June 20, 2008
Schilling Done
It turns out Schilling's doctor was right and the Red Sox were wrong about the condition of Curt's shoulder:
The Globe's Gordon Edes reports that the Red Sox have confirmed that Schilling will have surgery, and that GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona will discuss this development before the Red Sox-Cardinals game at Fenway Park tonight. Schilling will not be at the ballpark, according to the club.
Schilling said the major procedure would be performed by Dr. Craig Morgan, who thought Schilling should have chosen surgery in the offseason rather than the rehab program recommended by the Red Sox. When asked if this meant that Dr. Morgan's initial analysis of the injury and rehab was correct, Schilling replied, "I don't know ... and I don't care.
"There's a chance a lot of things could happen here. My season's over. There's a pretty decent chance that I've thrown my last pitch forever, so I don't care. It doesn't matter. I'm going in to make it not hurt anymore, which is pretty much all I care about."
Dr. Morgan's reputation just went up a peg.
Schilling had an impressive career for someone who didn't pitch consistently well until he was 28 years old. From 1995 through 2007, Schilling walked just 1.74 batters per nine innings, sixth among pitchers with at least 1200 innings. Curt, however, was the only one of the leaders to combine that low walk rate with an extremely high strikeout rate. He pitched some memorable playoff games along the way, including game 7 of the 2001 World Series and the bloody sock game against the Yankees. I hope he keeps blogging and gives us an insider's view of the game from the outside.
Posted by David Pinto at
11:18 AM
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I hate to see Curt go out like this- if he does. But I must admit I have never been much of a fan of him, personally or professionally. I think he belongs in the Hall of Very Good at most. And I wonder why anyone, least of all you Dave, would have any interest reading his blog?
As a Sox fan, I'm grateful for the part he played in leading us to the WS in 2004 and the general change in mentality he brought to the team. However, I won't be missing his big mouth, or his blog, or his weekly radio stint, especially over the last one year where all that crap seemed to supercede anything he did with his arm. And I agree with John, file him under the Hall of Very Good, and (of course) the Red Sox HOF, but definitely not THE HOF.
He was the ace on 3 different teams that went to the WS and won the WS 3 times. I agree with the Hall of the VG but there will also be guys inducted - or already are - who he's better than. Nothing about him really bothered me personally and he was superbig in putting down the NYY in '01 and '04. It's safe to say Boston never would have won in '04 and probably '07 without him.
If this is the end of the line for Curt's playing days, it is a shame, as he is one of the better competitors around. One hope I have is that he goes even more detailed about the art of pitching and studying hitters, now that he won't be giving away his game plan.
Curt's swagger and attitude were a big part of 2004. Without him, it;s have to see a WS in 2004. Good luck.
I just cannot believe that (roughly) 75 percent of Yahoo responders think Schilling a first round HOFer! HofVG, indeed.
I mean, Jack Morris is not in the HOF. He was the best pitcher of his era, and also led three teams to win the Series--though his post-season contribution in Toronto was less, you can't forget what he meant to Detroit and Minnesota in 84 and 91. And his regular season contribution to Toronto in 92 was outstanding.
Basically, in many respects, I think that if Schilling's career is over (or drastically diminished from this point on) it is in many ways similar to that of Morris. If one goes HOF, the other probably should, too. And if Schilling gets in and Morris never does, it can only be attributed to two things, neither of which is inherently related to baseball itself:
1. Media bias--Schilling is good with the media; Morris was known as Mt. Morris for his frequent blow-ups with the press.
2. East Coast bias--Morris played his entire career along the Great Lakes' Third Coast, not the biggest media markets in North America (and he missed one of the biggest there, Chicago).
'Nuff said.