In all the moves Red Sox ownership made after the 2003 season, from firing Grady, hiring Tito and signing Keith Foulke, none was bigger than convincing Curt Schilling to come to Boston.With today's announcement that Curt is having season, and very likely career ending shoulder surgery, we may have seen the last of a guy who has embodied the Red Sox spirit the last 4 years.
From insisting his contract automatically get extended if the Sox won the World Series to calling the local sports radio shows to posting on the SOSH message board, Father Curt embraced being a member of the Red Sox like few had before him.
Clearly, he GOT what it meant to put that jersey on. He'd initially been drafted by the Sox, and even though he was known as a Phillie and a Diamondback, even vanquishing the MFY's in 2001 and sharing the Series MVP award with Randy Johnson, since he's been in Boston it's hard to remember him when he WASN'T a Red Sox player.
Johnny Damon said he'd never play for the Yankees, then jumped ship the first chance he got. Schilling said the same thing, and you believed him. In fact, I can't think of a thing Schill ever said I didn't believe he meant, whether I liked what he said or not. And yeah, he's a camera loving, quote making, attention seeking kind of guy. At least he was honest about it.
So if this is it, I'd like to say thanks. Thanks for nutting up and sacrificing your career in the ALCS. Thanks for telling the world there was nothing you could think of that was better than making 50,000 New Yorkers shut up. Thanks for changing the culture around this team from one of "When is the other shoe gonna drop" to "Somehow we're gonna end up winning this thing."
Because those 2 World Series trophies the boys have won the past 4 years? They don't happen without The Big Schill.
And for that, all of Red Sox Nation owes Schilling an eternal debt of gratitude.
33 comments:
what Ted said.
WooooooooooooooooooT.
Hey Tex. I trust you are eating plenty of chicken soup, taking your meds, and getting plenty of rest?
just sitting here watching the College World series
Tex, until I saw your comment at SG I had no idea Carolina was in the College World Series.
To say I don't follow college sports would be an understatement.
Hope your Tigers pull it out.
tie game. a friend of mine keep talking about going to the college world series one year. 2 outs b7...K out!!!!!!! WooooooooT.
coleman is awesome
The fact I have no idea what you are talking about changes nothing.
Hope your team wins, Texas.
Wooooooooo HOOOOOttttT WOOOOOOOOOOT. i heard baseball. i am SO gonna plan a trip to Omaha.
Tex, one of my customers goes to Omaha every year.
He is ATE UP with college baseball. He's also got me my last two framed Red Sox prints, one of which is hanging in my living room and one that is hanging in my bedroom.
He's aces as far as I'm concerned.
college baseball is really fun to watch. ive never been to their games but it'd be great. i think it'd be a great vacation to go at least once. i mean if you love baseball and want to see some of the up and coming mlb players. this is the place to be
Word. I second that. I heard the bloody sock.
Tex, from what I've seen on tv, it looks like it's a wild atmosphere at the CWS. Should be a lot of fun.
Redbeard, Schill goes down in history as the point man in the Greatest Comeback in Sports History. Hope Jess and Sierra are well.
Schill is the man. I don't think Beckett turns out like he did in Boston without Papa Schill. And I know we don't win in 04 without Schill. If he's done, the need to sit him in the booth next to Remy.
Mattie, I agree with you on Beckett. Schill made a mark on him I'm sure.
You can't push Orsillo out. I could see Schilling being in the studio though.
as long as Schill talks sports...but he'll be booed if he speaks his mind about politics in Boston.
Ted im eating varieties of chicken soup. ate mexican chicken tortilla soup today. lots of OJ. and meds. i better be well by thursday.
Tex, you'll get better. You can't miss the Astros/Red Sox games. Hope you feel better soon.
And I agree on the politics. If he sticks to baseball he'll be good at it.
Everyone is well here, except for today's loss. Bummer for Daisuke, he must still have some rust on him.
Went to the town pool today, and wouldnt you know it, it got cloudy and cool just after we got there. Then shortly after we got home, the sun came out for the rest of the day. Doh!
Redbeard, glad to hear everyone is well. I missed most of the game but got to hear a bit on the radio. Sounds like those first 2 innings were ROUGH.
Sorry about the pool. Why does it always seem to work out like that?!
Yeah we turned it on in the first and the first 4 runs were given up. Then Dice K loaded the bases on no outs in the 2nd. Reliever got the first out, then gave up the grand salami to glaus. we battled back a little but just not enough. jd drew's homer went quite a distance, about half way up past the rf corner.
Sounds like the kid settled down after giving up the blast. That's not exactly the best circumstances to walk into your first big league game!
JD is playing completely out of his head right now. He's already passed his HR total for the whole year last season and is close on his RBI's.
I saw that stat during the game, he did what - 11 hrs last year, and now 14 not even half way through the year. I don't remember the RBI numbers, but he's getting close, like within less than 5. Its ok, we still won the series last year even with a sub-par year for him. Now with who knows when Ortiz will be back, JD's really stepped up his game in his absence.
The kids do anything fun today? Please tell me you didn't have to work today...
Jess has a new post up. SG is dead quiet.
I think it was around 64, but I'm not positive. He's been huge with the Large Father out of commission.
Last year it was Mikey stepping up, this year it's JD. Man, do I love this team.
Worked, man. Kids were actually fairly calm. Rakes went 3 for 3 in T-Ball/coach pitch, hitting all 3 in the air to the outfield, per my field reporter Ciera.
Saw SG was a ghost town. And I'll be sure and check her post out.
64rbi last year, 43 this year. i was way off, talking out of my butt again. but still, ahead of the curve from last year, and the average! whoa, a very respectable .327, not to mention the obp and slg averages.
//i was way off, talking out of my butt again.//
That's the only way to go, Stephen. Off the cuff is in.
Yeah, every once in awhile I get footinmouthitis. I guess it's better than being quiet. It's not the things you regret doing, but the things you regret not doing...
I'm still not sure how I'm still married. I'm writing a book; the working title is "How to tick off your wife in the fewest words possible".
We've had quite a good week here actually. Working on her blog together really has helped us bond in a new way, and she's all the happier for it. And you know, when the woman's happy, everyone's happy. True story, as we say.
That's great, man. I'm enjoying her blog; she seems like she's got a wicke funny sense of humor.
True story is right.
Obviously I wasn't there when the pic was taken, but knowing her mom I could see her wigging out about that since she's REALLY OCD about cleanliness, I swear she spends about 20 hours a week just cleaning her already immaculate house. But we were going through the pictures a few nights ago and came across it and we came up with the idea together. Well, mostly my idea, but she went along with it.
That is hilarious, man.
You shouldn't freak the Mother in Law out like that.
I'm just sayin'.
You know what really sealed the deal for me on knowing Schill *got* what it meant to be a Sox fan? This quote: "In New England you have Catholocism and Red Sox Baseball, and not necessarily in that order."
Schill is smarter than the average bear, Dawn.
There is no doubt about that.
Post a Comment