Apr 6, 2012 By John Perrotto for Heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

PITTSBURGH — Jack Zduriencik knows Western Pennsylvania.

The Seattle Mariners general manager was born and raised in New Castle, played quarterback for the Red Hurricanes, was the baseball coach at Clairton High School in his first job out of college and had a stint as the Pirates’ scouting director in the early 1990s.

Zduriencik also knows Erik Bedard, the left-hander who pitched so masterfully in his Pirates’ debut on Thursday as he took a tough 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the season opener at PNC Park.

Bedard spent 3 1/2 seasons with the Mariners before they traded him to Boston last July.

“He’s a great competitor,” Zduriencik said. “He went through a lot of tough times with us because of injuries but he always kept fighting back. He’s the type of guy people in Western Pennsylvania are going to love. And if he’s healthy, he’s going to be a very good pitcher for the Pirates.”

It takes talking to other people to gain much insight about Bedard. While the 33-year-old is an amiable enough guy, he does not like to talk about himself, especially to the media. His answers are blah and that’s being charitable.

“You’ve got to be careful what you say because you don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Bedard said.

Bedard isn’t one to relish the spotlight as a small-town guy who grew up in Canada on the Ontario-Quebec border, spending many days of his youth working and playing on his uncle’s poultry farm in Navan, Quebec.

The Pirates have been very pleased by what they’ve seen from Bedard both on and off the field this spring after signing him to a one-year, $4.5-million contract as a free agent last December. That is why he got the ball on opening day, though right-hander A.J. Burnett needing to start the season on the disabled list also factored into the decision.

Bedard was dazzling, allowing one run and six hits in seven innings with one walk and four strikeouts. He threw 58 of his 81 pitches for strikes, including 21 first-pitch strikes to the first 26 batters he faced.

More outings like that and he’ll look like a bargain at $4.5 million.

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Matt Hauge became a cult hero to the Pirates fans back home when he hit seven home runs during spring training.

The rookie first baseman made the opening day roster but all signs indicate his with the Pirates is limited as he will likely be shipped to Class AAA Indianapolis on April 14 to clear a roster spot for the activation of right-hander Charlie Morton from the disabled list. The Pirates are starting the season with a platoon of Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee at first base, making Hague a third-stringer.

While I don’t put much stock in spring training statistics, it would be fun to see Hague get some chances to play before being sent down. I would much rather watch him than reruns of Jones.

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Jason Grilli will start the season as the main setup man to closer Joel Hanrahan in the Pirates’ bullpen. Based on how well Grilli pitched for the Pirates after they signed him as a minor-league free agent last July, it is hard to argue with manager Clint Hurdle’s decision.

Yet if Hurdle had asked my counsel — and he never does — I would have picked Chris Resop for the job.

I bet you didn’t know Resop has averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings since the Pirates claimed him off waivers from Atlanta on Aug. 4, 2010. That’s a good indicator of how dominant he can be.

John Perrotto covers the Pittsburgh Pirates for HeraldStandard.com.