Spring Training 2007
Mar 7th, 2007 by Curt Schilling
Spring has sprung again, and the Red Sox are giving a World Series run another shot. Theo made some potentially huge moves this past winter.
More friends and great teammates have moved on as is the case every year, and new ones are here to try and get us back into October baseball.
J. D., Julio Lugo, Daisuke, and a few others are the newest members of the team. The young core of the prospects continues to either knock at the door (Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz), or kick it down (Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon).
Every spring you sit back and look at your team, trying to realistically assess your chances to win a World Series. That was always easy for me — up through 2004. With the exception of 1993 with the Phillies, there was never a spring training when any of us looked around the clubhouse and thought, “Wow, we can go all the way.” Not in that division with the philosophy that was building that team. Every year seemed to be “Phase 2” of a rebuilding project with no timeline. Every spring it seemed we had a Rule 5 player and six-year Minor League free agents in spots that championship teams usually fill with experienced and talented big-league players.
In Arizona it was drastically different. To start off we had R. J., which meant instant credibility. On top of that we had Mr. Colangelo, who made it very clear that he had no issue whatsoever paying the salaries he paid, as long as we won the World Series. That team, for my 3½ years there, was built to win. Every spring we knew if we stayed healthy we’d most likely be playing in October.
In Boston in 2004 the short-term commitment and goals were very obvious. That team was built to win a World Series on Day One. The X factor was the AL East. No other division (at that time) boasted a team like the Yankees, who have the most committed owner in sports. Mr. Steinbrenner doesn’t give a crap about his payroll but, much like Mr. Colangelo, he shows up on the first day of camp and wants to know two things:
1) How many games will the Yankees win the division by?
2) Who will the Yankees play in the World Series?
That’s baseball heaven for players — playing for ownership that is every bit as committed to winning it all as it expects the players to be.
There’s been a shift over the last four seasons here in Boston. When I arrived it seemed that the owners were every bit as committed to winning a World Series as anyone, but there was also some serious concern about fiscal responsibility. Even though they had the money to outspend their mistakes, the goal was to not make the mistakes in the first place.
This spring is no different. The one big change I see in the equation is the AL Central. I predict that the East will be a heavyweight fight to get to the playoffs, but I also think the AL Central will be a knock-down-drag-out fight similar to last year.
There isn’t a team in either of these divisions you can look at and say, “Oh, man, I can’t wait to play X, we should sweep them.” That only adds to the grind of the season because it always seems that two or three teams each year either can’t field the talent or they throw in the towel so early that you look forward to playing them.
If it’s possible, this year’s AL is better than last year’s. That’s saying something.
So here we are about five or six games in, and guys are starting to get their game legs a little bit at a time. We’ve had a chance to witness some pretty special stuff already.
I don’t know if I’m in the minority or the majority, but Daisuke Matsuzaka is legit. This guy is going to win games — a lot of games over the course of his Major League career. I had a chance to watch him on video before he arrived, but it wasn’t the same as getting to see his stuff in person.
This kid is polished. Pretty safe to say that you can take velocity — for power pitchers, anyway — and add anywhere from 2-5 mph at this point and get a feel for where they’ll be when it begins to count. He’s working at 90-92 with exceptional command, and I’ve seen three or more pitches in addition to his fastball.
When I watch guys in the spring, I always look first to see if they have good-to-great command. Misses tell you as much as strikes do about command (and this goes for Josh and J. P., too). Does the pitcher miss on the side of the plate where he’s throwing? These are always good misses. Daisuke and Josh both do that. Josh is getting better each time I see him. I’ll take time to talk more on the entire rotation as time permits before we open the season.
Regardless of what happens performance-wise between now and the end of camp, we’ve already seen what may be the coolest thing to happen this year: Jon Lester healthy and pitching again. After speaking with him all winter, knowing what was on his mind and what he was looking forward to, Sunday was by far the best day we’ll have in camp this spring. He was nervous as hell, had some trouble breathing, which was awesome to hear. He was throwing 88-90 his first time out with good command, which was all icing on the cake for me. He’s another one who has some great stuff ahead of him. Power lefties are an extremely rare commodity, especially ones with his makeup. The best part of Jon is his makeup: he has a deep-seeded desire to be great, and that’s going to make him something special as he continues to progress.
As for me I’m two outings in, and so far so good. I threw a whopping 19 pitches my first time out: 15 strikes and four balls. Three of the balls were intentional, so I felt great command-wise. Fastball command was better than I anticipated, but I threw exactly zero changeups which was not the game plan. Eighteen fastballs and one split comprised my entire repertoire, so I’d have to wait a few days to break the changeup out. I’m feeling much better about getting the ball inside on LHH and commanding that portion of the plate this year, which is huge this early in camp.
Four days later I get the Twins again. Fifty-pitch limit I’m hoping to turn into four innings. Bartlett leads off the game hitting a curve ball off the end of the bat into left. Rest of the inning goes OK.
Things go well through the first three innings, and I throw ten changeups in that time. I literally feel like I’m throwing the first two left-handed. This is such a different pitch for me, and it’s taken three years to convince my body and arm to sync up. It’s still a work in progress, but after the first two changeups I feel as if the next five or six are very good. I even get a swing and a miss. Twenty-one years into my professional career, and I get my first swing and miss at a changeup in spring training. It feels like a national holiday.
So we’re into the fourth inning, and the inevitable happens. I start Cuddyer off with a curve ball–strike one. My thought as the pitch is being called is, “OK, anything but a fastball here.” Tek puts down fastball in, I shake no. Tek puts it down again, which means he feels great about the pitch. At this point the ONLY thing to do is commit to the pitch and throw it as I called it or step off. I do neither. Mentally I think no, but physically I nod yes. In the middle of my windup I’m thinking, “OK, you idiot, why the hell are you throwing this pitch?” About ten seconds later, when the ball lands over the left-field wall, I’m dropping words I’d put soap in my kids’ mouths for saying.
Tito is strolling out now, and my outing ends on a misplaced, CRUSHED fastball.
I’m noticing some things after only five innings. I’m getting a lot of early-count contact. I’m getting less solid contact and getting inside on RHH more because of the two-seamer I’m starting to throw. My split has yet to even show itself from a movement standpoint. My curveball feels very good. My slider, which has basically been absent since last September, showed up on the very first pitch I threw. I’ve never had a great feel for my slider to RHH — it feels flat and short and always has — but I feel like I could throw the back-door slider to LHH with my eyes closed. I screwed up by wasting what could be the best one I’ve ever thrown by throwing it in spring training. I’m not serious, of course, but these are the kinds of things that cross your mind down here.
So that’s where we stand today. I have the Twins again on Thursday, and then we’ll move to four days off between starts. I’m pretty sure I won’t see any AL East teams on the schedule, which means I’ll get to see Major League hitters for all my starts. That’s a good thing.
