| Apoc13 |
Roughly a week before pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training in Fort Myers, the Herald has learned today that Red Sox [team stats] right-hander Curt Schilling [stats] has a significant shoulder injury that could end the veteran’s season and is causing tension and friction between the player and the team.
While neither Schilling nor Sox officials could be reached for comment, baseball sources have indicated that the club has at least inquired about the possibility of voiding the one-year, $8 million contract Schilling signed last November. It is not known to what lengths the Sox have gone on the matter, but their threat has been serious enough to create a conflict between Schilling and the Red Sox.
While the precise nature of Schilling’s injury is not known, it is believed that the right-hander is suffering from an injury to the rotator cuff and/or labrum that might require surgery. It is possible that the sides disagree on how to treat Schilling’s ailment and that a course of treatment, too, is a part of their disagreement.
f Schilling has surgery on his shoulder, it is almost certain that he would be unable to pitch this season.
Presumably, Schilling underwent a physical exam when the Red Sox signed him to his guaranteed contract in November. It is unclear whether Schilling’s current problem was overlooked at the time or if he suffered the injury at a later date.
Schilling did not pitch between June 18 and Aug. 6 of last season when he was on the disabled list with a right shoulder ailment. At the time, the problems were believed to be related to tendinitis and general fatigue.
Privately, club officials believed that some of Schilling’s difficulties early last season resulted from him showing up in poor condition at spring training. Schilling’s new contract includes incentive clauses for the pitcher meeting specified weight requirements at various checkpoints through the season.
Schilling and the club used part of his time on the DL to rehabilitate and strengthen the shoulder. He returned to the club and went 3-4 with an impressive 3.34 ERA over his final nine starts and 56 2/3 innings of the regular season. Schilling subsequently went 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four postseason starts, improving his career playoff record to 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA. |
|
|
| Petey Arms |
Sox will survive without Schilling
posted: Thursday, February 7, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: MLB
So a guy heads over to the ESPN cafe for a nice lunch, figures nothing important is going to happen this afternoon, gets back to his temporary work space and discovers … this?
According to Tony Massarotti, Curt Schilling might miss this season with a shoulder injury and the Boston Red Sox suspect he hid the injury before signing his latest contract.
While neither Schilling nor Sox officials could be reached for comment, baseball sources have indicated that the club has at least inquired about the possibility of voiding the one-year, $8 million contract Schilling signed last November. It is not known to what lengths the Sox have gone on the matter, but their threat has been serious enough to create a conflict between Schilling and the Red Sox.
While the precise nature of Schilling's injury is not known, it is believed that the right-hander is suffering from an injury to the rotator cuff and/or labrum that might require surgery. It is possible that the sides disagree on how to treat Schilling's ailment and that a course of treatment, too, is a part of their disagreement.
Boston can forget about that $8 million. If the Rockies couldn't get their money back from Denny Neagle, the Sox aren't getting theirs from Schilling. It's gone, and for the Red Sox, $8 million basically is a rounding error, anyway.
The question is what this means for the Red Sox in 2008. Can they live without Schilling in the rotation? Consider this: On the depth chart, Clay Buchholz, the kid who threw the no-hitter last year, isn't listed among Boston's top five starters. Granted, the nice thing about having more money than Scrooge McDuck is you can afford to pay more than five good starting pitchers, because, of course, it's almost impossible to get through a season with only five.
But don't you think most teams would be thrilled to open the season with a rotation consisting of Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz? Granted, there are some real question marks there, as only Beckett seems like a lock for 15-18 wins. But it's not like Schilling, at 41 and with a falling strikeout rate, wasn't a question mark himself.
When the Red Sox need help, they might turn to Justin Masterson, probably their No. 1 pitching prospect, once Buchholz is up in the bigs for good. And, of course, they have the resources to deal for a starter if things get rough after Memorial Day.
