Schilling's injury a casuality of the business of baseball?

After Schill's performance in last year's playoffs, this injury comes as a big surprise to most of us. But recent reports surfacing about Schill's MRI at season's end indicate that Sox management knew there was wear and tear but willing to take a risk. We're just learning now that the front office was anticipating a trip on the DL with only an 8-10 win season with 100+ innings pitched. He was a great insurance policy if Wake's health didn't hold up. Now you understand the $8m discounted contract vs. the $13M from last season. Unfortunately, no one knew the apparent extent of the damage and/or disease.

It's a nasty Business...

The nature of the disagreement lies within Schill's upper bicept. His own physician, Dr. Phil Morgan, believes there is disease in his bicept that cannot be reversed without surgery. The Sox doctors feel that rest and rehab is the appropriate course of treatment. The Mets doctor was brought in as a 3rd party but agreed with the Sox more cautious approach. After listening to a very convincing interview with Schill's doc, it sure sounds like he may never pitch again - never mind this season.

Now that Schill has taken his first cortizone shot, we'll know in a couple of weeks if he's still in too much pain to rehab. At that point, surgery becomes his only option and potential recovery at age 41 is unlikely before the season ends. Maybe they could have salvaged the month of September if surgery was addressed back in Jan.

The business of baseball ignores the player. From a business standpoint, the Sox want a return on their $8M investment. They only expected minimal return - but a return nonetheless. Their only business option was to push the rest & rehab option with hopes that he could return in Aug or Sep.

From a fans perspective, it makes you sick that they put the investment ahead of the player. Especially a player that has given body & soul to your franchise already. Schill clearly wanted to follow the advice of his physician of 13 years. Why isn't it his choice in the first place? It's his body. Teams shouldn't be able to void a contract based on a reasonable course of treatment.

That being said, there have also been rumblings that Schill hid his injury & discomfort until the new contract was signed. If true, then you could understand the hardball mentality. But based on his past history and the standards he holds himself to, that's a hard one to believe.

Let's hope we haven't seen the last of Schill in a Sox uni...

The Sox certainly aren't the only offenders in this type of scenario. MLB & the Players Union are the ones to blame. They allow teams to be able to take this kind of approach. It's ugly & should be changed. The conflict of what's best for the organzation vs. the player should not be able to be leveraged in either direction.

Impact to the Sox...
Hopefully Schill will remain with the club and help mentor the younger guys. He's an invaluable resource and will probably make an outstanding pitching coach someday. Why not have his first full season as coach pay him $8M?

The loss of Schill doesn't have a huge impact especially if you count on 8-10 wins somewhere else. The only remaining question mark is the health of Wake. But they have backup in Tavares who pitched well out of the 5 spot last year, Kyle Snyder, David Pauley, and potentially upcoming stud Justin Masterson late in the season.

The Sox original plan was to have Clay Bucholz start the season off in AAA. Having only thrown 140 innings in 2007, they were probably going to start him off slow so he didn't run out of gas late in the year. Apparently he's added 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is poised to start in the 4 or 5 hole. Don't be surprised to see them skip a few of his starts during the year to compensate.

Injuries can always bite you but with 4 starters age 27 or under, that is unlikely. Wake may spend some time on the DL, but they have enough depth to cover. Dice-K is now in year 2 and recently confessed last season took a physical toll affecting his 2nd half. He's only getting better. Lester apparently put on more muscle as well, but other clubs already thought he was 2nd to Beckett as the Sox best pitcher at the end of last season.

Sox have a solid 1-2-3 with Wake as your 4 and last season's dominating Bucholz in the 5 spot. They're in great shape. Beckett should be a Cy Young candidate once again. If Dice-K can adjust similar to Beckett's second season, look out. Wow.

Worst case, the Sox still have ample resources to make a deal. But it appears they are more willing to stick with the farm.

A few top shelf 2009 free agent options: CC Sabathia, Kris Benson, Rich Harden, John Lackey, Ben Sheets, Joe Blanton. A lot depends on the standings in July, but the A's may be willing to deal in Spring Training.

Some of the boys have already arrived in Fort Myers. The other good sign? The sun is out when leaving work at 5:00. Spring's almost here...

Sox Sweep 2nd World Series in 4 Years!