I’d like to close this post by sending my family’s thoughts and prayers to a few very special people.
John Vuckovich, my first real father figure in baseball after I lost my own father, was then the third base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. John is extremely ill right now, and I pray that somehow, some way, he can grind through this, as he so often reminded me to do when things got tough.
I also had the incredible pleasure of meeting an inspiring young man named Peter Despain. Pete is undergoing chemotherapy. I implore anyone who loves kids to stop by Pete’s blog at: http://www.peterdespain.com/blog/index.php. Please drop him a note to say hello. What an amazing kid!
Another cool part of this story is that my introduction to Pete was made possible by a classmate of Pete’s, a young girl named Natalie Close. Natalie is the daughter of Brett Close, president of 38 Studios. Natalie knew Pete was a fan and had the kindness of heart to ask her dad to ask me to get a hold of Peter. Pretty special little girl.
George Kerr and Keith Moegle are also two very special people. George and I exchange emails the nights before I pitch. Keith is a valued employee of 38 Studios and dear friend. Both of these men are afflicted with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. If you’d like to learn more about ALS and how you can help, check out the links above to the ALS Association and Curt’s Pitch for ALS.
God Bless,
Curt
Next up: The Sox and Non-Retirement
All the best to John Vuckovich. We were privileged to hang around Phils camp in ‘93 while visiting my grandparents in Clearwater. We went to the complex one day before pitchers and catchers reported and watched him work with John Kruk, Ruben Amaro and Todd Pratt in the cage all morning.
It was my first exposure to the kind of dedication you all have to your craft, as well as to the coaches’ role in all the extra work you put in. After he threw pitches in the sun all morning he stood around talking to my brothers and I about hitting drills. A giving guy - deserving of our prayers.
Curt, how about a Dunkin Donuts commercial where you try to teach Dice-k Boston English?
hey curt i just want to wish you luck this year it looks like we are going to have a great team. and i hope to see you back in a redsox uniform next season … and i look foward to reading your blogs
Thanks for the insight on Spring Training, Curt. Good luck with the change-up. It would be amazing to see you add that to your pitches!
I’m curious about your comments regarding good misses, and how pitchers perceive them. Last season, when Josh Beckett struggled a bit, many in the press (and the dregs on talk radio) kept commenting that he was “hurling” and not “pitching”… only trying to throw past batters, and not set them up.
Do you see any of that, in Beckett or other pitchers? Is that just media talk? I would think that getting comfortable with location early, knowing which misses are good and working towards improvement, like in your comments, would make all that talk just nonsense and speculation.
I’d love to know your thoughts. Looking forward to Opening Day!
Great to hear that the young kids are progressing well. I am especially glad to hear that Lester is continuing to improve day by day. I think you guys have the making of a great staff this year. I look forward to hearing more in the days to come.
Good luck this year Curt. I hope you and the organization can come to some agreement so you can stay with the team.
Wow, it’s really great to have that kind of insight in to your thought process both on and off the mound. The way you perceive your own pitches, and the amount of analysis you bring to the development of your repertoire during Spring Training is the kind of thing that doesn’t alway come across in press conferences and other opportunities to hear your feedback.
It’s there, though. I remember saying to my wife, watching your comments to the press after that first 15 pitch outing, “Look at him. He’s still on the mound.”
You kind of had a hundred yard stare about you for the first few minutes of the question and answer period. As fans, we seldom get to hear you speak so soon after leaving the mound. It was obvious to me as an observer that you were still in that “mode” and still really processing what went on out there.
Curt
Thanks so much for what you are doing for ALS! I attended SpringingForACure in Ft Myers this past Saturday and we all appreciated your generosity of time spent with the fans. I believe you outbid a friend of mine on Youk’s items!! And of course since I am from Texas, I had to have Josh’s signed ball. I was at that Twins game and you looked good. Can’t wait for ya to return to Texas!! I’ve got tickets for all the games. Good Luck this year with your pitching and your charities!
Hey Curt,
Great to have your insight here it will be interesting to read your thoughts and not have the media spin that is always present in Boston. I have my own blog (http://jimroz.wordpress.com/) that I have been working on that includes my thoughts on all sports and various other things in the world. I am really excited about the rotation this year, in my opinion it has a chance to be the best I have seen in my lifetime as a 22 year old. It should be great to track your blog and enjoy your insights. I for one am upset the Red Sox didn’t lock you during your contract discussions. Regardless, being the professional you are we as Sox fans expect another strong season out of you and the ball club. Best of luck this year look I look forward to reading your blog throughout the season.
My friend Steve says you’re a fool. I don’t know, I think you’re pretty cool.
Can’t wait for you to have a CY young season Curt.
Nice blog Curt. We find ourselves writing about you quite a bit over at babeslovebaseball.com Keep up the good work!
Curt, nice blog it’s awesome to read the insights of a true Boston Red Sox’s player and to see your perspective on issues regarding the team. I hope the inability to give you a contract extension does not put a damper on your attitude towards the team.
Good luck this year and I have no doubt the Red Sox will be playing baseball come October.
Curt,
glad to see you with a blog, seems like you have a lot to say which is a good thing, funny how the media works in boston, i grew up there for 23 years them moved out to san diego. looking back it’s funny how some of these turkeys in the media think they are bigger than the team or the players they are covering. i like our pitching staff, timmy wake is gonna have a big season even if he’s not starting, keep doing what your doing and next time you face a-rod bust him inside. peace in the middle east
Hey Curt:
I am most excited by your blog and wanted to compliment you. Very Cool. I adored baseball as a kid and somehow lost my interest after free agency and the strikes. Like a bad penny it came back to me in 2003 and I have been hooked since.
In ‘04 I was so excited to see you posting on sosh (I am a lurker). It was so cool because I was getting real insights from someone playing the game. I made me feel more invested in the team and your success. On the above post - you have a great writing style and an ease that will be fun to read. I particularly enjoyed the description of the home run you gave up to Cuddyer. I can’t tell you how many times I have made a similar mistake on the golf course. You find yourself deliberating between a flop shot and a bump and run. You make a decision to which you aren’t fully committed and end up paying the price. I am not happy it happened to you but it is humanizing to understand that things like that happen to you and great that you have a sense of humor, can own it and share it. I will follow with great enthusiasm.
I have been a long time gaming guy. I used to subscribe to SPI and used to buy Avalon Hill stuff back when I was a kid. I have less time now but my brother tells me that he has all of your MMP games. I am looking forward to battle of Termopylae movie “300″. Your warrior like atttitude on the field puts me in mind of the trailers I have seen. I expect you will enjoy it.
On another subject, thanks to you and Shonda for your efforts to fight melanoma. I lost my dad to it two years ago. I studied on the subject and tried every experimental trial across the country to no avail. SHADE has the right idea - early detection is the key. My wife and I breed dogs and are hoping to do our part by working with scent detection as a screening for melanoma.
Sorry to hear about John Vuckovich, we will say a prayer.
I hope New England remains your home forever and GMG is the success we all know it will be.
-Brad
Look I am sorry for what I said you are not an @%%@ but I wish you would just stick to pitching and winning games then running your mouth all the time, nobody cares what you say but these geek Red Sox fans and WEEI and the media. Just win man and that says it all you don’t even need to talk if you just kick @#$ on the mound.
Welcome to the world of blogs Curt, we all look forward to reading the inside view from your eyes.
I don’t know many other teams that start chants for their teams in the 9th inning of spring training games when they’re 1500 miles away from their home field. I love being a Red Sox fan.
Hi Curt, My kids would like you to pass a message to Jon Lester if you wouldn’t mind.
They are so thrilled that Jon is feeling better (I’m certain everyone else in Red Sox Nation has the same thought) and are both secretly hoping he might
do some rehab time in Pawtucket just to catch a glimpse of his speed.
But they are very happy that you and Wake will still be here. They take great
pride in teasing my husband and I…(Mom and Dad you both should play for
the Red Sox since you both are only a month older than Wake and couple
months than Schilling) so when the media starts saying stupid things about
age and pitchers…remember you guys are still younger than us….lol
Have a great season to everyone and can’t wait for April…
BTW..absolutely love Dice-K and the glove…did you teach him that trick or Tek?
Curt. Very interesting reading! Good insight into your thought process. I really hope you realize what you could be in for by opening yourself up to comments from some of the yahoos out there. But I think your skin is thick enough to handle it. I look forward to reading your blog throughout the season and hopefully you are able to keep up with it given your very busy schedule. Good luck this year. See you on opening day. Go Sox!!!
Curt, I like the blog. Your analysis of the spring games so far easily explains why you are so successful. Such self- assessment is admirable, hopefully the young arms adopt this attitude.
I am also glad to hear your update on Lester. My buddies and I got to see him in Portland 2 years ago, and we came away impressed. You could see that he was going to be special when his command increased. We also got to see his outing last year in July at Fenway vs. KC when he held them scoreless over 8 I believe. Therefore we have come to adopt Jon as a personal favourite.
One thing I must comment on is your opinion of the ownership. I can’t help but think that your comments are coming due to a personal conflict with Luchinno. This team has proven that they want to win, which signings such as Dice- K , Drew and Lugo show. Their hesitancy with you is somewhat disheartening, but they are treating it more like a business decision. Eventually they will realize your value to the team and sign you, while at the same time I hope you realize that, I think, the ownerships plan is to build a contender for the next 5-10 years. The young arms already in place, and the prospectslike Bucholz, Bard, Cox etc. means that this team SHOULD be competitive for the near future.
Be patient with ownership and continue to take on Shaughnessy. He will get his eventually, just like Borges is now. Remember, some of these writers are just jealous of achievement.
Best of luck in ‘07 and best wishes to your friends in need.
Curt, I was hoping you would expound a bit upon your new change up, more specifically what type of grip you are using, if you are comfortable using it in multiple arm slots, and how you think it could compliment your splitter as an ‘out’ pitch.
Hi Curt
First - thanks for everything you did in 2004. It was an amazing season and I will always remember the way you sacrificed yourself for the team and the fans of Boston.
Also, I saw that you had mentioned a kid named Peter with cancer. I’ve been following the story of a 7 year-old boy named Matty who has a rare form of cancer. He lost his arm back in October to the cancer, and now he is about to lose his battle. He is home on hospice, and he is a big Red Sox fan. If you want to check out his site, its http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/matty
It’s pretty cool to hear your thoughts on pitching. I hope you are able to keep it up during the season. As you know, we’re crazy here in Boston. We want to know everything about every player and the sport. I can’t wait for the regular season to start.
Best of luck to you
Hi Curt,
This is a great idea. I am a fan that enjoys the details of the game and to know what is going through a players head in situations is terrific. (great way to pass time at the office) I have been trying to communicate with you for a few years now without success. I wonder if you have a moment to e-mail me I could discuss something that involves donating to one of the charities you support. jagabrieljr@aol.com
Thanks for your time,
Jim
Curt,
Thanks for the great blog. I’m always amazed by the amount of time that you put into telling the fans about the inner workings of the Sox and your thoughts. It seems that you go to great lengths to inform us die hards of what’s happening with our team. I always enjoy those kinds of things and I enjoy talking to my one former MLB player/coach friend about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on.
Good luck this season and an extra special good luck on the GMG/38 Studios launch. I commend you for taking the steps to set yourself up for retirement and giving the fans more reasons to like you. I’m pulling for the Sox to sign you for ‘08 because your experience to the up and coming guys is invaluable. If they all work as hard as you do then they may be as successful as you in the future.
Please continue to slam CHB(Dan S.) as aften as possible. I don’t think he knows anything about sports but it was probably an easy “A” in college to take sports journalism. I’m more of a Peter Gammons fan because PG has class and is respected by his peers and members of MLB, both players and management alike.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop so to speak and best wishes for a super year. I’ll be reaading this everyday for sure. Thanks again Curt.
Leo
Hello Curt
This blog has made my freaking day!! It is a great way to keep in touch with your fans and like you said, not have your words “mistaken” b/c its directly from you!!
You may recognize my name from other boards (u emailed me once which was cool thanks
) But im here to talk baseball 
I am glad you touched upon Lester, I think they should have broadcasted his debut on NESN like they did with Dice-K. This guy is amazing to go through all of this during an off season and come back to throw 90mph first time out!!! I love stories like that, my family has been stricken too many times by that horrible disease, including my nephew when he was 8 months old but he is now 9 and a lefty pitcher…..watch out
I too think this team could win the World Series again!! This is, by far the best Pitching Rotation we have had in a long time, as well as the bullpen (though the closer situation scares me but I do think Donnelly should get it based on what he has done so far
). Offensive production SHOULD increase as well with a SLIGHT drop in Defense but it shouldn’t be tragic!!!
I am very excited for this season to start and even more excited about your Blog!!!
~Marsh
Flabbo, feel free to not come by the site man, free country and all…
Miller73, I have no hard feelings at all with this ownership, great group of people committed to the team, the fans and the city. They’ve been awesome with me since day one and I have never said anything to the contrary.
The contract will work itself out one way or another, either way things will work themselves out, they always do.
I have to admit, I’m really glad to hear that you’re re-dedicating effort to the changeup. I remember that and the “pitching inside” thing as being two areas of focus last spring and and it seems like you started using it and the changeup gave left-handed batters a whole new look for the first few weeks.