Does losing Schilling hurt? Sure. My guess is that with Schilling, we'd have projected 96 wins for the Red Sox in 2008. Without him, we'll probably knock that all the way down to 94 or 95. |
|
|
| EMFBoss |
Sources: Schilling Out Until All-Star Break at Least
Email|Link|Comments (0) Posted by Gordon Edes, Globe Staff February 7, 2008 05:50 PM
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will not have shoulder surgery for what appears to be a partial tear of his rotator cuff, despite the recommendation of the doctor who operated on the shoulder in 1995, and will follow the more conservative course recommended by Sox medical director Thomas Gill, after the club and player agreed to submit to today's recommendation by an outside medical expert.
Even without surgery, the 41-year-old Schilling is not expected to be ready to pitch until the All-Star break, according to several sources familiar with his condition.
Neither Schilling nor the club were commenting on developments this afternoon.
Schilling passed a physical before he signed a one-year, $8 million contract to return to the club last November. But the pitcher apparently experienced a recurrence of the shoulder discomfort that sidelined him for seven weeks last summer. In addition to seeing Gill, Schilling flew to Delaware on Jan. 28 to see Dr. Craig Morgan, who repaired his shoulder when he was with the Phillies in 1995. While Gill recommended rest and rehabilitation, much like the course of treatment followed by former Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez in the 2001 season, Morgan strongly urged surgery for Schilling, which conceivably could have ended Schilling's career.
According to one source, the Sox raised the possibility that Schilling would forfeit his contract if he proceeded to have surgery without their permission, and there were indications that the dispute has led to strained feelings between the parties.
There is a provision contained in an attachment to the new collective bargaining agreement that sets out a process in which the club and player ask for a third medical expert to intervene. In this case, the parties turned to Dr. David Altchek, the medical director of the New York Mets, who sided with the club, according to sources.
Schilling, 41, was being counted upon to take a regular turn in the Sox rotation. Now, the leading candidate to take his place in the rotation would be rookie Clay Buchholz, who would join Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield.
Morgan, citing HIPAA regulations, referred all questions to Schilling, who when reached via e-mail by the Globe's Amalie Benjamin today wrote only "I cannot comment right now on any of this, sorry!". Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein e-mailed a "no comment" when asked about Schilling's condition. But it is believed Morgan is recommending Schilling have surgery, while the club is recommending another course.
Michael Weiner, a lawyer for the players' union, said he became aware of the dispute between the parties just in the last few days.
"We've been contacted by Curt and his representatives,'' Weiner said. "We see no basis for the Red Sox to take any actions against Curt.''
Schilling, who turned 41 Nov. 14, went on the disabled list June 22 (retroactive to June 19) after a disastrous outing in Atlanta in which his velocity registered in the low 80s and he allowed six runs on 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings against the Braves. He was sidelined until Aug. 6, and upon his return acknowledged he had altered his approach, becoming more of a finesse pitcher than the power pitcher he'd been for most of his career.
While noting that the transition was a work in progress, Schilling had some success in his return, posting a 3-4 record and a 3.34 ERA from that point. He also was 3-0 in the postseason, winning the clinching game of the ALDS against the Angels and rebounding from a Game 2 shellacking by the Indians to win Game 6 of the ALCS.
Schilling enters this season ranked eighth in wins among active pitchers with 216, fourth in strikeouts with 3,116, and ninth in innings with 3,261.
After signaling that he might not be coming back to the Sox after the season, sending letters of farewell to some teammates, Schilling elected to take less money to return, signing a one-year deal for $8 million, with an additional $3 million in weight-clause incentives. He has said this definitely will be his last season.
Nick Cafardo and Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report. |
|
|
| nuge67 |
| Curt is a fucking pussy, if in fact he is so called HURT, he will come back in time for the playoff rush in late August, except the Sox will be 12 games out of the playoffs before the game. |
|
|
| rolltide |
| Come on.......he's just taking a break so that he doesn't work out so early with the team. |
|
|
| KingOfAllWhites |
Quote: Originally posted by nuge67
Curt is a fucking pussy, if in fact he is so called HURT, he will come back in time for the playoff rush in late August, except the Six will be 12 games out of the playoffs before the game. |
Who are the six? :D |
|
|
| DestroVega |
| If the successfully void his contract, the Yankees better start the process of voiding Pavano's... wtf? |
|
|
| GRATEFUL DEAD |
Man they were stupid to pass on Santana.
