Schilling in 2008.

[TheKilo]

It is a tough call. If the Sox want to sign a pitcher their choices are Schilling and Colon. Personally' date=' my preference is Colon. Younger and was throwing 95 in his final start.[/quote']

 

You mean the Colon with chronic injury problems who completely missed the postseason?

 

Yeah, let's throw money his way.

[TheKilo]

To the question at hand...if Curt really only wants a one year deal, you give it to him.

 

Anything over that is risky.

 

Here's some of the FA class for pitchers:

 

Starting pitchers - Age - ERA+

 

Curt Schilling - 41 - 126

Jason Jennings - 29 - 103

Freddy Garcia - 32 - 111

Kenny Rogers - 43 - 110

Jon Lieber - 38 - 103

Bartolo Colon - 35 - 112

Joe Kennedy - 29 - 97

Tomo Ohka - 32 - 108

John Thomson - 34 - 103

Kip Wells - 31 - 96

Wade Miller - 31 - 109

Livan Hernandez - 33 - 101

Jeff Weaver - 31 - 95

Jaret Wright - 32 - 90

David Wells - 45 - 109

Eric Milton - 32 - 94

Kyle Lohse - 29 - 95

Matt Clement - 33 - 96

Rodrigo Lopez - 32 - 92

Josh Fogg - 31 - 89

Byung-Hyun Kim - 29 - 110

 

Out of that group, who would you take a flyer on? Garcia? Lohse? Fogg? Kennedy?

 

I think the Sox need to weigh their options. I am not confident going into next season with just Beckett, DiceK, and Wake as the only "sure things".

[jacksonianmarch]

Garcia is coming off labrum surgery which is death for a pitcher. But Colon had his done and has come back throwing just as hard, so maybe they are getting better at it. I'm not sure I go after any of those guys.

[YAZMAN]

Cashman will sign Schilling to four years @ 52mil

[jacksonianmarch]

Cashman will sign Schilling to four years @ 52mil

 

I sure as hell hope not

[Mr Crunchy]

schilling wouldve won a game for you this week as opposed to wang tung raja and the moose....

can you believe mussina and clemens make more than a 1/2 dozen baseball franchises??

it sad to be a ny fan this morning

i have limited my tormenting to a select few characters

the fat chick with the workboots and levi' with the i luv jeter t shirt that she hasnt changed since 97

the machine inventory clerk who was screaming THIS IS 1978 at the top of his lungs every time i would leave the days pennant standings on his office door.

theres also the part time warehouse guy who drives in at 3 and leaves at 9

he drools,drives his moms car to work and lives in the basement of a 3 family over in worcester

worcester people have dual loyalties in many instances

really

they are just far enuff out of the loop

i think rhode island men are more loyal to the sox than the worcester folk

could be due to the vaccum of new england organized crime reclaiming whats theres

[MANNYHOF24]

The only way Schilling comes back is by him taking a 1 year deal. I wouldn't be opposed to giving 13-14 million dollars next year, if it is only a one year commitment. He has shown that he still has something left in the tank, but anything more than one year for Curt at this point would be ludicrous.

[ksushi]

He's approaching his 41st birthday and his fastball is now sitting in the high 80s, as well as not having a complete season since 2004... I thank him for all that hes done and then laugh at that contract

 

 

204.1 innings and 15 wins with a sub-4 ERA is a pretty complete season I'd say, and that happened last year. I like Schill in a 2 year deal because of the experience, the five o'clock shadow, and the guts, but he is getting that second year purely on his post season heroics and I'm not expecting him to have another '06. I'm expecting Schill to pull a Clemens, pitch as our 5th starter for stretches in the regular season, spend some time on DL to rest the arm in the middle and be there for us big time in October.

 

That said, I would rather see the Sox bring back Wake as our fifth starter (but I hear that might not be a lock, but quite the opposite right now) and trot out a Beckett, Dice-K, Buchholz, Lester, Wake rotation. I like that rotation a lot.