Obviously your makeup is still classic power-pitcher but I was wondering if you see any kindof major shift in approach to maybe work in more and more offspeed pitches to counteract hitter’s tendencies for jumping on first pitch fastball strikes? For lefties at least, the changeup seems like it might work really well.
Also, what about the cutter for righties? I was a huge fan of the idea of using it to force righties to hit it to the deepest part of the park. Considering the combined range of Coco and Drew, it seems like that pitch could be deadly to right handed hitters if it’s on the outer third of the plate or so.
Curt……Thank you so much for getting this up and rolling. What a great place to gain the real insight we truly crave. I only wish we had this kind of access when you first joined Boston in 2004. I am so pumped for this season. The rotation has the potential to absolutely dominate if everyone can stay healthy. The offense has been tweaked back to a lineup similar to that of 2004. I would love to hear your thoughts on the kind of impact that a catcher with the knowledge and abilities of Varitek has on a pitching staff. We hear such praise about what Jason does behind the scenes but, to a fan, few of us have real forum like this one to gain a greater understanding of all that he does for a team.
Thanks again and I can’t wait to check out 38pitches every morning!
Bill
Great, informative post. Most of us out here have no idea what’s going through a pitchers head during an at-bat. That whole part about wanting Jason to not put down fastball and then he does and you’re calling yourself and ‘idiot’ during the pitch…pretty cool. I don’t know, that’s just where I stand. Just wondering if you wash your kids’ mouths out with soap when they say “Let’s go A-Rod”…something to think about.
Hey Curt,
I took your comment about the “shift over the last 4 years” by ownership to mean that they are being frugal and not winning at all costs. Thus, my interpretation was off.
Also, please do your best Coach K recruiting effort and get Clemens to sign on. Just like your legacy was cemented in the ‘04 playoffs, Roger needs to finish his amazing career where it started. He needs to be the sole leader in all time wins in Boston and bring this city a championship before he goes.
Thanks again for the blog. With the Ron Artest’s and Kobe Bryant’s setting bad examples for society, this is a great way to stay in touch.
Who are your NCAA hoops picks?
Curt, It is a pleasure to listen to you and to read your comments! You are a sports fan delight! Always honest and to the point! I love your passion and I love your humanness! This is really the first time I have ever responded to a pro athelete and I’m thrilled its you! My Dad got me interested as a Sox fan when I was 5 yo living in Long Island NY! I am now 57 and feel I owe you and everyone connected with that 2004 championship team a huge thank you. Every Single guy deserves credit it was a remarkable time one I’ll never forget! I just wish all my of the people from my Dad’s generation had a chance to enjoy that championship! So many passed away like my dad b4 without knowing the joy of watching the Sox as world champs. Still living on Long Island but is sure is easier being a Sox Fan here after 2004! Thanks for all you did in 2004 and just for being who you are! It is a thrill to get the info from a player as passionate and human as you are! Warm Regards & NEVER CHANGE!
PS - The Sox will do the right thing with your contract since you deserve it!
PPS- I can never understand why they would allow the entire 2004 team a chance to remain intact and challenge for the crown in 2005??
Curt:
Thanks for the blog. I pitched (NAIA school) in the early 80’s but I have kept up with how current players are using technology for pre-game preparation. I’d like to see your comments on how you prepare. I’ve read how Ipod’s are being used by batters to spot changes in their swings and how they compare bad at-bats to good at-bats. Do pitchers do the same?
I’d also like to hear about your other pre-game preparations with Tek - planning how to pitch hitters, etc., especially how you handle great hitters when you will face them 4-5 times during a game. Do you prepare for all 4 at-bats with a hitter or just the first one and let the game flow dictate the other at-bats?
Thanks again for having the blog.
Sox offer you a deal of $12 mil. Do you take it?
Curt,
I’m really looking forward to reading your posts and updates to this site. It’s great to hear your comments and insight on pitching and baseball in general. Keep up the great work for ALS, and best of luck this season!
I would love to hear your thoughts as the season approaches on the Red Sox closer situation. Thanks!
Who is more painful to talk to:
Gerry Callahan or John Dennis?
Thanks,
I’ll hang up and listen to your response.
I was sold on you from your first commercial about breaking the curse…Thank you..while I haven’t been a die hard Red Sox fan for as long as many others on here, I know what it is to be one now and a true fan.
I thank you for what you gave us and for what you say and what you believe. I don’t have to agree with all of it but I do respect you as should others….
Curt…as a diehard Sox fan that travels to Ft. Myers every spring and goes to as many games as I can afford, I wish you nothing but the best. Win twenty, help Papelbon, Dice-K and Beckett and lets get another ring. I don’t think the majority of the people think your a blowhard. I think they believe that you should just concentrate more on baseball and talk less about being a senator etc. You & I both know you aren’t ever going to be a Massachusetts senator. You had your chance to actually be senator-esque at the steroid hearings…and just competely wussed out.
in case you keep track of these things.. the list of people from local sports teams that would be ahead of you on the voting tallies for senate looks a lil’ something like this..
1) Tom Brady (moderate Republican, easy on the eyes just plain cool)
2) Theo Epstein (we love our left-leaning Ivy School grads around here)
3) Bill Belichick (surpisingly left-leaning, three rings to one ring…sorry)
4) you
Rounding out the list at around number 480 would be Fred Smerlas. And one last thing, if Larry Bird decides to move back to Massachusetts and run for office…well Tom Brady would be in for one hell of a fight.
As I said, big fan (even have an autographed Curt ball that my wife bought from some charity), I just don’t think we need to hear every nuance of your contract and your future plans. Just win baby!!!
Curt,
Your nanny is the grandmother of the girl I am dating. I have seen the replica Pittsburgh Steelers jersey that was given to you after they won the Super Bowl.
Weird.
Do you guys insist that Okajima not use the name Hidecki, which is Japanese for fat toad?
Hey Curt,
I’m a Yankee fan so let’s just say I’m not a big fan of yours. But keep up the good work on the blog, it looks good!
Flabbo - your wrong man! I love hearing the human side of a athelete! Just balls and strikes is sometimes boring! ( certainly not with Schill)! Top atheletes are role models and with so many poor choices in pro sports today its nice to see Atheletes that get involved and make a difference! We need more guys like schill not less.
Hey Curt,
I’m a Yankee fan, so let’s just say I’m not a big fan of yours. But keep up with the good work on the blog, it looks good!
Hi Curt-
Thanx for 2004.
If ive one complaint about the last few yrs its the constsnt turnover.
Wheres my man, Trot Nixon?
Why not Loretta, for just one more year, and to confirm Dustin?
Amongst this yrs starting positional players, only manny, lowell, and tek count among sox players w more than a few yrs duty on the team.
