By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com Bruins InsiderFollow @hackswithhaggs
BOSTON -- The best word to describe Erik Bedards first start in a Red Sox uniform: encouraging.
Thats certainly a good jumping off point for both the individual and for the collective.
Bedard needed 70 pitches to get through five innings of work, but fanned five Indians hitters and exited Thursday nights game with a 3-3 tie before the Sox bullpen dropped the ball in a 7-3 loss to Cleveland at Fenway Park.
The newest Sox southpaw didnt seem at all fazed by the pressurized atmosphere of a pennant race, and he certainly didnt blink much pitching for a big market baseball team for the first time in his career.
So much for the questionable armchair scouting reports on the Canadian hurler before arriving in the Hub.
Instead Bedard looked quite a bit like the hurler that had developed a solid pitching reputation while racking up the strikeouts during his time with the Orioles and Mariners, and he took a nice first step toward claiming the No. 3 starter spot with the Sox.
Boston Red Sox
He mixed a 90-92 mph fastball with a darting curveball and a quality change up, and he made quite a leap from 1 13 innings in his first start off the DL to five solid innings in Boston.
Its hard to sit up here after a loss and say were excited, but I thought he pitched pretty well, Terry Francona said of Bedard. I thought his pitching line was certainly worse than he pitched. I thought he pitched a really professional game. He cuts his fastball, good feel for his breaking ball, good change up, he holds runners and throws strikes. I think that will all improve as he gets a few innings under his belt.
Bedard did have a brain fart in the second inning when he failed to cover first base on a ground ball. That can be forgiven if he starts building up arm strength and giving the Sox quality innings down the baseball stretch.
But that was a slight blemish in an otherwise respectable outing right out of the starting gate.
The southpaw likened starting Thursday nights game at Fenway to feeling nerves before the first game of the season, but said it didnt take him long to get into a comfort zone.
It was like the feeling when you have your first start of the season all over again, said Bedard, who still sits at 4-7 with a 3.55 ERA after the no-decision. You just keep your composure, try to get out of the first inning and then just settle down.
In many ways Bedard has settled down nicely since arriving in Boston earlier this week, and has already made a positive first impression on the fans, media, teammates and coaching staff with a laconic, no-nonsense approach. Bedards overall attitude actually reminds of former Sox closer Keith Foulke, who didnt offer much in the way of flowery or effusive comments when the conversation moved to anything baseball-related.
Bedard gives just enough to answer the given question, and not a syllable more.
Both pitchers seemed to prefer an action over words approach while preparing for their job on the mound, and Foulke actually had a pretty good runsee his MVP-level performance in the 2004 playoffs leading to a World Series title -- in Boston before knee and arm issues reduced him to Johnny from Burger King surliness levels.
Perhaps, like Foulke, Bedard doesnt love the sport of baseball all that much.
None of that matters all that much in a baseball market where J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez proved its okay to sometimes care just a little bit less about the grinding business of baseball.
So Bedards concise words and thoughts can certainly work in Boston if he slides into that No. 3 starting spot for the Sox behind Jon Lester and Josh Beckettand Thursday nights maiden voyage at Fenway was a very good start to capturing that role.
Sox catcher Jason Varitek likened the experience to a learning experience for both the catcher and his new pitcher, but observed crisper command and stuff as the outing went on for Bedard. Thats perhaps the most encouraging development of the entire outing.
I thought Bedard threw the ball really well, said Varitek. I thought he was strong all the way through five innings. He got sharper with all of his pitches, and I had a better view of what his ball was doing.
By all accounts except for the end result, it was an excellent first step for Bedard and his new ballclub. Certainly bigger and better things are to come once the lefty has pushed his arm to maximum strength and he gets a little more comfortable in his new pressurized surroundings.
Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs.