Both the Globe and Herald are breaking stories about Curt Schilling's right shoulder. The variations between the two stories leads me to believe that this story is extremely tentative and speculative. Here are a few things that are clear, though:
Curt Schilling's right shoulder is acting up
He will miss at least the start of spring training
He went to see Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed shoulder surgery on Schilling in 1995
The Red Sox official stance is "no comment"
Curt missed 7 weeks of last season with problems in his right shoulder
He's 41 years old
Tony Massarotti is a sensationalist writer
The Globe's story is more subdued, stating that there are reports of an injury and that Schilling may miss part of spring training. The Herald's story is more doom and gloom. The title of the piece is "Schilling could be lost for season." Of course, there's no hard evidence to support this. If Schilling's injury is bad enough to require surgery (again, we have no idea how bad it is), it's safe to say his season is done. But we don't even know what the injury actually is.
Massarotti's Herald column also asserts that there is friction and/or tension between the Red Sox and Schilling. Apparently, there is disagreement over treatment options. There is also a possibility that the Red Sox have looked into voiding Schilling's contract.
Tony Maz cites "baseball sources." He's a reliable reporter, but I think this story is an extreme interpretation of rumor and second hand talk. Understandable considering the lack of spring training storylines surrounding the Sox.
It is possible that the Red Sox and Schilling cannot come to a consensus on how to treat the shoulder. It's possible Schilling wants to rehab somewhere but the team wants him to rehab in Fort Myers. Who knows?
And as far as the Red Sox taking steps to void the contract: all that means is that the Red Sox have looked into it. If you had a 41 year old pitcher with a shoulder injury, and you were on the line to pay him $8M, wouldn't you see if you could get out of it?
What really irks me about this whole thing is that Johan Santana is currently trying on his new Mets apparel. The Red Sox could have had him, albeit for a price. We had Beckett, then a 41 year old, overweight, bad shoulder question mark. Then whatever the Japanese symbol for a question mark is. Then a 90 year old knuckle-baller with a bad back. Then a bunch of kids with next to no Major League experience. Santana wouldn't be a question mark. He would've been an exclamation point.
Sources:
Boston.com article by Gordon Edes and Nick Cafardo
BostonHerald.com article by Tony Massarotti
Photo Credit:
Associated Press
schilling blows
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