Also given teks age and falloff late last yr, it seems the sox should catch no more than 110 games or so…And they have Doug as backup for this?
rich
Good stuff Curt. I was rooting for “bloggingthemonster.com” but I appreciate the benefit of concise in a domain name.
Quick point of housekeeping, your last name is spelled wrong under the picture of you and the Mrs.
Good to hear the change up is coming around.
One quick dumb question, did you have to get permission from the Sox to have their logo on the main page? I’ve always been curious about those type of things.
Thanks.
Curt,
This is only adding to my Sox addiction… awesome. Its great to get that kind of insight into your thoughts.. For a long time we have had it with the old school print media and the way they handle you guys the players and what they let us see… I love the new world and blogging!
38Pitches has just been added to the favorites!!
Thanks,
Knuckle
There isn’t a single Yankee fan in the world that would want to see you in pinstripes. So please, stop saying that you wouldn’t come to the Yankees, because, trust me, we don’t want you!
Curt,
I just checked out Peter Despain’s web site and wanted to say thanks for letting us know about him and thanks for taking the time to brighten up that young man’s life. My son was diagnosed with the same type of cancer in January 2006 at 18 months old so I know Peter has a tough time in front of him. Anything to brighten his days will be a big help to him and his family.
Go Sox. Can’t wait for opening day.
Do you talk in your sleep? Why do you feel the need to offer your opinion on everything in the world? You are a baseball player, no more, no less. No one outside of Red Sux fans gives a flying hoot what you think about politics, global warming, or Iraq.
When you retire, do you think you can just go away? Maybe hang out with McGwire in witness protection for a century or two.
Thats all.
Curt,
First thanks for 15+ years of awesome baseball memories, thought provoking quotes and a whole lot more. I’ve been a big fan of you since the early Phillie days. I never thought I’d see anything like that ‘93 team (Nailz, Dutch, you, kruk, etc..) but of course the ‘04 Sox were just a little bit better! Anyway… during the ‘93 series they did a piece on you and your dad that I always thought was incredibly moving. I’ll never forget it.
Anyway, good luck this year. I can’t wait to start seeing guys strike out as they chase ‘a splittah in da dirt’!!
Mr. Schilling,
Can’t say enough how much I love the website. I think it’s great to see players cut out the middlemen and speak directly to the fans. Especially given that the Boston media (CHB & Co.) aren’t the best in the world. It’s good to know that, at least here, quotes aren’t getting taken out of context and what-not.
I’ve got tickets to the Red Sox/Orioles & Red Sox/Yankees game. I can’t wait to see some Red Sox baseball!
Hey craigruby don’t click on the link, quick and painless that way.
and speaking of CHB….I think someone should put your voice to a GPS system and secretly install into his car so you can tell him on a day to day basis what you think.
\\No one outside of Red Sox fans gives a flying hoot what you think about politics, global warming, or Iraq.// well craigruby…perhaps no one ANYWHERE cares to hear your opinion.
Schill, this has the makings of a great blog. I’m a huge Sox fan (not from Boston, but ever since my first trip to Fenway in 1998 I was hooked), and had the pleasure of sitting directly behind the bullpen when you guys came out to play the Angels in August of 2005, a few weeks after I moved to LA. What an experience! I remember the entire section giving you a standing O as you trotted from the dugout to the pen. You and your bloody sock are legendary, and that 2004 team probably meant a whole lot more to a lot of other people than it did to me, but it meant the world to me. You guys were such an inspiration. Here’s hoping 2007 is a great year for both you and the team (and that the contract situation works out!).
Though I certainly don’t agree with you politically, I always enjoy when you speak your mind, because you do it in a way that is neither misleading nor mean-spirited. If more Republicans could express themselves and carry themselves the way you do, political discourse in this country wouldn’t be such a frustrating experience.
Anyway, best of luck with the blog, and the rest of Spring Training, and I am counting the days until the season starts. GO SOX!
Good Luck with the blogging Curt, hope you enjoy it as much as others. Should be fascinating to follow your comments this season. Now, I am off to add you to my bloglist
Hey Curt,
The trolls want you to respond, if you don’t respond, they go away, they don’t deserve your responses. Just a friendly piece of advice.
Keep up the great work.
Hey
I met you at fenway on april 16 2005 on on feild photo day.
You are awesome. How did you react to finding our lester had cancer. He is awesome too to come back like that.
Thanks man
Bosox47
Hey Curt -
they’re killin’ you over at Deadspin - congratulations b/c it’s GREAT for traffic
http://deadspin.com/sports/baseball/curt-schilling-has-something-to-say-really-242372.php
i’d say give your fans the inside poop from clubhouse and 39pitches will go thru the roof
You are the %$$!$ man, Curt.
Hi Curt -
It’s great you have this blog! Very cool - and it’s already bookmarked. Can’t wait to see you at Fenway in couple weeks. And please, never, ever switch to the #^$%)# Yankee!
This is great!
Ed
Us yankee fans are always willign to read about some bosox drama. keep us posted.
Hey Curt how about you ignore the people that come here to tear you apart and answer some of the real questions?
this is so cool you are doing this blog Curt. have a great year!
http://www.dcdeal.com/redsox/
Mr Schilling,
You should know by now that extra-curricular activities of any kind will earn you the disapprobium of a small percentage of the Red Sox fanbase. I’d suggest that anyone who lacks the imagination to understand that what you do does not delimit what you are probably isn’t worth you bothering with.
Curt don’t waste replies on the people who are just trying to get a rise out of you so they can goto their own blog saying “CURT SCHILLING TOLD ME TO GO SCREW!!!11!1!!1!!!1!!”
I learned more pitching insights from your entry than from years of reading conventional media. Your blog is must read for Red Sox fans. Thank you for taking the time, and be prepared to be quoted out of context!
Curt,
I plan to heckle the s#&@ out of you the next time you pitch at Yankees stadium. What could I say that would actually “go over the line”. I mean, what is really just out of bounds in sports heckling.
Please tell me so, you know, I know where to stop.
Thanks.
RELATIONSHIP WITH TEK
Curt, I’ve noticed you mentioning that in the first ST outing you “threw exactly zero changeups which was not the game plan.” In your post game interview that day, you referred to Tek having other plans when it came to you desire to throw it. Now in this ST article, you’re referring to another instance where you didn’t want to throw what Tek called. What’s the deal?
Without getting into any doomsday or Jeter/ARod scenarios, can you talk about this? You and Tek are both “thinking” athletes and we can imagine that as the relationship builds, you two run into differences of opinion (or pitch selection) quite often. When you do, who wins?
Ya. I am making it abundantly clear that when Tek and I differ opinions, 99 times out of one hundred, he’s right.
Where I get in trouble is internally, not doing the things I need to do at times when he calls something I am not expecting.
