The Globe's Gordon Edes quotes Dr. Craig Morgan as saying the treatment prescribed by the Red Sox -- and which Schilling has now agreed to follow -- has no chance of success:
If [the Sox' plan] was successful, I think it would be the greatest thing known to man. But, unfortunately, that's not the case. That's like wishing for the best-case scenario. Wishing isn't going to make it happen. Within a week or two of the cortisone shot, he's unable to exercise due to pain, then it's over.Edes also reports that the Red Sox, thinking that Schilling's shoulder would not stand up to the rigors of a full season, initially proposed that he sign a half-season contract, and pitch about 100 innings. Schilling said no to that idea.
6 comments:
This is now, of course,just a battle of egos. Schilling naturally trusts his specialist. The Sox are naturally going to trust theirs, and no matter how emphatic Morgan is about it, the fact is that the "third opinion" brought in disagreed with him. The doctor who is most outspoken about how much better his diagnosis is than everyone else's isn't necessarily right. All that is certain is that someone will be able to say, "I told you so!," and for the sake of Curt and the Sox pitching depth, I hope its not Dr. Morgan. But all we can do is wait.
By the way, over on XM radio, Schil's injury was sufficient for Joe Castellano to designate the Red Sox as "off-season losers," because it "proved" that the team was wrong not to acquire Santana. To do this he adopted the standard worst case analysis approach to the Sox rotation so familiar from hopeful Yankee fans, to wit: Becket can't be counted on to repeat, Dice-K hasn't shown he's more than a #3, Wakefield is old and had an "injury-marred season" (and yet managed to win 17 games! Hmmmm...), who knows if Lester is really healthy, and Buchholtz is still a rookie, and if one of THEM goes down, the Sox are doomed because Curt's not around.
Translation: "I'm an idiot, but on a radio station where Keven Kennedy and Rob Dibble are considered analysts, this is the best you're going to get."
Wakefield is old and had an "injury-marred season"
Wakefield made 31 starts last year -- one more then Beckett and one fewer than Dice, who led the club with 32. It was the fourth time in the last five seasons Wake had at least 30 starts.
Schilling was on the DL for seven weeks last year.
Damn pesky facts.
(Schilling is three months younger than Wakefield, though, so I guess he doesn't qualify as "old".)
Comment from SoSHer 8 and 9 in Left:
"Seems to me that all three [doctors] agree he's in bad shape and unlikely any which way to pitch this season. At the margins, however, they disagree on what will give him a small chance to pitch this year. His doctor says surgery, and the other two say surgery will absolutely keep him out all year, so they default to no surgery and see what happens, which his doctor says means he absolutely won't pitch this season. If you step back, I'm not sure there's really a ton of disagreement between the three."
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Bingo. I may be being unfair, but I have concluded that for the vast, vast majority of the broadcast sports media, facts are irrelevant to their opinions. The comments about Wakefield require willful ignorance of the history of knuckleballers, Wakefield's career, his season patterns, his character and conditioning, and his performance last season. Of all the 0ver-37 starters in the majors, he is by miles the best bet to contnue his effectiveness.But I must have heard or read 50 times already that "the Sox can't depend on Wakefield."
Jack Marshall said...
The comments about Wakefield require willful ignorance of the history of knuckleballers,
Yet there are so few who can be effective and so few who seem to try....
Wake has made over 40 mil over his career....but there is always an abundace of guys who will throw their arms out year after year trying to hit 95.just amazed more guys don't try it....especially after surgery or losing their fastball....
9Casey: One reason, I suspect, is indicated by the fact that if Wake had achieved the same level of success with any other pitch, he'd have made twice as much money in his career. He's a proven ace with the knuckleball, and even now he's maligned and under-rated. A pitcher trying to get established with the pitch just isn't going to get a fair shot unless, like Wakefield with the Pirates, he arrives with a bang.
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