All-Aughts Team of the Decade SP2: Curt Schilling

Thanksgiving six years ago saw Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and a cadre of Red Sox officials fly out to Arizona and be guests of Curt and Shonda Schilling for Thanksgiving dinner.

The crew was there in the hopes of convincing Schilling that he should waive his no-trade clause and head to Boston to try to win a World Series ring. Well, with the 2004 ring backed by Schilling on the mound as well as an important contribution in 2007, one can say the Red Sox certainly spoke the truth at that dinner.

What Schilling accomplished in his short time makes him extremely deserving of being named the No. 2 starter on the Team of the Decade. The Bloody Sock will define Red Sox legacy for years to come.

Foulke speaks on comeback attempt, Schilling

Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe interviewed Keith Foulke in a piece that ran today. I enjoy Grossfeld’s feature pieces — they’re enjoyable to read, and this one is no exception. It’s great to hear from Foulke, and I’ll always consider his 2004 postseason effort unmatched by any reliever.

Foulke lost his closer’s job in 2005 amid injuries. He stuck as a solid middle reliever for the Sox in 2006, then signed with the Cleveland Indians before retiring in spring training due to injuries. He could have stuck it out and collected his money, but chose not to. He then came back with the Athletics last year, again being a solid reliever. No calls occurred this winter, so he’s up in Newark, pitching for an independent team that has Carl Everett at DH.

Let’s take a look at what he had to say.

Remember when Josh Beckett was great?

And I know that “game-calling” skills may be overrated. But in the case of Beckett, I prefer Varitek to be behind the plate, rather than Kottaras. No disrespect to Georgie boy, but I like when the calm, collective, intelligent mind of Tek is calling the shots while Beckett is on the hill. Could be just a personal preference I guess. But we will all agree, I’m sure, that nobody knows Beckett like Tek does.

BOS 8, OAK 2: Wakefield spins gem

The scenario was reminiscent of Curt Schilling’s performance against the Oakland Athletics two years ago on June 7. Boston was in a funk. Oakland had a chance at sweeping the Red Sox at home for the first time in a four game set since May 19-21, 1932 when they played in Philadelphia. Schilling was called upon to halt the losing streak.

Curt Schilling, the Hall of Fame pitcher.

His stuff was never as good as the young Dwight Gooden’s. It was never as good as Nolan Ryan’s or Roger Clemens. Or either of his teammates: Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Granted, it was really good, and Greg Maddux should be even more respected in this regard.
But what Schilling did incredibly well was not allow runners to reach base, unless they earned it themselves. Something even more valued in this day and age with the growing understanding of On Base Percentage.

MVN Outsider tackles the Red Sox, HoF Kell passes

MVN Outsider tackled Curt Schilling today while also providing insight on the Red Sox from a fantasy perspective. Also, former Red Sox Hall of Famer George Kell passed away.

Schilling officially retires

Schilling may have only spent four years in a Boston uniform, but he’s one of the more indelible players to ever wear the uniform and seems destined for the Hall of Fame.

The Next Bartolo Colon

From the likes of Wade Miller and Kyle Snyder to Bartolo Colon the Red Sox have often found value, or potential value in signing a veteran pitcher looking to right the ship after injury or at the end of their line to a one year deal and have them fill spots at the back of the rotation.

That type of insurance policy combined with an influx of youth at the tail end of your rotation has been invaluable in recent years where the Red Sox have needed their fair share of spot starts. I can remember more Julian Tavarez starts than I care to!

While the top of the rotation certainly is full of horses (Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka) and Wakefield and the young guns (Buchholz, Bowden, Masterson) provide a solid tail, injury is unpredictable. The 2008 New York Yankees are a great proof to the theorem that you can’t have enough starting pitching.

Schilling blasts Manny

Curt Schilling’s latest entry on his blog, 38pitches.com, was very, very interesting. It has been removed from 38pitches.com, but the text still comes through on my RSS reader. I have quoted a few relevant excerpts and provided the full text for you.

Manny’s disrepect ‘unfathomable,’ says Schilling

During an interview on WEEI’s “The Big Show” Curt Schilling blasted Manny Ramirez, saying his “level of disrepect to the teammates and people was unfathomable.” Schill also took the opportunity [...]