'Absolutely Insane'?

My thoughts earlier today concerning Curt Schilling brought a couple of e-mail responses.

Shallow Center's South Jersey Correspondent couldn't believe what he was reading:

You are absolutely insane!! If the rumors are true on what the D'backs want, the Phillies cannot do this deal. We need to be positioned to win this year and contend in coming years. If it's true that Arizona wants three major league-ready players in return for Schilling -- one of whom must be Myers -- then that limits the Phillies to the possibility of winning only this year. How can you advocate trading Myers? He's going to be a really good pitcher for a long time, while Schilling will be here for maybe two years, with no guarantee that we would win anything.

Also, isn't it convenient that now that we're spending money, Schilling wants to come back here? I think that speaks quite clearly to his character. If he has so much loyalty to Philadelphia -- as he claims -- why must there be a contract extension? If he really wants to pitch here, he should go to Arizona's GM and tell him -- Garagiola Jr, yes? -- that he must do whatever it takes to get this deal done. He must then tell Ed Wade that he'll do whatever he has to do on his contract to make it work for the Phillies, not for himself. Then, and only then, I will believe him when he says he wants to pitch and win here.


I should have been clearer in my original post that I'd really rather not see the Phillies trade Brett Myers. I really, really like him -- he has the stuff and the makeup to be a very good pitcher for a very long time. I recall that when he was drafted a few years back, quite a few people were comparing him to one Curt Schilling. So, yes, I'd like to see the Phils hold onto him. My thoughts from earlier were meant simply to advocate that Ed Wade explore all avenues in an attempt to lure Schilling to the Phillies.

SCSJC then fired off a follow-up e-mail whose subject was "I forgot the most important point of all!": "The 'man' is nothing if not on thing: a clubhouse cancer. Just ask Scott Rolen, not that I'd listen to anything he had to say." Not having been in the Phillies clubhouse when Schilling was here -- a remark that can also be made of SCSJC -- I cannot venture an estimation of his cancerous qualities. Schilling has always looked out for Schilling, true; but he has also demonstrated an uncommon knack for rising to the occasion, a trait sorely missing in many of the home nine in 2003.

Meanwhile, my pal Jason, a die-hard Yankees fan, checked in with the following:

Completely agree with you about Schilling. Philly has to make this happen -- it makes sense all around. And from a Yankee standpoint, it really makes me mad that Soriano and (especially) Johnson are so close to being traded for yet another aging player. Yeah, Schilling is terrific, but the team needs to get younger, not to mention retain some players who make less than $6 million a year. So I'm rooting for you guys to get Schilling as well.


Jason, I think, raises a good point. The Phillies, a nice blend of veterans and young guys, are on the cusp of the playoffs, a player or two short, while the aging Yankees seem ready to blow it up and start over. It seems to me that a guy like Schilling would be a lot more valuable to the Phils than the Yanks.