Red Sox title punches Schilling’s ticket to Hall

THIS WEEK:

Red Sox title punches Schilling’s ticket to Hall

A few days of thought often adds perspective to a major event. When the Red Sox clinched their second World Championship in four years last Sunday, many emotions surfaced. Trying to impose one theme on a team of so many heroes is difficult.

The media tries to simplify things. Sign Lowell. Put Papelbon on every magazine cover and TV show this side of Popular Mechanics and “The View.” Ortiz did Conan. Ramirez did Leno. So, what is the crux? What is the root of this giant Red Sox redwood? Two words: Curt Schilling.

Schilling is the ultimate dichotomy. Off the field, he can be downright annoying, like that neighbor who insists on trying out the new chainsaw on Sunday at 6am. Schilling’s chainsaw is his mouth.

He is the epitome of checkbook journalism with his paid guest appearances on Boston’s Sportsradio WEEI. Granted, the money goes to Schilling’s many charitable endeavors, but those endeavors are seldom the topic of conversation. Schilling consistently shoots his mouth off on WEEI, making it his own personal pulpit.

Earlier this year, Curt Schilling’s comments on Barry Bonds only served to confirm that he can be one the biggest horse’s ass in sports. His remarks so angered Bonds that the ex-Giants slugger implied that he might even pursue a lawsuit against Schilling.

Questioning the validity of Bonds’ home run record given the cloud of steroid use was vintage Schilling. If a network would televise it, Schilling would hold a press conference questioning the validity of Tuesday coming after Monday.

Schilling was similarly arrogant in the aftermath of a Red Sox-Devil Rays brawl in 2005. Following the brawl, Schilling trashed then-Tampa Bay manger Lou Piniella, implying that the game had passed him by.

Schilling’s former teammate and current ESPN analyst John Kruk told Media Blitz, “That’s Curt. He’s going to say whatever he feels like saying because he thinks he’s always right. He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

“The thing here is that Curt is not right. Piniella has never left the game. How can he be out of touch? Curt needs to stop talking so much and concentrate on what he needs to do to come back and pitch.” At the time of Schilling’s anti-Piniella rant, he was in the midst of an injury-plagued season that saw him win just 8 games.

Kruk said that he and Schilling were “not really close” as teammates with the Phillies. “I played with guys in Philly who liked to fight, but we never looked for a fight. Curt is just adding fuel to the fire. I don’t know why he would want to continue this. I mean, it seems like Curt has ample opportunities to hear himself on radio, TV and in the newspaper.”

Schilling was equally vociferous when he played in Philadelphia, but Kruk said that veteran leadership ruled. “I know Boston has Jason Varitek, but we had (catcher) Darren Daulton, the best leader I ever saw. When Curt would talk too much, Darren would take him aside and tell him that we were not about that. When you’re young, you listen.”

Kruk said that Schilling’s affinity for the spotlight has rubbed some former teammates the wrong way. He stated, “When people become successful, they don’t necessarily become smarter.

“I’m not around the Red Sox, but I’ve talked to people who played with Curt and they do resent that he talks so much. Curt says a lot of things he shouldn’t say. In fact, a former Phillies teammate still wants a piece of him.”

This year, Schilling showed up to Red Sox Spring Training visibly heavier. Maybe that indeed wasn’t blood on his sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. Given the girth that Schilling displayed in Fort Myers, it might have been ketchup.

In addition, he publicly campaigned for a new one year, $13 million contract from the team. Schilling used his media forum to issue the Red Sox a not so subtle ultimatum.

So, where’s that dichotomy, you ask? It’s simple. Despite the aforementioned faults, Curtis Montague Schilling is quite simply the best big game pitcher of our generation. Forget Roger Clemens. Forget the one-inning heroics of Mariano Rivera or Dennis Eckersley. Forget Andy Pettitte, Josh Beckett, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux or John Smoltz.

There was one more quote from Kruk in that 2005 interview. He stated, “Of all the pitchers of the last 10 or 15 years, Curt would be the guy I’d want to pitch a big game.” Amen

With an 11-2 postseason record, Schilling has punched his ticket to Cooperstown. His penchant for whining is surpassed only by his penchant for winning. Any Hall of Fame that does not eventually include Schilling should be the victim of the nearest wrecking ball.

Give me your Whitey Fords, Jim Palmers, Catfish Hunters, Steve Carltons, Nolan Ryans, Bob Gibsons, Juan Marichals, Fergie Jenkins and Don Suttons. I’ll toss them back and take Schilling in October. The ego that fuels his maddening desire to be heard is the same ego that fuels his unquenchable thirst for the ball when elimination is a near certainty.

In the panaplea of the contemporary Boston sports scene, the media has continually searched for the next Larry Bird, the next Ted Williams, the next Bill Russell, the next Bobby Orr. Schilling might just be that guy. He combines the intensity of Bird, the attitude of Williams, the pride of Russell and the fearlessness of Orr.

In the end, the Hall of Fame is about numbers. Schilling has 216 wins, more than enough to enter the doorways of Cooperstown, doorways that, in the past few years, have allowed the great, but hardly legendary likes of Tony Perez, Gary Carter and Bruce Sutter to pass.

He has pitched at a high level for 20 seasons and has a .597 winning percentage (216-146). His lifetime ERA is a dandy 3.46 and he has 3,116 strikeouts.

In the postseason, Schilling goes from impressive to immortal. His 11-2 overall mark is highlighted by a 3-1 record and a 0.93 ERA in the Division Series, a 4-0 mark in the League Championship Series and a 3-1 record with an ERA of 2.06 in four World Series.

He was the MVP of the 1993 NLCS with the Phillies and has a career postseason ERA of 2.23 with 25 walks and 120 strikeouts in 133.1 innings.

Schilling has won two titles with the Red Sox (2004 and 2007) and one with the Diamondbacks (2001). He would have won another with Philly in 1993 if closer Mitch Williams hadn’t given up more runs than cheap panty hose.

Beyond the numbers, in sports, it’s all about winning. A couple of years ago, CBS NFL analyst insultingly compared Peyton Manning to Dan Marino. The gist was that for all his stats, Manning, like Marino before him, had yet to win a Super Bowl. It was a crass comment, given that Marino was seated on the same panel as Esiason.

Some writers and reporters still hold the lack of a title against Marino, even though the astute likes of HBO’s Bryant Gumbel correctly assert that Marino was the best passer who ever lived.

The championship issue has to work both ways. Schilling most likely won’t get to that magical 300-win plateau. He won’t have 4000 strikeouts or an ERA under 3.00, but he is the ultimate winner. He also won’t desecrate the game by playing half a season or eschewing road games like certain Hall of Famer Roger Clemens.

Clemens’ disregard for the spirit of the sport is worse than any statistical shortcomings that Schilling may have. With a postseason record that is nothing short of sparkling and solid regular season numbers to back it up, Curt Schilling is a true Hall of Famer.

A week of thought does indeed put things into perspective. I’ve bashed the vociferous Schilling many times in the past, but I am turning in my Louisville Slugger. Schilling has shut me up.

The truth is clear. The Boston Red Sox B.C. (Before Curt): No World Titles in 86 years. The Boston Red Sox A.D. (After Dinner with Theo Epstein and Schilling on Thanksgiving 2003): Two World Titles in 4 years.

Schilling has taken the ball, the responsibility, and yes, the microphone. He has led a franchise with more snakebites than the late Steve Irwin to the brink of a dynasty. He is loud, proud and should be allowed into Cooperstown to join his fellow legends.