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The Schilling Saga Continuesby Cameron on February 10 at 1:08AM | comments (0)
[ comments (0) ] [ BallHype ] Sorry to disappear after promising more Schilling feedback earlier, but something happened at the day job. Here's a hint: His last name starts with a "Z" and ends with orn, New Head Coach of the Washington Redskins. So, now that we've established that Dan Snyder is still a tool to the media, lets talk even more about a media darling: Curt Schilling. If what the Boston Globe, courtesy the inimitable Gordon Edes, reported on Saturday is true, then Schilling may be in a two-week spin cycle which will determine whether his career continues or fate shuts it down after last year's title.  That's because the team's recommended regime of "rest and rehabilitation" has already started, in a very active way. Schilling received a cortizone shot in his affected right shoulder, essentially putting him on a two-week rest stint. If, at the end of that period, he still feels too much pain to resume any workouts - let alone the debilitating level which he was at (he reportedly was having a hard time opening doors) - then any shot at him recovering would effectively be done. Naturally, that would strike a big blow to Boston's rotation plans. Despite a perception of relative depth in starting pitching, three of the Sox possible starters come with big question marks. While Jon Lester, the winner of Game 4 of the World Series, quieted many of his critics in the postseason, no one really knows what to expect from him on a weekly basis. Similarly, the options for the No. 5 starter - rookie extraordinaire Clay Buchholz and journeyman Julian Tavarez - both come with issues; Buchholz is young and could easily encounter arm fatigue or injury if he overthrows and Tavarez is, well, Tavarez. Even avoiding one of those arms in the rotation assumes that the ever-reliable Tim Wakefield won't miss time, as he did last season. It goes without saying that's the largest concern for WMYM, because we only get to see Dougie go Deep when the knuckle-man's on the hill. Still, it's impossible to avoid fascination at the unraveling of Schilling's injury, and the team's original plans to accommodate him. If what's being reported is true, it's possible that this ownership group - and perhaps GM Theo Epstein in particular - really have turned an emotional corner. According to Edes' piece, which you can read here, the Sox originally approached Schilling about a six-month, Roger Clemens-like deal which would have him return to the Boston rotation around the All-Star break. When the Big Schill balked at that offer, the team responded with the incentive-laden deal that was eventually agreed upon. That could be the end of the story, but instead, the plot thickens considerably. It turns out that the Sox medical staff was balking at re-signing Schilling altogether, and that Epstein went around their diagnosis to sign him after meeting with the team's owners. That was before Schilling started reporting the considerable pain he's been barking about of late, but evidently there was already significant inflamation of his biceps tendon and, potentially, some fraying of his rotator cuff. Interestingly, Schilling's personal surgeon, Craig Morgan, was most concerned about his bicep weakness, claiming that the tendon wouldn't even respond to rehab and training and required surgery. The Sox, afraid that he couldn't recover from such an operation, sent him to a third doc, who was less worried about the bicep and MUCH more worried about his rotator cuff. The bottom line is that the third doctor, David Altcheck of the Mets, agreed that Schilling would never make it through a third shoulder surgery on his pitching arm at his current age, which is why Boston doctors stuck him with a cortizone injection on Friday. What does all this mean? Well, it means that, in all likelihood, any chance of the Red Sox getting a big midseason pitching infusion is currently on the clock. It also means that Schilling's arm has more danger spots than an Iraqi highway, so the last thing any team can do is count on him returning. But, perhaps most importantly for the record books, it means that Schilling, again, pitched through much more immense pain than he received credit for last fall. That may have been cemented as his legacy after 2004, but if anyone still needed convincing that Shilling belongs in the pantheon of gutsy postseason performers (conspiracy theorists), they should have it now. |
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