In impressive style, the Sox rolled off 7 straight playoff wins to take home the trophy. They not only survived but dominated each of the 3 elimination games against the Indians. Contributions came from every position. It's the first time in a while that the team with the best regular season record won the World Series.

Most people are pointing to the 8 day layoff for the Rockies leading to their downfall. But if you look at their stats during the ALDS & ALCS they weren't impressive. They had solid pitching against poor lineups. The Sox dominated them in every category.

World Series & Playoff Records - a few of the many...
Biggest run differential ever in WS – 29-10 (19 runs)
Greatest run differential in playoffs – 99-46 (53 runs)
7 game win streak – outscored opponents by astounding 59-15
Second highest BA ever in WS

Only mananger to win 8 straight WS games

Best stat from the Playoffs? Dice-K batted 1 for 1 with RISP with 2 RBI - while A-Rod is 0-21 and only 1 RBI in the last 3+ seasons...

Free Agents

The playoffs were redemption time for both JD Drew and Julio Lugo. Both had sub-par regular seasons but really stepped it up when it counted. You can't put a pricetag on that - just ask A-Rod. It's safe to say that their performances in the post season wiped out any poor performances during the regular season. Expect good things from these guys next season.

The Kids are alright...

We almost forget that Pedroia is a rookie because he performed all season. What a weapon the newest Dirt Dog will be now with playoff success under his belt. Ellsbury is going to be a star. Would he have been the first "rookie" to ever have won the World Series MVP the season BEFORE? (his status for next season will be a rookie) - Almost happened... Jon Lester looked really good in his first ever playoff start. He'll have nothing but confidence coming in next year bundled with a full offseason of conditioning. Delcarmen had a great season and should take the 7th inning role. Could be the most dominant bullpen in the majors next season.

Japanese Connection:

Dice-K & Okajima are also rookies. Just think about the cultural and baseball operational differences they encountered. Their diet is drastically different, not to mention finding appetizing food. Can you imagine needing a third person just to communicate every day? Now imagine yourself being dropped off in downtown Tokyo with no english signs anywhere. Now think about that happening each time you are on a road trip. You have trained your entire career to pitch every 6th day and now you are required to every 5th day. The extent of your road trips was confined to a ride on a bullett train and now you travel in a cramped airliner for 6 hours and subjected to time zone changes. Now that is an adjustment. Amazing how well they performed with all of those distractions. They'll be even better next season now that they know the routine.

Might be gone:

Mike Lowell - don't let Yanks get chance to bid on him. And we don't want A-Rod (see clubhouse, playoffs). 3rd option is Youkie & trade Crisp for a 1B

Schilling - Sox can afford the risk at $13M but they may not. Unfortunately may come down to him or Wake.

Wake - Will injuries force him to hang it up or will he give it another shot? Sox would be willing...

Mirabelli - actually may be expendable even if Wake stays...

Timlin - might be time to hang em up, but worth a shot for 1 more season

Tavares - good insurance policy, might want to be a starter elsewhere

Kielty - WS hero to be replaced with Kapler?

Sayonara Division:

Eric Gagne we hardly knew ye. Despite his #'s he enabled Okajima to get rest down the stretch.

Coco Crisp - Ellsbury dazzled the masses. We'll miss his defense. Never fully developed his bat.

Javier Lopez - cheap, but not reliable down the stretch

Pound Sand Division:

To all of you Yankee fans who proclaimed the Sox wouldn't win for another 86 years... Pound Sand & get a new slogan. We like the Sox to break the goals you set for them. Thanks.

Yankee Reaction:

Don't look now Yankee fans, but the "younger" Steinbrenners are wackier than the old man. So far in the media they have shown to be bitter, arrogant, and frankly dumb. Whatever quote they published about not dealing with A-Rod is just bad business. "Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking again." Thanks Vito!

Hank Steinbrenner (Sr. VP) didn't congratulate the Sox like Georgie did. He proclaimed; "The Red Sox can have their Nation. The Yankees have the universe." The universe of second place? One & done? Being dilusional is not a good trait for management. Kicking Torre out the door was their biggest mistake. They just let the glue (or what was left of it) of the franchise walk away after 12 years of outstanding service for $3M. $3M. That figure will haunt you for years. Perhaps 87 or so...

