Tag: Red Sox

Hail, Tito

Red Sox fans will not get better news all year than this: Terry Francona will be here for the next three to five years. Bruce Allen wraps up the coverage.

There’s something “well, duh” about saying Francona is the best Sox manager in my lifetime. After all, he’s won two World Series, and everyone else had won none. As Francona is always quick to say, he’s benefited from a lot of great moves on the part of the people above him.

But Francona’s preparation and on-field managing skills are unparalleled. His handling of players is amazing, from his ability to keep Manny Ramírez productive year after year to having Jonathan Papelbon spring-training fresh going into the post-season last fall. He’s the anti-Belichick — I don’t think Francona loves the media, but as best as I can tell he is unfailingly polite and respectful in his dealings with other people. He’s just a good, decent human being, and that comes through every time he talks.

A couple of years ago, we were all worried that Francona’s health might not allow him to enjoy a lengthy managerial career. But he seemed to be healthier last year, and now he’s signed a long-term deal. May he continue to manage the Sox for years to come.

Photo (cc) by bunkosquad, and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

Schilling hits the wall

It’s never pretty when a great athlete reaches the end. What compounds the human drama is that the very qualities that made him great cloud his ability to see reality.

Not that I’m going to try to choose among doctors. But it seems obvious that the Red Sox are hoping against hope that they might get some useful innings out of Curt Schilling this year through a conservative rehab program, whereas Schilling believes if they’d only let him have surgery, he can return to his glory days.

Neither scenario is realistic, but at least the Sox are pursuing the one route that might work to a limited degree. If Schilling has surgery, it’s likely that he’s done for the year, if not forever. If he doesn’t, well, maybe there’s a chance that Schilling’s got one good post-season run left in him.

It’s inevitable that the Boston sports media, and especially Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, would try to turn this into a controversy. Schilling hasn’t helped, either. But it seems to me that there are really only two areas of possible controversy here, and neither hold up to inspection:

  • The course of treatment. Doctors disgree. What do we know? Nothing. End of discussion.
  • Schilling’s condition at the time of his signing. We know he took a physical and got an MRI when he signed a one-year, $8 million deal last fall. We may assume that he did not pass with flying colors. I’m sure the Red Sox were told that it was no worse than expected and that, with luck, he’d be able to pitch one more season. It didn’t happen. But to suggest that Schilling was hiding something is to assume that he could somehow fake his MRI.

Schilling says he needs surgery just to lead a normal post-retirement life. He sounds like someone who is deeply conflicted. I suspect he knows what he should do — announce his retirement, undergo surgery and forfeit the $8 million. If he feels like Josh Beckett next spring, well, he can always unretire.

But I’m sure Schilling believes he signed his contract in good faith, with both sides knowing the end was near, and that the Sox shouldn’t get a pass for refusing surgery — especially since his own surgeon seems to think he could be back by mid-season. (Let’s not forget that we’re talking about a 41-year-old who took a year and a half to recover from ankle surgery.)

The thing is, I see no evidence that the Red Sox aren’t acting in good faith, too.

All that said, I think there’s something to what John Henry told Shaughnessy today — that Schilling’s surgeon has created considerable doubt in the pitcher’s mind as to whether rehab will work. Might a compromise be possible? How about letting Schilling go ahead with the surgery, but not letting him collect the $8 million if he’s not back by, say, Aug. 1?

It’s worth asking him. Then again, maybe they already have.

Photo (cc) by guano, and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

Schilling wants surgery

Keep in mind that there’s no way Dr. Craig Morgan could have given this remarkable interview to the Globe’s Gordon Edes without Schilling’s permission. I’m speculating, but it looks to me like Schilling still believes he needs shoulder surgery, and that he backed down only to protect his contract. Now he’s hoping to make the Red Sox’ position look unreasonable.

“I trusted him with my career then, and always will,” says Schilling of Morgan.

Sadly, I think we all know what should happen. Schilling should retire. He was pretty amazing in the postseason, but a repeat performance is looking like an increasingly remote possibility.

Update: The Herald’s Rob Bradford had a Morgan interview yesterday, which means he talked with Morgan sometime Thursday. (I don’t have a print edition of yesterday’s Herald handy, but the story made it to LexisNexis, which usually means it was in print and not just on the Web.) Dirt Dog in chief Steve Silva noted on Boston.com yesterday that Morgan also appeared on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” yesterday morning. And Edes’ own interview with Morgan was posted online shortly after noon yesterday.

So Bradford gets the gold. And Schilling is pretty obviously playing hardball to persuade the Red Sox to let him go under the knife.

Of pitchers and Patriots

This Sunday we can finally get that Super Bowl thing over with and start talking about baseball. Spring training’s just a few weeks away. Two quick hits this morning:

  • I’m actually glad that Johan Santana has gone to the Mets, preferring to watch the Red Sox win (or lose) with the kids. As Tom Werner says, at least he’s not going to the Yankees. And I know Pedro’s near the end of his career, but can he handle not being the Man?
  • Roger Clemens’ protestations of innocence don’t add up, but he’s made them so vehemently that I had decided to suspend judgment. But if Andy Pettitte is ready to say Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone, it’s lights out.

Oh, one other thing. Go Pats.

Outrageous

Jim Rice is passed over for the Hall of Fame again. Goose Gossage, who did make it, says:

Just from what I know and facing these guys, I think Jim Rice does belong in the Hall of Fame and I’ve said that all along. No hitter scared me, but Jim Rice came the closest. What a tremendous hitter he was. He made that whole Boston lineup a better lineup.

No kidding. I understand that Rice is a marginal candidate. But he had a fine career, and in the late 1970s he was the most devastating hitter in baseball.

Today’s media scandal

How was it that the names of players who were not in the Mitchell Report wound up being identified as steroid users earlier in the day? As Dan Shaughnessy writes in the Boston Globe, “Some of the names were pretty interesting. Where do those players go to reclaim their reputations?”

By many accounts, the false positives originated with WNBC in New York, which posted a correction late in the afternoon, after George Mitchell had finally released his report. But was WNBC alone, with others merely following the station’s lead? Or were there others who also broke this toxic non-story?

(Rotten) apples and oranges

Shouldn’t we make a moral distinction between Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who’ve been accused of taking steroids in order to throw harder and hit the ball farther, and Andy Pettitte and Mo Vaughn, who alleged took human growth hormone so they’d be able to bounce back from injuries more quickly? It seems to me that the former compromised the integrity of the game, whereas the latter was merely dangerous and stupid.

Here’s a PDF of the Mitchell report. Search for Pettitte’s and Vaughn’s names and you’ll see what I mean.

An inside pitch

“Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season for the baseball fan in your life? Look no further than NESN’s DVD that chronicles the championship journey of the Red Sox.” — Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, writing in today’s Boston Globe. The Globe, of course, is owned by the New York Times Co., which also owns 13.6 percent (if I’ve done by math right) of NESN.

A smart move if it happens

The Boston Herald reports that beleaguered relief pitcher Eric Gagné may accept arbitration and give it another shot with the Red Sox next year. Good. Yes, he became the human surrender flag. But he’s one of the great relievers in baseball history, and he was pitching well before coming to the Sox in mid-season. He may have been hurt. He may heal over the winter. Why dump the guy when he might prove to be valuable?

Saturday update: Gagné’s gone, according to the Globe. Too bad.