Boston's Schilling May Miss Start
Curt Schilling of the Red Sox May Not Pitch Sunday Versus Rockies
After horrendous back-to-back outings Boston Red Sox hurler Curt Schilling may miss his next scheduled start.
Schilling, who underwent an MRI on his right shoulder Tuesday that showed no injury, told Boston’s WEEI Sports Radio that he “would be surprised” to make his next start slated for Sunday against the Colorado Rockies.
Despite the negative MRI, Schilling told broadcast team Dennis and Callahan that he’s “just … not felt right this year.”
The 40-year-old veteran righthander was shelled by the Rockies at friendly Fenway last week, then hammered by the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
“I’m not picking up a baseball until Friday," Schilling said. "I’m not sure what’s going on, but I would think that [pitching Sunday] would be a long shot at this point. But I’m not ruling it out, actually mentally I’m trying to stay right and be ready for it, but … that’s probably [the] best case [scenario].”
Near No-hitter Didn’t Impact Shoulder Problem
Schilling’s two atrocious starts followed a 100-pitch, one-hitter, in Oakland. He lost the no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. He said his shoulder discomfort has nothing to do with the near no-no versus the Oakland As.
"This has been going on, on and off, since late spring training, from a feel standpoint, I just have not felt right this year and it’s had an immense amount of influence on the inconsistency that I’ve gone through, and that's the disappointing part.” Schilling said.
He said the MRI detected “no structural damage” but said he just doesn’t feel right.
“It's been going on for some time, from a feel standpoint,” Schilling said. “It's been one of the things that's really kind of made me struggle mentally with the inconsistency, and just trying to figure out what it is, why it is, what's going on. So, trying to right the ship here before it gets any worse."
He failed to strike out a single batter versus the Braves – the first time he’s done that since 1993.
Schilling underwent shoulder surgery in 1995 while with the Phillies, and he said the similarity between his sudden loss of velocity is scary.
"When I tore my labrum in 1995, I was throwing the ball 95 miles-per-hour one inning, and the next thing I went out and I was throwing the ball 82 mph and I didn't have any pain until the next day,” he mused. “The other night, that’s exactly what happened. I could not throw the ball. I could not get anything on the baseball. I was throwing the ball 82 mph and fortunately I didn't wake up the next day with the pain.”
Schilling Termed Braves’ Outing “Embarrassing”
The veteran hurler was disgusted with himself after Monday’s contest.
"It's embarrassing," Schilling said. "I never gave us a chance. I want[ed] to walk around the room and apologize to everybody – the manager, teammates, fans. There's no excuse for a game like that to play out the way it did."
Sox manager Terry Francona said Schilling didn’t say he was injured Monday night, according to the Boston Globe.
"His shoulder – he was having trouble getting loose," Francona said. "He didn't complain about pain or anything. The ball just wasn't coming out.”
No Word on a Replacement – Yet
Sox management has been mum thus far concerning who might replace Schilling in the rotation if he can’t start Sunday in Denver.
It’s possible that young lefty Jon Lester could be called up from Triple-A Pawtucket for a spot start. Lester has been rehabbing all season after a bout with cancer.
Several other Pawsox pitchers have also seen major league action as spot starters, as well.
Penny-pinching on Clemens Deal Could Haunt Sox
Boston – which under bid the New York Yankees by $10 million for the limited services of ex-Sox star pitcher Roger Clemens – could find themselves wishing they’d made more of a competitive bid for the multiple Cy Young Award winner.
Clemens, who is sporting an earned run average of 3.65 has pitched well since rejoining the Bronx Bombers early this month. He lost a 2-0 heartbreaker to the Mets last weekend at Yankee Stadium.
Schilling is the second Sox starter to go down with an injury since Clemens penned a contract with the Yankees. Josh Beckett (10-1) missed 15 days due to a problem with a finger on his pitching hand.
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