Congrats to the Sox & all of you lucky Jordan Furniture winners!!! Enjoy your offseason!

Schilling Sock Scandal?

A "prominent" Baltimore O's play-by-play broadcaster Gary Thorne (also NHL announcer) said on the air (during last nights broadcast) that he had been told by Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli that the substance on Schilling's sock was paint, not blood.

He was of course referring to game 6 of the 2004 playoffs vs the Yanks. Here's the exchange:

"It was painted. Doug Mirabelli confessed up to it after. It was all for PR. Two-ball, two-strike count."

So matter of fact isn't it? Here's Mirabelli's response after the game:

"What? Are you kidding me? He's [expletive] lying. A straight lie, I never said that. I know it was blood. Everybody knows it was blood."

So who is the donkey here? We have a hard time believing Mirabelli would say that even if it were true. Others are saying that Thorne would never just make something up. Why hasn't this "news" ever been reported before? Is it reasonable to believe that a 9 inch suture started to bleed from an area that moves with every pitch? Yup. Sounds like a big load of crap and Thorne should feel some pain for making such an unproven statement.

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All that aside, it does not and never will take away from what Schilling did to get ready for that game. Is there another athlete on the planet that would risk that kind of surgery? Doubtful. Throw in the size of the stage and the performance, and you couldn't have written a better script. It's one of the best sports stories of all time. It eclipses Carlton Fisk & Kirk Gibson's homers put together. He was gutsy and heroic. It's a moment that will never be forgotten or unappreciated.

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The point is it doesn't matter about the sock. It's all about what's behind it. For all of you naysayers, call CSI...

No Deal for Schill? Big Mistake...

What is going through the minds of Red Sox management? After spending a windfall of cash in the off-season – and OVERPAYING for new acquisitions, what could they possibly be thinking?

The market prices have obviously spiked so the “value for performance” ratio is now out of whack. Pitching is absolutely ridiculous. Apparently if you have an Era under 7 you’re worth at least $10M per season. Look at some of the deals for these second and third tier pitchers:

Barry Zito – not a true ace by any stretch, but landed $18M per season
Gil Meche – $11M, won 7, 10, and 11 games past 3 seasons...
Ted Lilly – $10M, never won more than 12 games until last year (15), career era 4.60

Schilling is still a good pitcher – and that is the bottom line

He was dinged up last season and still managed 15 wins and a sub 4 Era in the AL. Only 10 or so healthy players had better numbers. Hello Red Sox management – HELLO - that number is 10. If reasonably healthy, shouldn’t he be paid like a top 10 pitcher? What is that value in this market? Probably $18M+ - and yes he is still better than Zito (at least for another year or two)

The Value of Schilling:

He’s not asking for a raise or even fair market value. He wants to pitch in Boston at his current salary. In the current marketplace, he’s not trying to take advantage of the team when most players would. He gets it. He’s a gritty big game pitcher. He’s a great mentor for your young pitching staff. He’s still a lighting rod for the media. He was your best pitcher last season. He’s the model other athletes (the "money hungry" ones) should be emulating. You want him on your team. HE CAN STILL PITCH AT A HIGH LEVEL.

WHERE IS THE DOWNSIDE???


You just overpaid for a guy with a health risk in JD Drew, but you won’t pay below market value for a guy who is still viable? Pitching has never been this much of a commodity. This is the same group willing to pay Clemens $20M for half a season. Even if he falters you’re still going to get better numbers than most of the guys listed above – for the same money.

Let's face it, the Sox will not get equal value for $13M. Who do you REPLACE him with? No one in the farm system will be that good in 2008 (not that they can count on at this point anyway). Lucchino stated the door isn't closed and that they will revisit in the offseason. Nice to know it will be a one way conversation - you DONKEY. Would you come back if you were Schill? Not even at market value.

This team has the money to get this deal done without even blinking. Pitching is at the pinnacle of importance and cost. Do they have a lock on signing Johan Santana at $25M per season and need to save their pennies? Don't hold your breath. This is probably the worst faux-pas of the new ownership. Just awful.

They really screwed the pooch on this one. Our only recourse is to tell them how pissed off we are. So, enjoy Schill while he's here, you won't see him in 2008. Its times like these when those outrageous ticket prices have that extra "sting" to them.