case, in signing Bedard to an incentive-laden one-year, $1.5 million deal the Mariners never expected him to contribute before May or perhaps even June anyway.