Mets made a steal on that trade................ |
|
|
| jobbey |
| hes gonna buff up with hgh |
|
|
| Badhandhaney |
Quote: Originally posted by nuge67
Curt is a fucking pussy, if in fact he is so called HURT, he will come back in time for the playoff rush in late August, except the Sox will be 12 games out of the playoffs before the game. |
Agreed! |
|
|
| Omnipotent_1 |
| Let's get Shilling on a regimen of HGH. JUST DON'T SIGN ANY FEDEX SLIPS, CURT!!! |
|
|
| KingOfAllWhites |
Doctor says Schilling needs surgery; Red Sox disagree
Associated Press
Updated: February 8, 2008, 3:44 PM ET
Comment
Email
Print
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The doctor who claims he knows Curt Schilling's shoulder "better than anybody who breathes on this planet" insists surgery is the only way the 20-year veteran can pitch again.
But Boston's team physician disagrees. He believes rehabilitation is the best way for Schilling to play this year.
Caught in the middle are Schilling and his $8 million contract.
"I think his chance of coming back to pitching with rehab or a conservative approach is zero," Dr. Craig Morgan said Friday in telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He might not come back after surgery, either. However, if the surgery is successful, he should be fully rehabbed by about All-Star break."
Schilling wrote on his blog, 38pitches.com, on Thursday night that he has agreed to the club's request to rely on rest and rehabilitation.
He didn't have much choice if he wanted to avoid having the Red Sox invalidate his contract, Morgan said.
"On our conference call on Wednesday it was their strong recommendation that he go with the conservative approach," Morgan said, "and, furthermore, it was their strong, how do I say this, they would not approve him having surgery. Basically, according to the collective bargaining agreement, if they don't approve it, they don't have to pay him. His contract's null and void."
Morgan operated on Schilling's right shoulder in 1995 and 1999. In his blog Thursday night, Schilling praised Morgan.
Morgan said among those on the call were Red Sox team physician Dr. Thomas Gill, general manager Theo Epstein, manager Terry Francona, Schilling, Schilling's lawyer and New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek.
Altchek was brought in for a third opinion after Morgan and Gill disagreed on a course of treatment.
In a statement Thursday, the Red Sox said: "Curt Schilling was examined by Red Sox doctors in January after he reported feeling right shoulder discomfort. Curt has started a program of rest, rehabilitation and shoulder strengthening in an attempt to return to pitching." |
|
|
| nuge67 |
| ESPN just reported that the doctor who seen him and demanded surgery said he will not pitch this year without it!!! |
|
|
| KingOfAllWhites |
Quote: Originally posted by nuge67
ESPN just reported that the doctor who seen him and demanded surgery said he will not pitch this year without it!!! |
Actually this is what ESPN reported:
"I think his chance of coming back to pitching with rehab or a conservative approach is zero," Morgan said. "He might not come back after surgery, either. However, if the surgery is successful, he should be fully rehabbed by about the All-Star break." |
|
|
| Inoki21 |
Quote: Originally posted by nuge67
Curt is a fucking pussy, if in fact he is so called HURT, he will come back in time for the playoff rush in late August, except the Sox will be 12 games out of the playoffs before the game. |
He's also a rat. :o |
|
|
| Apoc13 |
Quote: Originally posted by GRATEFUL DEAD
Man they were stupid to pass on Santana.
Mets made a steal on that trade................ |
i don;t think it would have made a difference...they didn;t want to give up the prospects and pay a fortune |
|
|
| otto02 |
Quote: Originally posted by Inoki21
He's also a rat. :o |
He is also 11-2 lifetime in the postseason. |
|
|
| nuge67 |
Quote: Originally posted by otto02
He is also 11-2 lifetime in the postseason. |
He is still going to rot in the abyss of hell |
|
|
|
