The Boston Herald is reporting that the Red Sox and Curt Schilling are nearing agreement on that one year deal that Schill said after the World Series he'd like to sign before walking away after next season. That is great news.
You can read elsewhere on this blog (two posts down) that I have come to believe in the Sox' business model, namely, no multi-year deals beyond 35th birthdays. That's why this will be a good move for the team. Curt doesn't want even the second year on this deal. He'll be 41 a week from Wednesday. He seems to have come to grips with the fact that he can't be the ace anymore. But he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox have Josh Beckett. Curt can't be the number 2 anymore. But he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox have Daisuke Matsuzaka. Can he be the number 3? Again, he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox watched Jon Lester light up the radar gun in the mid-90's in his World Series Game 4 start.
So Curt and Tim Wakefield can comfortably be the 4 and 5 guys. They can be the elder statesmen. They can advise and suggest. They can lead. Curt can deal with the press, and continue to provide some cover for the younger guys. And he loves to do that. Schill and Wake can glory in their roles of making the Red Sox winners again. And Curt should never again have to worry about matching up with C.C. Sabathia or Fausto Carmona. Hey, wouldn't you feel better about adding to your Hall of Fame argument if you're going against Jake Westbrook or Paul Byrd? Or missing Lackey and Santana for whoever's behind them in the Angels' rotation? Me, too.
For one more year, the risk of injury isn't that great. And the pitcher that emerged at the end of the year is fun to watch, much like Maddux or Glavine. He doesn't have to be Smoltz anymore. And, when he leaves the mound in his final start next fall, perhaps in the World Series, he will walk right into that place where Red Sox legends live forever in the hearts and minds of all New England, and all the far reaches of Red Sox Nation.
Curt is going to stay. And that's great news!
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