He’s as prepared as any person on the planet to do his job, and when he wants something he will usually go right back to it after the pitcher shakes it off, thereby saying, without actually saying anything, that he’s got a feel or has seen something that will work better than whatever it is I planned or we had talked about.
Those are the times when, as a pitcher, you have to commit to his pitch and make it. I have, more than once, thrown a pitch I didn’t mentally commit to, and gotten beat by it.
When the ball gets whacked it always falls on the pitcher, if you can’t commit to the pitch, don’t throw it.
Seems easy enough but it’s a hard lesson to learn.
Curt, what do you foresee as the Sox biggest concern going into 2007?
This is really interesting. Thanks for doing this.
Hey, Curt. Great to see you stake out your own space. It was always difficult to parse through SoSH to see if you had the time to drop a note for the fans.
How often during the season do you think you’ll make time to let us in on how everything is going and what your thoughts are? Just curious if you’re thinking about this being an addition to your daily routine or more of a whenever something strikes your fancy.
It’s always nice to see a high-profile person willing to chat with the crowds. Feel free to stop by one of the other notable online Sox fan blogs at http://www.soxaholix.com and say hi if you ever have the time. I’m not the owner but I’m sure he’d be happy to hear from you as he’s the reason that I found out you were putting up a blog.
See you at Fenway!
[...] has taken his voice direct, and the early response has been loud with 70+ comments on his most recent post. It will be interesting to see how Schilling filters himself or the comments from the community [...]
[...] Spring Training 2007 Spring has sprung again, and the Red Sox are giving a World Series run another shot. Theo made some potentially huge […] [...]
Hey Curt, great blog. Awesome…Love the details of what went through your head on the pitch to Cuddyer.
First I like to say to all the people that come in here and try to put down the idea that a MLB player going on the radio or creating a new blog to express his thoughts, feelings and opinions is in some way being a “blowhard”.
With writers out there like CHB it’s hard to have your actual words written and expressed as they were intended.
I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life, thanks to my father, who brought me up as a Sox fan. Unfortunately he passed away in 2004 from lung and liver cancer. He died on my birthday that year in August at the age of 60.
He wasn’t lucky enough to see the Sox run that year…but my point is this, had he been around to have access to a players thoughts and insight like this he would have been blown away. In this day and age this is probably the coolest thing a player on my team has done. What a way to sort of circumvent the blasphemy that is the Boston media. I can’t tell you how many times my Dad and I would thumb throught the sports sections of the Globe or Herald only to be thoroughly disgusted by the way things are done in the press.
This blog is like a breath of fresh air…direct from the source and un-tainted.
Thank You Curt, this is flat out awesome. Good luck this season to your family, team and new business.
Hey there Curt. I had a feeling that you’d end up becoming a citizen of Blogistan
btw, my blog is http://lusolair.blogspot.com . Unfortunately, mine probably won’t be as intriguing as your’s, unless you like rants and old videos from an islander.
You know, the one thing I think about when I see you pitch is “We traded him away back in ‘88 for Boddicker…”. Granted, he was relatively decent for us during the season, but we dealt away a future ace for him. Sadly enough, I haven’t been so high on the Sox front office over the years. I mean, can you really blame me? Gorman was the one that traded you and I won’t even begin with Duquette. Theo has been a bit better than those 2, so there’s still hope
Anywho, hope you, Beckett, Daisuke and Papelbon are Cy frontrunners this year and here’s to another summer of me staying up til 2am seeing Sox game on the net (oh yeah, I live on the Azores, so I get the 7pm games in Boston at 11pm here)
Hey Curt-
Don’t you think you’d be better served concentrating on pitching then blogging? You should leave internet bandwidth to smarter people and stick to pitching. I’d be willing to bet anything that you don’t stick with this through the whole season…but that would be a good thing. We don’t really care to listen to you speak, and would rather see you put up consistent, solid, injury-free numbers. Remember - you have to prove that you are deserving of another contract, so it’s probably in your interest to concentrate on pitching.
just a few words of advice…
Thank you for doing this, Curt. Don’t listen to the people say “oh, no one outside of Boston cares what you think.” Phillie fans care too, ya know! We haven’t been the same since you left. Brett Myers is alright, but I liked it when my team’s ace didn’t punch his wife in the face in public. Ah… those were the days!
Hello Curt, I am a yankee fan and I just wanted to say that it’s cool that you are starting your own blog. It shows that you actually care about the fans unlike some other people in sports. Good Luck and try to ignore the trolls that come on here. They just want attention.
Dude, I thought you were gonna call this blog “A Schilling For Bloody Special 38 Ankle Gehrig Curt Web Log Video Game Company Super Karate Monkey Death Car Lameass Pun Mr. Sparkle Happy Fun Ball Time Variety Hour Thing.”
That would have been much better than “38pitches.”
Thanks so much for the blog. It’s great as a fan to get real insight into the baseball season instead of the agenda-ridden bias we get from some media members in this town.
Also, thank you for your continued work against ALS. It’s a disease that many know little about, but is gaining it’s deserved recognition thanks to you.
Good luck this season.
Curt - thanks for sharing your opinions. I really like your commentary on your own pitching. One question though.
You wrote:
“There’s been a shift over the last four seasons here in Boston. When I arrived it seemed that the owners were every bit as committed to winning a World Series as anyone, but there was also some serious concern about fiscal responsibility. Even though they had the money to outspend their mistakes, the goal was to not make the mistakes in the first place.”
Do you think the Sox are, for lack of a better term, throwing too much money around? You seem to imply that they’re being fiscally reckless now.
right on Curt…looking forward to reading your blog (also looking forward to 38 studios’ first release)! I hope you have a great season, God bless you brother!
All i’m saying is, you better be on form to be spending all this damn time on the internet my dude. God bless ya.
be honest Curt…do you or any of your teammates rag on Varitek for that ridiculous “C” patch on his uniform? You must…it is up there with maybe one of the most absurd things in sports- well a “C” on the uniform and naming the right field foul pole are equally absurd, I guess.
Curt…I am a die-hard Yankee fan, have been my whole life…I respect everything you do for charities off the field. I want to personally “thank you” for the time and effort.
That said, and in consideration of your comments about the Yankees in your post…we all know that you would’ve loved to have been a Yankee- the history, the stadium, the city- everything about it woulda served your ego well.
Let’s face it…there are professional baseball players…and then there are “Yankees”
Too bad you never had the privilege…and appear to not want it, but I guess I understand your point, to a certain degree- you’ve taken being a Red Sox player to a new level with the staged melodrama, the phony emotion- how could you now be a Yankee. You couldn’t.
The Red Sox organization has become such a farce it really is sad for guys like you. I mean “Wally the Green Monster”? Tina Cervassio? Hazel Mae?- it’s all so foolish and contrived. It’s like rooting for a great marketing agency at this point.
