KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Erik Bedard was used to being creative. Being a major league starting pitcher and spending the offseason in snowy Ottawa isn’t the simplest of combinations. Bedard had thrown inside his uncle’s chicken farm before, firing off fastballs on a sticky floor that was cleaned every 45 days. But even Bedard acknowledged his recent offseason was strange. While the Astros tweaked their revamped 2013 roster and Bedard weighed offers – including a potential deal with his home-country Toronto Blue Jays – the Ontario winter produced some seriously sub-zero temperatures. Bedard, 33, knew the upcoming season was crucial to his career. In Baltimore, the 6-1, 200-pound lefthander had been [...]