Pros and Cons

No this isn’t about the Cincinnati Bengals of 2006, the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990’s, or the Miami Hurricanes of…well pick a decade. I’m talking about decisions being made by the Boston Red Sox as the off season progresses.

Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox made a mutually beneficial decision this week. By re-signing Schilling to a 1-year deal at a CHEAP $8 million (by contrast, Derek Lowe of the LA Dodgers will make over $9 million, and Paul 'HGH' Byrd of the Cleveland Indians will make over $7 million next year) the Red Sox have ensured flexibility among the starting pitching in 2008 similar to that which allowed them to survive pitching injuries in 2004 and 2007, and the lack of which killed them in 2006. Schilling for his part took less guaranteed money than he likely would have gotten on the open market to remain with a team with which he won his 2nd and 3rd World Series Championships, and a team which will be the favorite entering the 2008 season. Schilling, already a rich man, appears to have realized something few other athletes do these days (are you listening Johnny Damon?). Schilling appears to have realized that while the additional 4-6 million he might have gotten in free agency might allow him to buy more STUFF, that stuff could never bring him the joy that the possibility of another ring in Boston could yield.

Consider for a minute the opportunities Schilling would have lost by going to Arizona or Philly. Sure, both of these teams will return young, division championship caliber teams next year, and will likely be in the playoff hunt. But being as both got swept out of the playoffs this year by a team which subsequently got swept (recall the D-Backs swept the Phillies before being swept by the Rockies who were of course swept by Schilling’s Red Sox) is there any reason to believe that either of these teams is one 41 year old Curt Schilling away from a World Series Ring? With the Red Sox however, Schilling returns to team which returns its’ top 7 starting pitchers: Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka, Lester, Wakefield, Buchholz and Tavarez. The Red Sox are talking about a 6 man rotation! More on that later…

I think there are some likely by-products of Schilling retiring as a Red Sox after next season:
1. Hall of Fame induction as a Red Sox. Schilling can be reasonably expected to reach 230 wins and surpass 3200 strikeouts in 2008, and with a reputation as a premier post-season pitcher with 3 (or 4?) World Series rings, HoF induction should be a near certainty.

2. The number 38 being added to the numbers 1, 4, 8, 9, 27, and 42 in right field. The pitcher whose addition sparked the Red Sox first two World Series Championship in 86 years could very well warrant such an honor.

3. Money. Is there anything Schilling wouldn’t be able to sell in New England?

4. Politics? Schilling has never been one to keep his opinions to himself, and where better to let people know what you think than Congress. Jack Kemp, Steve Largent, and Tom Osborne are just a few former sports figures who’ve made a successful jump from the field to Capitol Hill. You think this couldn’t happen in Massachusetts? Where the Sox are religion?

Now about the possibility of the six-man rotation. This is a worse idea than... well… pretty much anything Britney Trainwreck – er - Spears has done in the last two years… Think of the Pros and Cons of keeping Wakefield in the rotation, and consequently Doug Mirabelli on the roster:
1. Pro: Experienced catcher with some pop left in his bat catching a veteran starting pitcher with a history of success against the Yankees
2. Con: A 37 year old catcher hitting below .250 catching an aging knuckleballer coming off an injury, while holding a roster spot which could otherwise be filled with a young catcher who could use the next two years as Jason Varitek’s understudy to both become a student of pitching as Varitek is, and to build a rapport with the young members of the Sox rotation.
3. Pro: 6 starters would keep aging arms Wakefield and Schilling, and Matsuzaka, who is used to a 6 man rotation in Japan, on longer rest keeping them fresher for September through November.
4. Con: 6 fewer starts from Josh Beckett over the course of the season, and the 6 man rotation would only be for one year until Schilling, and likely Wakefield retire and the Sox return to a 5 man rotation. This would also make the transition to a 3 or 4 man rotation in the playoffs more stressful on a Sox rotation used to 5 days rest between starts.
5. Pro: Sorry, I’ve run out of these…
6. Con: A 5 man rotation of Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka, Lester, and Buchholz would put Wakefield and Tavarez in the bullpen. Lester, Schilling, and Matsuzaka were more often than not 5-6 inning pitchers this year. Buchholz coming off a tired arm which cost him a possible playoff roster spot. It is likely that there will be plenty of 6th and 7th innings in need of eating in 2008. Both Wakefield and Tavarez have shown an ability to pitch multiple innings on multiple days in a row. Indications are that this will be a useful trait in 2008. Also, all five men in that rotation have the ability to hit 91-97 on the radar gun with varying frequency. Imagine facing that kind of heat in your first two at-bats then getting Wakefield’s 59 mph knuckleball in your third at-bat before having to ramp back up to deal with Papelbon’s 98 mph gas in the 9th inning. It’s a lot easier to adjust to a 30 mph change in speed in 24 hours (i.e. Wakefield as a starter), than making that adjustment in 24 minutes.

Finally, a few random thoughts on “player” movement:
-A-Rod to the Red Sox…please God NO!!!
-Dennis Rodman to the WNBA... well he’s already worn a wedding dress, why not?
-Miguel Tejada to the Yankees… yeah ‘cause the last time the Yankees signed a former MVP shortstop it went really well…
-KG and Ray Allen to Boston… I think that Red Auerbach has possessed Danny Ainge’s body; I mean is there any other way this happened?
-Kobe to anywhere but LA… if you’re “anywhere” how do you not do this, if you’re LA how can you?
-Chris Henry back to Cincinnati… so what’s the over under ‘til his next suspension? I’m calling it at 4.5 games, and leaning towards the under.
-The Patriots to New York in week 15 and to Miami in week 16… Between Mangini and Shula, I’m putting the over/under for combined points scored by the Pats in these games at 132.5, and the over/under on total handshakes at… negative infinity.
-Brad Lidge to the Phillies… so a guy who crumbled in the pressure cooker of Astros v. Cardinals is going to turn it around in a town that booed Santa?