Selling memberships to “Red Sox Nation”??? ridiculous, laughable…I feel bad for ya.
You coulda had Monument Park, now your staring down the hopes they’ll name the bullpen bench after ya, or some other foolish thing.
In closing…nice blog and good luck in your run for Senate. I’m sure there are at least (idiotic comment deleted) at BU with pink B hats that’ll vote for ya.
Thanks for the great blog entries Curt! We love you here in New England — have a great season!
Thank you for doing this! this is fantastic that you are taking time from your busy schedule to speak to fans! Wishing you and the Sox a tremendous season!
Welcome to the blogosphere Curt. This should be a good read. I look forward to it. Best of luck this year. 18 W’s and and 225 innings is all I ask for….that’s not too much is it?
Curt,
Welcome to the blogosphere! I’ve been a diehard Red Sox fan that is a sponge for baseball info since the late 50’s. The efforts you and your wife give to the community charities and the words in this post to John Vuckovich and Peter Despain I applaud you for more than your immense baseball skills! I am adding your link to my blog and posting a story about your site on my blog when I finish this post!
Good luck with the change up!
Kevin
Curt,
Can I suggest having a direct link that people may donate toward your cause and fight against ALS?
I really don’t think you understand the impact that this will have as the season begins. Again, I commend you for you heroics both on and off the field.
Thanks again for this…
Josh from New Braintree
Thanks Curt for the awesome blog. I think it’s great that you are taking the time to do this and to respond to some of the comments that are left for you. I for one am looking forward to this season and can’t wait til opening day and opening day at fenway. only because i’ll be there.
Curt, four things (If I may), first, I appreciate the time you are investing in the blog. You are giving time and insight to the fans. Today’s athlete does not have a lot of time to give, and most are not willing to give any more than they have to. Second, I do not want to sound like those who are attacking you for being outspoken and opinionated, my concern lies in the clubhouse. I am worried that your comments and opinions will cause dissention among teammates, management, etc, and possibly cause other to take shots at you. (I remember Millar taking a shot at you once about your work-out habits) Third, I am thrilled about the prospect of watching a team with 4 potential 20 game winners in the rotation. And fourth, since you are going to give your opinion, it seems to me that the lack of interest in re-signing Damon and the signing of Drew are moves that are very contradictory in philosophy, maybe you have some insight to share concerning those moves.
I have to say that I am ecstatic about this blog. Getting an opportunity to hear inner thoughts from one of the truly rare cerebral elite athletes is amazing. For fans, until now, it has been boxscores, game recaps, interview notes, Herald, Globe, WEEI, blah, blah, blah (though I do recommend Bill Simmons & SOSH). All filtered lenses delivering selfish angles on stories that get overblown. I really believe that is why shows like “The Big O” on WEEI have escalated into shouting matches - just desperately reaching out for anything new. Well, now we have it. And anyone who would have a problem with hearing these insights just can’t possibly appreciate that level of discussion - not your target audience so to speak. Please - keep on speaking out - treat us true fans to the inner world we couldn’t ever experience ourselves. As for your contract - I understand it is a business, but I was really disappointed with ownership on this one - here’s hoping you’re back next year.
Curt,
Very cool to read your own thoughts on the web. My family are all great fans of yours, and we hope to see you in a Red Sox uni through the rest of your career. Obviously we all have high hopes for the season, as R.S. fans do every year, but man if you all stay healthy… sky’s the limit.
Hat’s off to Lester (we were there in the Loooooooong delay for his first game last year) for coming back strong. He’s a good kid, and I expect great things out of him.
Curious, I’d like to hear what you have to say about Wakefield. I like the guy a lot, real do-whatever-it-takes-for-the-team attitude. Just how underrated is he? Maybe I’ve got rosey shades on, but do you not have 5 potential #1 starter? There’s no slouches.
Best to you all this year. Go Sox.
-Seth Kerin
From that first “Hard to believe, I’m sure” post on the RSFF we knew you were a computer geek like the rest of us! It was only a matter of time till you got a blog of your own !! I’m so glad you’ve got it out here for all of us to see and cut out the middle-man biased reporters! Between your blog and Rob Bradford’s, I’ve got all I need for my baseball news and commentary!
You’ve always been a favorite of mine from back in your Philly days and I am anxious to hear about whatever’s on your mind!
Thanks again for ‘04 and I can’t wait to see what ‘07 brings !!
Kay P.
Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
Curt,
Like many others, I’m absolutely thrilled to be treated with the insight you’ll be providing here. Thanks for taking the plunge and doing this. You’re one of the few athletes out there that I’m grateful to have my son look up to.
Please don’t view this as a shameless ploy for attention, but I make Christmas tree ornaments for fun and would love to somehow work out a contribution program for ALS if you’re up for a holiday promotion of sorts in the holiday season.
Anyway, best of luck for a 20+ win, healthy season.
Regards,
Tony
tonyrigbycreations.com
Hey Curt, just wanted to say what’s up. This is so cool that peple can interact with you directly, I know you can’t respond to all but I’m sure you are reading them all. AS FOR ALL THE HATERS ON THIS SITE… never mind your not even worth the time, go back to listining to EEI or whatever station is formulation your opinions for you these days. Curt this is a great idea! Keep up the good work both on and off the field!!!
Hey Curt, congrats on the blog. As a die-hard Yankee fan, you have twice defeated my favorite team in dynamic fashion. I respect that, and think you’re a tremendous athlete. For all the folks from RSN who are posting negative comments, what are you doing? Curt came in to Boston and pitched his heart out (and his ankle off) to win your great city a championship for the first time in nearly nine decades. By this point, you should be regarding him as a folk hero and figuring out whether the Prudential Center or Faneuil Hall should be named in his honor. Speak on, Curt, and the best of luck to you this year.
Hey Curt,
I was wondering if you could eventually address a couple of things. Workouts for pitchers (in season and off season) and also the rumor that Tito is going to try to quit chewing tobacco this season. Thanks.
Curt, welcome to the world of blogging. I will put you on recommended Red Sox blog links on our site Sox and Pinstripes (http://www.soxandpinstripes.com). We already have links to your charities at the site. Look forward to reading your posts, and wish you well this season.
I do know that Tito has taken the bet with Mr Lucchino and is trying to quit chewing, for a donation to charity.
I will definitely try and get to answering some of the questions as this thing starts to play out a little more.
This site is moderated but I assure you the only haters that don’t get their posts in are people using stupid language. There are some pretty cool young kids that are coming by here and there’s no real reason to be an idiot with the language.
If you want to rip me and not have the post deleted please do so as cleanly as possible.
