Mariners GM Zduriencik: Bedard extension possible, but team will monitor recovery first

Ken Griffey Jr., in the photo above, does his impression of Ichiro's batting ritual. Ichiro doesn't look very impressed. Spoke to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik a few moments ago and he told me the team has not ruled out offering some type of extension deal to injured pitcher Erik Bedard. But first, he said, the team will have to monitor his recovery and see how things go. "He just had surgery,'' Zduriencik said. "We don't even know when he's going to start pitching again.'' The team has a window of opportunity between now and 15 days after the end of the World Series where Bedard is still under Mariners control and can be negotiated with exclusively. If nothing happens, then Dec. 1 is the deadline for the team to offer salary arbitration to Bedard. This would be highly unlikely. Bedard earns about $8 million this season and the minimum the team could offer him in arbitration is a 20 percent pay cut. That would mean the minimum offer would be f...