No more CHILL in Schilling
By Josh Q. Public
Editor's note: Curt Schilling is scheduled to start against Mussina tonight in the Bronx. Welcome new blogger, Josh Q. Public, with his view of Boston's man on the mound.
Alright, here we go. Curt Schilling is off to blistering start. This is more important than you may think you know. Don't fret, The Public is here to tell you why. Curt's performance last year was far from uplifting. It was like watching Fox Mulder at the end of the X-Files, you know, right before Terminator Two took over. Schilling was 8-8, had 9 saves, and a 5.69 era. Mendoza line pitching at best. Fresh off of the surgery, there was no telling if Curt would come back at all. And that would have be fine. In my book, he gets a free pass for life. What he did in Game Six, against the Yankees, goes down as The Most Heroic Performance I've Ever Seen.
The win against the Cardinals, icing on the cake. Idiot, and I do mean idiot, not in a loving, Red Sox way, but as in, stupid idiot, Kevin Millar, asked this last year: ''When he comes into the game, people cheer him like he's the Pope ...Why does he get a free pass?" Are you out of your goddamned mind, Kevin? Do you really need an answer to that? Anyway, free pass aside, things looked pretty bleak for Schill the Thrill, and the Red Sox suffered.
That is why his start this year is so encouraging. He's 5-1, 3.02 ERA, with a league leading 45 strike-outs. Pretty, pretty good. Good for Boston. We saw last year, as Schilling goes, so go the Red Sox. He did what he could, but just never got healthy enough to really help the team. Well, he looks pretty gosh darn healthy to me now. And, I love the way "Boom Boom" Beckett goes out to the mound and pitches his heart out, like a Hansen brother on crack. John "Wild Thing" Papelbon really seems to be lights out. Papi continues to be a beast at the plate. I'm not worried about Manny one bit. Not one bit, I tell you. Getting Mirabelli back buys a few more wins too, but none of it will be enough if Schilling isn't a legitimate #1 starter again. And that my friends, is what Curt Schilling's torrid April, means for Boston's October.
Side Note:
Teammates in Arizona used to call him "Red Light," for the way he turned on for the TV cameras. Nobody likes a big mouth, but here are some classic Schillicisms:
"After the game, they're asking me about Deion, and I say if he didn't tackle with pads on, he sure isn't going to tackle in baseball...He's nothing more than a glorified flag football player. Tell Deion I'll meet him on the playground after recess."
"I'm not sure I can think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up."
"We just did something that has never been done yet, It ain't over yet. It ain't over by any stretch against this team and this organization."
"I just wish everybody on this planet could experience the day that I just experienced. I will never use the words 'unbelievable' and 'the Lord' again in the same sentence."
"I don't think there's anyone on the planet better than me in a game that matters."
