Kobe Fires Back @ Schilling

Curt Schilling likes to talk a lot. As you've probably already heard, Schilling ripped Kobe Bryant on his blog today after allegedly witnessing Bryant berate his teammates during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Bryant is not my favorite athlete in the world, but he did have a nice reply to the blathering hypocrite that is Mr. Red Light:

Asked if he was disappointed in Schilling's comments, Bryant responded, "Go Yankees!" and pumped his fist, drawing laughter from reporters Wednesday.

I would say the Kobe fanbase just gained about 10 million new disciples.

Schilling: Doc 'Misremembers'

Mr. Schilling is in scrambling, damage-control mode and has taken the Roger Clemens approach. This, of course, is an approach which worked so well for the Rocket during the confession at Capitol Hill.

"He's at a distance. And, again, Craig is a friend, a very close friend, always will be," Schilling said. "But I've talked to him probably 3-4 times since January. So I'm not sure he's been kept abreast of the facts, and the conversation that, I'm not really sure what conversation he's referring to with regards to a couple of different comments that he made, but the Yankee piece, there's some misinformation going on, and I can remember us having a conversation and laughing about coming back and pitching next year ..."

"The first word that popped into my head, is a word that I think is new to the English language, but everybody understands what it means is 'misrember'. I talked to doc probably within the last week. He's called me a couple of times during my rehab, but I'm not really sure how he got to some of the conclusions he got to."

Maybe the good doctor was sick of hearing you whine about Boston's gameplan and dropped a dime on dat @$$.

Schilling Fed Up With Sox,Would Sign With Yanks

That is, if the Yankees had an iota of interest in a 40 year-old starting pitcher whose shoulder is being held together by a few strands of spaghetti. Maybe he meant signing with the Scranton Yanks, that would be poetic.

This latest Curt Schilling cry for attention comes thanks to the pitcher's physician who spoke to a Philadelphia radio station.

Q: "Is it your opinion that he will not be back pitching for the Red Sox this year?"

A: "Correct. ... Not only that, it's my opinion that he's angry enough that it's entirely conceivable, even though he's 40 years old, its entirely conceivable that he will have the operation, rehab and pitch for the Yankees next year. That's what he wants to do. I'm telling you."

No response from Red Light himself as it remains all quiet on the 38 pitches front. Then again, it's hard to believe the doctor was not simply speaking on his behalf. Classy move.

Schilling Gets Shot In Shoulder

The first step of Curt Schilling's rehab program - instead of his doctor's reccommended surgery - occured yesterday when the pitcher received a cortisone shot. While the Red Sox team physician believes the rehabilitation should be successful, Dr. Craig Morgan has not beaten around the bush on the issue:

Curt Schilling received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder on Friday, beginning a treatment plan the Boston Red Sox hope will bring the right-hander back before the end of the season, according to the Boston Globe.

The pain-killing shot would allow Schilling to begin rehabbing an injured shoulder tendon -- the Red Sox' team physician believes the tendon is damaged, not torn, and that rehabilitation gives Schilling his best chance to play this year.

Schilling's physician, Dr. Craig Morgan, disagrees, saying the tendon is torn and requires surgery.

On Saturday, Morgan said he could not confirm that Schilling had received the cortisone shot, but repeated his opinion that the team's recommended course of action is doomed to fail.

He said that within a couple of weeks of the shot, "[Schilling] won't even be able to exercise."

Ouch.

Schilling's Loss Is Omar's Gain

Had Curt Schilling's shoulder issues come about a week or so earlier, the baseball world may have been discussing the Red Sox 1-2 punch of Josh Beckett and Johan Santana. There is no doubt that had Schilling been diagnosed with an injury keeping him off the field until after the all star break that Boston would have actually pursued Santana, instead of exercise smokescreen tactics.

Fortunately for the New York Mets - and by extension, the Yankees - Theo Epstein and company had no desire to surrender a package built around Jacoby Ellsbury or Jon Lester. The status of Boston's rotation as one of the best in the business made this decision much easier for the Red Sox. However, had the Sox known about Schilling's shoulder earlier, Omar Minaya would have been scrambling to sign Livian Hernandez or Kyle Lohse.

