Grover
Cleveland Alexander – Robin
Roberts – Jim Bunning - Steve Carlton – Curt Schilling… These could be the names
of the Phillies Hall of Fame Pitchers that hang on the walls of
Citizens
Bank
Park, the Park after that, and every
Park after that. There for all History. This is exactly what
Philadelphia area homeowner and
resident Curt Schilling wants for himself, his wife, and his children, and for
his children’s children. Ever Proud, and Ever Mindful of the weaknesses of the
organization for which he wishes to be a part of again, Curt Schilling, the man
who sacrificed his arm and risked his family’s future to pitch us right through
the Atlanta Braves in 1993 NLCS wants something.
He
wants to be acknowledged by the city who fathered his career, as all prodigal
sons must be -before they can return home.
Curt
Schilling wants the Phillies to step up and re-acquire him. Ed Wade and the
entire organization from Montgomery
on down, need to stand up and tell the baseball world in no uncertain terms
that - “He is our son and no one
else’s”. “We are making all the arrangements”. “We are sorry what happened in
the past, and we are glad to have him back where he belongs”.
“And
By The Way, Curt? Your light is on in your room, and your mother has left your
favorite meat loaf out in the refrigerator”.
Schilling
is on the top of the mound, not wanting to be controlled by a bad market place.
He is orchestrating his own return home; his intensions are so clear that having
to read subtly between the lines is no longer needed. The message he is sending
is that he needs to return and it is as clear for us to see as watching a guy
walk up Broad Street wearing
a sandwich board.
"There's
bait to all three of them, and challenges to all three of them," Schilling said.
His stated that if he were to wave his no trade clause that his preferences in
order in were the Philadelphia Phillies, followed by the New York Yankees and
finally the Boston Red Sox (with their small left field and the Green Monster).
Schilling has made it clear that he'd come to
Philadelphia, provided he got at
least a one-year contract extension. Schilling is looking for a two-three-year
extension at huge dollars to OK a deal to either New
York or
Boston.
He
cannot be any clearer that he wants to return to
Philadelphia than that. This is a
10-20 million dollar risk of guaranteed dollars on his part. The same risk he
took, when he pitched his heart out for us against
Atlanta in 1993 and risked his
career. Schilling is a winner, and Winners take calculated
risks.
He
told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jim Salisbury this week that the Phillies would
be his first choice, "because that's home, and it's comfortable. That team has a
chance to win the World Series. There's a new park. I love the fans there. The
chance to pitch in that environment would be cool."
"I'm
making money, on top of money I'll never get to spend. Money is not going to
determine where I'm going to finish my career. I'll get what I feel I'm worth.
And the length of time in the contract will have a lot to do with it. But the
contract value itself will not be a deal-breaker."
If
money is not the reason that is going to determine where he is going to finish
his career, just what is? Schilling knows his place in history, he quotes it all
the time. He is aware that if he returns to Philly that he is an odds on
favorite to join Alexander, Roberts, Bunning, and
Carlton as a Phillies Hall of Fame
Pitcher.
Why
is he not in the fold already? There are two reasons. First,
Arizona was way out of line in
first asking for three players (reportedly CF Marlon Byrd, SS Jimmy Rollins, and
P Brett Myers). Later it was rumored to be reduced to two players Rollins and
Myers (still way to high), and now it is presumably just Myers and prospects. It
was reported that they requested 1B Nick Johnson (Larry Bowa’s nephew) and
Alfonso Soriano from the Yankees when they were playing them against the
Phillies. The Arizona Diamondbacks goal was to try to get the Yankees to bite,
so they could acquire Richie Sexson from
Milwaukee in a three-way trade. The
Phillies and Wade were right to step back and wait for the asking price to come
down.
Now,
guess who they are playing against the Yankees? The
Boston Red Sox. The team that one
week ago Schilling reportedly said he would never go to - because “I am a power
right handed fly ball pitcher” and there is no left field to place fly balls
within Boston’s
Fenway
Park. Back to history again – Schilling knows
he needs at least two more good years to assure him a place in Baseball’s Hall
of Fame and going to Boston could
backfire. Clemens - a power right handed fly ball pitcher as well, extended his
career after leaving Boston when he
ended up in Yankee Stadium whose left field is so large it is called
“Death Valley”.
"Boston
was obsessively proactive on this," he said. "And that impresses
me."
What
is he Curt really saying? He is saying - “dad. Dad. DAD!!! Do you care about me?” he is dying
inside waiting for the Phillies to be proactive as well as he keeps hoping for
their call for him to return.
"I'm dealing with this situation exactly
how I would if I were a free agent and
Boston was a city I was interested
in," Schilling told ESPN.com Monday night. "And I'm going to assess things just
the way a free agent would who was thinking about going somewhere." "I won't
leave here without an extension."
“I will get a contract extension before I leave
Arizona." These words are hardly a
slam-dunk for Boston. They are more
in line with the words of Pete Rose as he toured the country talking to teams
before finally signing with the Phillies.
Meanwhile
in Arizona, if they fail at having
Steinbrenner and the Yankees come back to the table with their
Boston ploy, they have now become
suddenly reasonable with their request for talent in the
trade.
It
is rumored that Boston would give up left-hander Casey Fossum, Reliever Brandon Lyon (who was sent back by the Pirates last year as being damaged goods), as
well as minor league pitcher Jorge De La Rosa and outfielder Michael Goss.
Fossum was 6-5 with a 5.47 ERA for
Boston in '03 and also pitched in
eight games at Double- and Triple-A. Aside from Fossum these are all just
interesting bodies.
Speaking
only of the available Phillies pitchers, we have Ryan Madson, Carlos Silva, Eric Junge, Josh Hancock, Keith Bucktrot, Valerio De Los Santos, David Coggin,
Alfredo Simon, and Elizardo Ramirez. They are all more valuable than Fossum and
bodies when a few are selected and tailored into a deal. So it is really not about the talent any
longer, unless the Yankees rise to take the bait and are hooked.
What
is really happening? What do Curt Schilling and his wife really want for their
kids? Here he tells us…
"I'm
concerned about a lot of things -- and many of them are not just in the
clubhouse and on the field. They're personal, family issues. And they're things
I have to think about in a very condensed time frame, because by Friday at
5 o'clock, somebody has to have a
decision."
"In
a sense, I'm still standing on the mound with the ball in my hand," he said,
"because nothing has been determined. And nothing will be determined without my
wife and I saying yes."
These
are the words of a son asking to return. This is where the second and more
important reason lies - for why Schilling is not a Phillie as we speak. Curt
Schilling as all sons do (as they are setting out and leaving home), did not go
quietly. He was head strong. He hit below the belt, even though he was right
about many things at the time. He must be forgiven.
We
are all getting older. Our sons are showing us up. Schilling is aging as well,
just think of what Curt Schilling will do if he returns to become a father to
Brett Myers and places his legacy of his no holds barred competitiveness into
our organization when he joins Bowa and Schmidt after his playing days are
ended?
This
is so much bigger than all of us. This is about every working father and mother
in Philadelphia. There is a chance
to make history and connect Curt Schilling’s spirit to ours. Benjamin Franklin
and William Penn are watching over us as we speak.
He
is waiting to be acknowledged by the city who fathered his career. Step up
Phillies Management and let this prodigal son come home. Help him join Alexander
and Roberts and Bunning and Carlton
in our hearts, and in our homes, and let him pitch his heart out for a chance to
hang his banner upon our walls…