Hey Curt, Glad to see you here and I’m glad to be able to share with you. I am a lifetime fan from MA. I think your pitching style is brilliant. Can’t wait until the season starts. I went to the game yesterday at Jupiter. What a great stadium. I thought dice did a great job, and how about those guys from the minors. What a bunch of good candidates. the game today was terrific for Ed Rogers. He will be a nice fit the way he ends games. I am looking forward to you pitching soon. Hey the weather has been great huh.
Well looking forward to this blogging. Good Luck in 07. Later
Thanks for coming to Boston and all of your help with charities. When I was living in Boston I got involved with the ALS Association because of you. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2005 on 6 weeks of training (I think Shonda finished a few hours before me) and helped out at a couple of other fundraisers. This blog should be fun to follow. Just one complaint for you……why did you guys have to sweep the Cardinals? I had tickets for game 5 and missed the game because I was flying in to St. Louis. See you in KC for opening day.
Curt - great blog. I fell in love with the strategy of pitching way back reading Orel Hershiser talking about pitching in George Will’s Men at Work. You could write your own book and I’ll be the first to line up to buy it. Have a great season - we’re all pulling for you in Sox Nation.
Curt, wow, an early Christmas present. I got goosebumps reading this. Like being there. In your shoes. Totally cool. As I am surrounded by testosterone on this blog and at the risk of sounding too girly…why do you suppose the Sox are shelling out so much for some but let my Johnny go? When I saw Daisuke got number 18, I must say I winced. If ever there was a dirt dog, Johnny was it. I may be the only one who thinks so, but he needs to live up to that jersey. Oh everybody stop that moaning…I’m still not over it.
I suspect come May, June, July you won’t be tending to comments as you are tonight. And there is no need for anyone to rip you. If it gets too noisy in here just turn the comments off (okay that may be too girly). Have an awesome season. Come back from Florida with some sunshine please. Peace.
Hi Curt,
Thanks for this blog! I enjoy reading your thoughts in an unfiltered fashion; I have always appreciated someone who has an opinion and is not afraid to share it. I can’t say that I always agree with you, but I like the fact that there is clearly thought behind your opinions when you present them. They give me pause to think.
Good luck this season and I hope that you are able to slow things down and enjoy yourself. God bless.
I will never believe that the “blood” was real, and I hope you never lose that gut.
That said, nice words about Steinbrenner. He’s the best owner in sports.
“If you want to rip me and not have the post deleted please do so as cleanly as possible.”
Heh. Not a lot of athletes with the stones to actually invite criticism! Especially the caliber of “criticism” that has appeared here so far.
Have a great season! I look forward to seeing you pitch every fifth day, and reading your thoughts here on the other four.
Good luck and God bless.
Curt - Keep up the good work! Looking forward to a dominating pitching staff in 07!
Can we expect any calls from “Curt in a car” this year?
Mr. Schilling,
You’ve done some good things in Boston. My mother died of cancer Spring of 2004 - her father, my grandfather, used to spend valuable time adjusting the antennaes on the tv - and he saw all the Red Sox games I can remember - back to 1967, and even before - Reggie Smith, Rico Petrocelli, Jim Lonborg - …
I’ll get right to the point. Your pitching, your work with ALS - we all hope you stay - win or lose. You’ve been straight with the Red Sox fans, and that’s all that counts. I hope you know what I mean.
Eyes On The Prize,
Dana
Great job on the blog Curt. I live in Kansas City and am looking forward to seeing you pitch opening day. Keep up the good work and good luck this season.
Curt,
Love the blog. I hope Theo and crew get their act together and extend your contract. 13 mill - in this market looks pretty good. I can’t believe I just wrote 13 million a year is a steal.
Do you ever speak with Tewks? I know he is down with you guys during spring training. He has done wonders working with a few of our high school pitchers this off season.
Good luck in ‘07. Maybe this will be the 2nd greatest Red Sox team ever assembled.
Curt - far be it from me to hand out contract wisdom to a man who negotiates multi-million dollar contracts on his own behalf… I’m just a guy who likes to analyze baseball stats. But I believe 100% that if you pitch like you did last year, the Sox will sign you again on the reasonable terms you offer. I understand their age-related concerns - but they know full well that guys with your K and BB numbers last year are far from cheap (actually, excluding the Twins, they were pretty much nonexistent in the AL last year). Have a great year, and it’s good to hear you’re not overly focused with all the contract nonsense. It will certainly work itself out.
Curt, thank you so much for starting this blog. i don’t know what is about me/us that makes us care so much about what our beloved athletes think but we do, and something about you in particular resonates through the majority of red sox nation. at any point will this blog stretch beyond baseball into other discussions or do you choose to keep strictly on baseball? some of us would love to hear your thoughts on current events, how you finished your fantasy football campaign, if i can count on you to back up zambrano, harden and papplebon on my fantasy team this yr, and when the heck you are taking on Meter from EEI. I like many have been so thankful that you joined us in red sox nation, and we hope your stay extends far beyond this yr. baseball shouldnt mean as much to us as it should maybe, and having you leave would point us in that direction( a direction i dont want to go). i know you already know this but you wont get this devotion anywhere else and we don’t want you too.
those dear to you like john vuckovich are in our thoughts are as is alan greenbergs family, what a tragedy
I’m sure getting thanked for 04′ never gets old, so let me add my thanks as well. A nice framed pic of the bloody sock and you hang in my man land basement. Also Thanks for 01′ as well, going to Arizona State, I also cheer for the D-backs and a chance to meet Gonzo and Tony Womack during that seasons spring training.
Thanks for the insight on what’s going on in your head during the game. It should be fascinating as the season begins.
I work at Country 102.5 in Boston so feel free to call in a request when you head north. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Shonda in the past.
oh..anyone else reading this comment feel free to call the station as well….
enjoy the season….
Thank you for taking the time to post your blog, Curt. I am looking forward to learning about the game and our beloved team directly from you this year, and I hope that you’ll be able to keep us updated over the long season. (Well long for you - for us critics in the stands, it’s pretty short!) I think we all know by now that during the season, baseball will come before blogging, although I have no doubt that some genius hack at the Globe or Herald has already tapped out a critical column which will appear the minute the first guy hits you this year. Luckily, I also know you don’t care - and neither do we.
Keep up the good writing, too. Not bad for a jock!
Hey Curt, great blog. Not that you will get a chance to read this, but are you planning on reprinting any Avalon Hill games anytime soon? If you do, do me a favor and reprint “Up Front!”
p.s. Come back to the Phillies. We’re actually a decent team and our manager won’t break your arm by letting you pitch 120 pitches. Gee, how the times have changed.
Mr. Schilling,
I think this is amazing that you have your own blog. The fans really appreciate this. . .In some regards I can’t even believe you are doing this but a few years ago I found it hard to believe that you posted on the redsox.com message board (w