Subway Squawkers had this to say:

Reports out of Boston say that Curt Schilling has a major shoulder injury and the Red Sox may try to void his contract. Had the Red Sox known earlier that Schilling would be unavailable, might they have gotten back in the bidding for Johan Santana? Sure, Schilling might not have pitched more than one more year anyway, but the Yankees supposedly had a lot less interest in Santana once Andy Pettitte decided to return, and Pettitte may only be around for one more year himself.

Actually, the Mets also have an aging, injury-prone ace with one year left on his contract, but I’m glad they didn’t use Pedro Martinez’ return as an excuse not to pursue Santana. And if Pedro does continue his successful comeback, I hope he’s still an important part of the team next year at Citi Field.

Schilling Update

Boston Herald Update 11:41 pm:

According to the latest Herald report, Dr. Craig Morgan explained after examining Curt Schilling that the aging pitcher is suffering from an injury to his "bicipital groove," which is the portion of the bicep tendon running outside the shoulder.

Though he denies it within his latest 38Pitches blog post, Schilling and the Red Sox are reportedly at odds about whether or not to have the surgery. While the righthander would like to have the operation done, Boston threatened to void his contract if done so, thereby forcing Schilling's hand.

From Rotoworld:

Morgan said the biceps looks like "three strands of spaghetti," and is an irreversible problem if just using the Red Sox’ recommended remedy of a cortisone shot and rehabilitation. Morgan believes Schilling could undergo surgery and still be ready to go after the All-Star break. The Red Sox, though, disagree, and according to the Globe, threatened to void Schilling's contract if he attempted to undergo surgery. Indications are that Morgan became worried about the problem as far back as last summer. If that was the case, then the surgery he's recommending probably should have been performed in November, not now.

Yikes. Schilling is going to try to pitch with three strands of spaghetti holding his arm together? This makes the Mets acquisition of Johan Santana all the more satisfying. If what Morgan believes is true, and Schilling could make it back in equal time with the surgery, it would appear that Mr. Red Light let down the Red Sox on this one.

Schilling Needs Shoulder Surgery?

According to the Boston Herald, Curt Schilling may need surgery for what is being reported as a labrum or rotator-cuff injury.

From Rotoworld:

Schilling is done after this year, so we don't see why he'd undergo surgery. Unless he's reconsidering and wants to extend his career beyond 2008, then he'll have to try to pitch through the problem. According to the Herald, the Red Sox are already exploring the possibility of voiding Schilling's contract. They could decide to make a run at Kyle Lohse or take a flier on Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia if they don't think Schilling will make it back.

This could be a big loss in terms of losing a veteran stabilizer in the Red Sox rotation. Boston's multitude of young starting pitchers could prove capable of filling in for his innings, though the acquisition of a Kyle Lohse type seems the more likely alternative.

The Enemy: Manny & Red Light

· Manny Ramirez wants to be like Julio Franco:

“Every year is the same,” Ramirez added when asked if he was excited about heading to spring training. “I look forward to ’08, ’09 and maybe move on.”

Ramirez, who has been working out at API since early December, is clearly focused on making the Red Sox [team stats]’ decision whether or not to pick up his $20 million team option for ’09 a difficult one. Another thing that is certain is that Manny has no intention of drifting off into the sunset after the completion of his current contract, which also includes a $20 million team option for 2010.

“I want to be like Julio Franco and play until I’m 48,” said Ramirez, who is planning on leaving Arizona early next week. “And if you want to do it, this is the right place to come."

48 huh? Let's get ourselves to Spring trainings and through full seasons without phantom "injuries" at 38 years old first.

· Curt Schilling loves himself some Sean Casey:

I heard yesterday that we signed Sean Casey. To have someone of his talent come here as a potential platoon player and role filler is huge.

I’ve known Sean and competed against him for a long time. I think he’s gotten the best of me more than I on him.

I have never had him as a teamate until now but I can assure you this guy is pretty much one of the classiest and most respected players in all of baseball.

In addition to being as likable as anyone I’ve ever met, I’ve never heard anyone have anything to say other than what a fantastic teammate and person he and his wife are.

This is a huge piece, even though it might not appear so on the surface. Theo continues to show extraordinary ability to bring players here that most likely could play everyday somewhere else to fill vital and important roles on this club.

Awww. Looks like somebody's making peace with Red Sox management. Maybe his Sean-love will translate into a less belt busting version of a the Red Light come this Spring training.