 

There are some question marks about Dice, but Dice had some struggles with fatigue - mental and physical - late in the year and I think that is just part of being a Rookie. I look for him to rebound next year and be more of what he was April - August. If Pedroia was hitting .285 all year long instead of .325 we would have all been on his case when his average dipped by almost .010 in the last 3 weeks of the season. Same with Okajima, his ERA rose to 2.22 in the end but we didn't mind because 2.22 is still a phenomenal number to be boasting as your ERA. Point is, Dice pitches more and when his ERA ballooned from 3.70 to 4.40 we all went lukewarm on him. Rookies have no idea what playing a 162 game schedule entains no matter what role they play on the team or what league they played in previously. The level of talent in the MLB is vastly superior to AAA and to Japan. I think right now, Dice-K might be an adventure in the playoffs, but I'll take it (he's better than Westbrook and thats all that matters right now). But going forward this guy will be a mainstay in our rotation and be a rock for us. His stuff is ferocious and he is a smart pitcher. Beckett, Dice-K and Buchholz will be a scary big three for a long time. I can't help but think next year will be a statement year from Jon Lester too. His first real offseason with certain baseball to be played next year since 05 going into 06.

 

Schilling would be nice if he signed for short and cheap, but I think he is going for long and expensive because someone will give it to him. A San Diego, An LA, an Oakland, someone will pay him to keep re-inventing himself for the next four (hopeful) octobers. I don't think the Sox will when you consider we have five starters for next season if Wake comes back.

 

I won't be dissappointed because he pitched with way better consistency post-excercise/diet DL break, but I think our money would be better put toward a hitter since we probably lose Mike Lowell and our offense already lacks some pop.

[riverside sluggers]

2005- He missed majority of the season, became the interim closer, back to starting September

 

2006- Maintained the role of ace but did miss a month worth of starts at the end of the year

 

2007- Out from June to early August. Luckily he was able to change himself into a different pitcher altogether, being a rock this 2nd half. Anyways I like a one year deal for Schilling, but Im sensing an NL team (which is where he will thrive the most) will offer him a 2/3 year $$ deal

 

And no I wouldnt have been on Pedroias case if he batted .285 this season. Thats actually what I was expecting him to hit. I was one of the few on this site having his back when he debuted and this past April with sub .200 averages, telling all the non believers to give the kid some patience. I snicker at the "trade Pedroia for Jorge Cantu!" remarks

[ksushi]

You don't miss a month worth of starts and pitch 200 innings. He only missed a couple. He started 31 games, thats a full seasons worth of pitching right there.

 

You also missed my point with the pedroia thing. My point was that no one mumbled anything under their breath about pedroia's end of season slide because it didn't matter, the kid was outstanding all year and ended up with a .317 mark. My point was that had he been a .285 hitter until the last month and proceded to go into a slump costing him around .010 off his average people would have been griping. I had his back too, thats not my point. My point is that all our rookies had slides and we notice daisuke's more because he had the limelight all offseason, and that scrutiny put his slump front and center and made it a bigger deal than it is. All it is is a rookie slide.

[RobZombie]

You mean the Colon with chronic injury problems who completely missed the postseason?

 

Yeah, let's throw money his way.

 

Colon did not miss the postseason due to a lack of health. In fact at the end of the season he was completely healthy. The Angels just liked Lackey, Weaver, and Escobar more and I don't blame them.

 

You are absolutely taking a risk with Colon but lets not pretend that a 41 year old Schilling who already missed 6 weeks with shoulder problems, and who's velocity is falling every day, isn't a risk either. There's also a lot of upside to that risk, as Colon when healthy has been a Cy Young award winner. Because the Sox have Lester, Bucholtz, Hansack, and possibly Masterson and Bowden next year too, the Sox can afford to take a risk with a veteran free agent pitcher.

 

Colon has had injury problems , but as of his last start was completely healthy and throwing in the mid 90s. I take him over Schilling because I think there is a greater chance that 2007 was Schilling's last stand due to his age, and lack of commitment to working out over the winter. Plus I think that Colon has a much higher upside due to his higher velocity.

[TheKilo]

Colon did not miss the postseason due to a lack of health. In fact at the end of the season he was completely healthy. The Angels just liked Lackey, Weaver, and Escobar more and I don't blame them.

 

You are absolutely taking a risk with Colon but lets not pretend that a 41 year old Schilling who already missed 6 weeks with shoulder problems, and who's velocity is falling every day, isn't a risk either. There's also a lot of upside to that risk, as Colon when healthy has been a Cy Young award winner. Because the Sox have Lester, Bucholtz, Hansack, and possibly Masterson and Bowden next year too, the Sox can afford to take a risk with a veteran free agent pitcher.

 

Colon has had injury problems , but as of his last start was completely healthy and throwing in the mid 90s. I take him over Schilling because I think there is a greater chance that 2007 was Schilling's last stand due to his age, and lack of commitment to working out over the winter. Plus I think that Colon has a much higher upside due to his higher velocity.

