One More Day? Please, No

posted by Jon

We all hoped to have some big news today, but it's looking like we'll have to wait one more day. Hopefully on Tuesday we can put this whole mess behind us and look forward to Erik Bedard winning games in Seattle.

Here's what Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun had to say today:

This trade isn't officially done and might not be announced today, so don't take it as a bad sign if it gets pretty quiet.

It's believed that Adam Jones is taking his physical in Baltimore today. It can take several hours for test results to come back, and if we move past business hours, the club might wait until tomorrow to issue a press release.

Team doctors do more than have players turn their heads and cough. These things can take a while.

I've seen the process work both ways since joining the beat full-time in 1997. I've heard about players taking their physicals in the morning, and an announcement comes later in the afternoon. I've also been forced to wait an extra day.

At the latest, I would hope that the announcement is made tomorrow morning. I won't even entertain the possibility that Jones fails the physical. We've had enough strange twists to last each of us a lifetime.

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times is thinking the same thing. Stone called into BaseballChannel.tv's Bottom Line this afternoon, telling host Casey Stern that he's "not that optimistic that it's gonna get officially done today," but went on to suggest it would get done tomorrow morning.

All that said, there is still a little time tonight and something could pop up.

Gotta love this waiting game. As always, we'll keep you posted!

UPDATE: 2:28 PM - Seattle P-I's John Hickey just posted on his blog. He brought up the fact that these two teams have been in no rush to get a deal done, so who knows when it will actually be announced. The second half of the post caught my eye:

Bedard, still at home outside Ottawa and still unsure of where he's going to be pitching this year, told an associate that as of 1:30 p.m. (PDT) Monday, he hasn't been told anything official about a trade.

He certainly hasn't undergone a physical exam, which would be mandatory from the Mariners' point of view for a trade to go down. He finished the 2007 on the 60-day disabled list after suffering a late-August right oblique injury.

I've brought up the question a couple times on here and elsewhere, and I'll continue to do so until an answer comes about. Why is all the talk about an Adam Jones physical, and none about an Erik Bedard one? You'd think he'd be more of an injury risk than Jones.

It just seems like there is something missing here.

UPDATE: 2:42 pm - I missed this one. About an hour ago Sean Welsh of the Baltimore Examiner was a little more straight forward, stating that the two clubs "will not finalize a trade today that will send star Erik Bedard to Seattle."

UPDATE: 3:52 pm - Geoff Baker posted a little while ago with an update on the situation. He confirms that Adam Jones and George Sherrill both had their physicals this morning in Baltimore. He says the other players involved on the M's side are probably not required to take physicals at this point.

Baker also helps answer my question from above about why Bedard's physical hasn't been a focal point so far. "It appears that Bedard has yet to fly to Seattle," Baker writes. "Our take on this? The Mariners probably want to get the 'all clear' sign from the Orioles before bringing Bedard in for a physical. Never know with Peter Angelos running things in Baltimore."

He goes on to say the deal probably won't be finalized until Wednesday or later. Great...