Sox Drawer: Schill spouts off again; Wiggy to Boston?

Curt Schilling lambastes Bonds, Canseco and other noted juicers--again
Despite a blast of Barry Bonds and other reported steroid users a few months ago that brought a lot of heat & criticism on Schill's shoulders, eventually causing him to backpedal faster than a Tour cyclist away from a doping test, the garrulous one is at it again.

On the latest installment of the HBO series "Costas Now", Curt targeted Bonds, Jose Canseco, Raffy Palmeiro and other suspected juicers when he got off a few 'roid-related rants.

Regarding the allegations leveled at Bonds, Curt said:

"If someone wrote that stuff about me and I didn't sue their [butt] off, am I not admitting that there's some legitimacy to it?"

On Canseco admitting he used steroids for his whole career, Schill pulled no punches:

"Jose Canseco admitted he cheated his entire career. Everything he ever did should be wiped clean. I think his MVP should go back and should go to the runner-up."

Ah, that runner-up just happens to be Boston's own Gator Greenwell, but that's besides the point I guess.

And finally, Schill had this gem in response to Mark McGwire's infamous Capitol Hill testimony:

"It goes to the Mark McGwire thing in Congress. I mean, I'm a huge Mark McGwire fan. But I just always thought it was very simple: If you did something and someone asks you if you did it and you didn't do it, you say no. Any other answer than no is some form of yes, isn't it?"

Please Curt, for everyone's sake, just close your mouth and do what you do best--throw a baseball. There will be plenty enough time to speak your mind and put your foot in your mouth when your career is over and you enter the next phase of your life--politician.

Thank You.

Say it ain't so: Rays might get Wiggy with it
You would think they learned their lesson about acquiring former Devil Rays infielders.

Not content to call the Lugo experiment a potential disaster, the Sox are reportedly in talks with the Rays to acquire mediocre infielder Ty Wigginton.

Living here in the (other) Bay area, I can say that the few who follow the Rays love this guy for his work ethic, attitude, hustle and versatility. He surprised everyone associated with the team when he made the club following a spectacular spring last year, and to his credit he turned that opportunity into a solid season (.275, 24HRs, 74RBI.)

Also to his credit he is having another solid season, batting .273 with 15 homers and 48 ribbies in 97 games, but my question is, who is he going to replace in Boston, and would he be a better fit than what they've already got?

I guess that would be a pair of questions.

Although he has played mainly at second base this season he is considered more of a corner infielder, so that would mean he would be replacing Youk or Lowell. Make that Lowell.

To paraphrase John McEnroe, "Theo, you can't be serious!?"

I'm not even going to get into all the reasons why this would be a horrid move, number one being that this guy looks strictly like a career utility player who is perfect for a shitty team like the Rays but a mismatch on a pennant contending club like the Sox.

But the bigger picture is what troubles me. With rumours abounding that the Sox are interested in Mark Teixeira, Todd Helton and Dodger's Andy LaRoche, it seems like the Boston brass has its mind made up that now is the time to dump Mike Lowell while his bat is hot and the interest is high.

And I guess in the long run if you can replace an again and error prone fielder with a young and explosive hitter like Big Tex or Todd Helton, the deal has to be made.

But to bring in a guy like Ty frigging Wigginton in place of a Mike Lowell?

All I can say is if that happens Theo better dust off the monkey suit!

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CurtBeingCurt is the new MannyBeingManny

Another week, another full-blown Curt Schilling. v. "The Media" mini-controversy.

Actually, this week there's a 2-for-1 in that department.

Schill warmed up for a week full of word warfare when he weighed in on the Stankees' signing of Rocket-for-hire Roger Clemens last Sunday. "We don't need him," was the quote attributed to Curt the next day, and it was replayed ad naseum on all the ESPN networks and sports websites, as if him saying the Sox don't need to add an aging, ego-maniacal, pampered, professional baseball mercenary to this already playoff-caliber club was actual news.

But Schill the Blogger took to his site, 38 Pitches, and excoriated the media wags, one Boston Globe writer in particular (not naming any names, ahem, danshaughnessy) for once again taking a quote, you guessed it, out of context, distorting what Schilling actually meant.

What he meant to say was the Sox don't need to add an aging, ego-maniacal, pampered professional baseball mercenary to their already playoff-caliber club, only in a nicer way.

That piddling brush fire had barely been squelched when the next wave of attacks on my fellow blogger began. It started after Schill was on the "Dale & Holley" show on EEI Tuesday and ripped a certain huge-headed slugger from San Francisco and the chance that Bonds could break Aaron's all-time home run record when the Giants visit Fenway in mid-June. Among the verbal grenades launched by Schill, this classic blast is the one that will be remembered and replayed for years to come:

"I mean, he admitted that he used steroids. I mean, there's no gray area. He admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think. Hank Aaron not being there. The Commissioner [Bud Selig] trying to figure out where to be. It's sad."

Needless to say that extremely un-PC (but deadly accurate) statement went over like a strip club-ban on Pacman Jones, as reactions poured in throughout the league and in Curt's own clubhouse, and the resulting firestorm forced the normally defensive Tito Francona to admit to everyone that his superstar with the super-sized mouth had gone too far. "I just think he should zip it a little" was the not-so-subtle advice from Schill's manager, and from the look of today's "Public Apology" backtrack job on 38 Pitches, the tactic worked.

All I have to say is all this shit is just icing on the cake. Schilling is a Hall of Fame pitcher who has set records, won awards, struck out a lot of batters, and most importantly, brought a championship to New England, just like he said he would when he signed. That stuff is great.

But a guy like that, with Hall of Fame talent & credentials, who isn't afraid to be different, to stir things up, to speak his mind, to have opinions and express them to the public in the form of a blog, they don't come around very often.

So every once in a while he calls out a slug like Bonds or an overrated, intimidating manager like "the great" Lou Pinella, so what?

It's all part of Curt Being Curt, so let's sit back and enjoy the ride.

Because when he's gone (next year?), we're certainly going to miss this shit!

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