 

Colon left off postseason roster

 

 

Colon has been bothered by right elbow irritation for the majority of the season and had a 6-8 record with a 6.34 ERA in 18 starts and one relief appearance. He last pitched on September 29, tossing one inning of scoreless relief in a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

 

The righthander will be replaced on the roster by Dustin Moseley.

[ksushi]

Colon > Schilling on the FA market. x100

 

thoughtful, I know.

[TheKilo]

Man, if people were so hesitant about getting Rich Harden (rightfully so) why are we willing to throw money at Colon?

[Mr Crunchy]

word is schill wouldve been inked to his extension in march but he came in with an ass bigger than rosie odonnells and that nixed the deal

the problem the sox are going to have is this guy will once again perform lites out in october and the price of poker increases each time he tosses a scoreless inning.

couldve had him for next year already but theo waited

i think hes out of here

in his mind he needs to find something to motivate him

the sox winning it all this year will leave him no mountains to climb in boston so he'll move on

look for the cubs to offer him whatever he wants

[YAZMAN]

Never mind her ass, if he winds up in Chicago his ass will be bigger than Rosie O'Donnell's head.

[HeadOfSoxNation]

I feel about Schilling almost the same way that I feel about Lowell...I think both of them still have a good year (maybe 2 for Lowell) left. I'd love Schill to be inked to a one year deal, Lowell to be inked to a 2 year deal...but neither of them are going to be looking for that. They both want one more contract and then they want to call it a career. I think Schilling will look for 2 or 3 years, and Lowell will look for 4-5. I love these guys and appreciate all that they've brought to the team...but you can't blame them for looking out for their own interests. Their stock isn't going to RISE after next season, so they've got to get what they can get now.

 

Now, Schilling mentioned Tampa because of wanting to work with young pitchers and "show the ropes", so to speak. If we've got Lester and Buch in the rotation...shouldn't that fulfill his desires right there? Even Beckett is still young...granted, he's much more refined now than he was last year or the year before...but these two drive each other. Beckett could still learn a lot from Curt, not to mention how valuable he would be to have around for Lester and Buchholz. Buch's upside is higher than anyone in Tampa and why would you want to close out your career on a sub .500 ballclub? It's obvious that Schilling lives for the big game...in Tampa...THERE ARE NO BIG GAMES. I don't get it. I wish Theo would have given him the 13 he wanted in the spring...but I can understand his hesitation. If he'll go for it now, give it to him. Even take it up to 15 if need be. No higher...but I'd give him 15.

 

I'd like Lowell for 2 more years...but nothing more than that. What are everyones plans for 3B with a Lowell departure? Sign ARod? Move Youk (who played GG 1B, so I'm not in favor of this...) back to 3rd and look for a 1B?

[Mr Crunchy]

tampa wont pay him

hes going to cost half their current payroll minimum

[.406]

tampa wont pay him

hes going to cost half their current payroll minimum

 

His price is why the Sox need to pass on him.

[jacksonianmarch]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20071013_Schilling_says_Phillies_are_on_his_list_if_he_leaves_Sox.html

 

I have said it before and will say it again, Schill will get a multiyr deal from a NL team and I even said it would be philly in the recent past. He is as good as gone, and to be honest, I cannot blame the sox for passing. What are the chances he is able to handle a full season (number 1) or be reliable for a full season with stuff that mirrors that of Mike Mussina. The answer is not too much. He is useful in the playoffs because he still has enough to get by. But he is right on the precipice of being useful and being a detriment. And you sure as hell dont want to fall off that.

[scaffolds]

The Angels gave Schillings a false sense of security and the Guardians gave him a reality check point. The Angels where defeated even before the game started against Schillings and the Guardians are far from it. I understand money talks, but Schillings is a proud man and shouldn't need the money, a player should know when to retire and not when he is only a shadow of the player he once was.

[a700hitter]

The Angels gave Schillings a false sense of security and the Guardians gave him a reality check point. The Angels where defeated even before the game started against Schillings and the Guardians are far from it. I understand money talks' date=' but Schillings is a proud man and shouldn't need the money, a player should know when to retire and not when he is only a shadow of the player he once was.[/quote']Most have to have the uniform torn off their backs before they quit.

[zackredsox]

I don't think Schillings gonna be with us next year. He put his house up for sale.

 

I dont think we should get him anyway, hes gettin to old.

[a700hitter]

The FA market for pitchers is very thin and if he walks we have three slots behind Beckett and Dice K that need to be filled.