News Flash: Curt Schilling craves attention

by
March 2, 2009

Brett Favre — er, I mean Curt Schilling — wants to keep playing:

Curt Schilling likes to break curses. The Chicago Cubs have had one for over a century.

Could it be the perfect match?

Schilling said Saturday that he’d like to pitch for the Cubs this season. The 42-year-old missed the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, but the thought of helping Chicago win its first World Series in 101 years might lure him back for one more season.

“Absolutely I’ll come back,” he said at Disney World, where he was appearing in ESPN The Weekend activities . . .

. . . Schilling, who has a career mark of 216-146, said money would not be a major issue. He’s looking for a team that has championship potential and has never won a title. “The challenge would be in a place like Tampa Bay or Chicago,” he said.

To translate, the “challenge” Schilling wants is to joint a team that is (a) already loaded with pitching; and (b) is already favored to make the playoffs, glom on to its pitching staff, grab another ring, and then get all kinds of media love for being the guy who “put them over the top.”

How about this, Curt: offer your services and celebrity to the Royals or the Pirates or someone who could maybe — maybe — use those things. Not that he’d do it, of course, because neither of those situations would maximize the Schilling-centric coverage he so obviously craves.


10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Steve Watson
15 years ago

Curt really did help make it happen for us in Boston in 2004 and was always an entertaining interview on the radio. His act tired, though, just about the time his skills diminished, his fitness declined, and his attention drifted to becoming a spokesman for Republican candidates

0
tadthebad
15 years ago

Well, who would you prefer to hear about campaigning teams for a roster spot?  Weren’t Clemens’ deals sort of the same thing, only more drawn out and for much more money?  At least Schilling is somewhat intelligent…no linaments, though.

0
The Common Man
15 years ago

@ tad,

Schilling knows just enough to think he knows everything, just enough to be insufferable.  He was an excellent pitcher, but nobody with a set rotation and a roster crunch (like the Rays) is going to want him around soaking up a spot on the 40 man and being a distracting quote machine, especially if he’s unable to back it up anymore. I’ll tell you who I’d rather see campaigning for a spot (aside from, you know, anyone):  Personally, I’m hoping for another Julio Franco comeback.

http://www.the-common-man.com

0
tadthebad
15 years ago

TCM,

I agree that he probably shouldn’t be taking up roster spot for a contender.  As for his large mouth, meh, sometimes he has great things to say (like his experience in Iraq), sometimes he’s a horse’s ass (like when he campaigns to pitch for contenders).  But he’s honest, and usually informed.  I’ve just learned to listen to what I want and leave the rest…and I don’t even feel a need to complain about him.

Let him go.

0
MooseinOhio
15 years ago

I won’t be shocked if Schilling tries to be a second half rent a pitcher as Clemens did for several years.  His ego is too big not to attempt such a move at least once plus it gives him media coverage for his opinions and again his ego still needs to be fed so just talking about whether he may come back feeds the beast.

As a pitcher he may be able to help a team in the second half of the season by filling in the fourth and fifth spot on the rotation, especially in the NL where six solid innings would be a decent contributions.  Top AL rosters may be too much for him so I cannot see the Rays making a move but the Cubs, Giants, Brewers, or Dodgers may make sense.  He could try a feel good story ala Griffey and try to entice the Phillies but that already ahve their 40+ pitcher and don’t need the playoff experience he could bring.

0
Hickock73
15 years ago

Back off Schil. you jerk!

I hear so many people talk about Curt “running his mouth” but never a word about the fact that most of the time the guy is dead-on right. He’s called out players he KNEW were dirty and cheating the game. So what the hell is wrong with that?!

How can anyone bust Curts chops for enjoying the spotlight when you can’t turn on a TV without seeing the latest steroid cheat from the Yankees making another empty apology for doing “something” wrong. 

At least with Schilling we knew he wasn’t out chasing mannish strippers and chomping ‘roids like A-Fraud.

  Curt Schilling stands out in the world of MLB today simply because he speaks the truth regardless of the BS he’s gotten from those who would prefer to remain blissfully ignorant of the games issues (like the jerk who wrote the article here).

And why wouldn’t a team like the Cubs be more than happy to bring in one of MLBs best playoff pitchers of the last twenty years?

Instead of attacking Schilling you should be kissing his fat hairy ass for having enough moral integrity to speak the truth in a game that has lived and flourished off of lies for the last two decades.
If anything the game needs more players like Curt.

0
Hickock73
15 years ago

“Schilling knows just enough to think he knows….” – The Comon Man

Sort of like yourself, huh?

0
The Common Man
15 years ago

@ Hick

Not at all, Hick.  I know enough to know that I clearly do not know enough and want to know a great deal more.  Does Curt Schilling know a great deal more than me about playing baseball?  Undoubtedly.  He knows more than me about building a winning team.  But there’s a profound difference between me spouting off and Curt Schilling spouting off, and that’s that people listen to Curt Schilling.  As he writes on his own blog (http://38pitches.weei.com/general/to-every-professional-athlete-alive/), he’s a role model.  His words and actions have had (and perhaps still do have) real effects.  And it’d be nice if he weren’t such a prima dona, windbag, and attention monger.  I want to like Curt Schilling, I really do.  2004 was wonderful.  Now if he’d just stop talking.

http://www.the-common-man.com

0
scatterbrian
15 years ago

“The challenge would be in a place like Tampa Bay or Chicago,” he said.

Whoa, two 97-win teams. Way to challenge yourself, Schill.

0
Joao
15 years ago

I don’t understand the negativity towards Schill here in this particular case.  If you were players, or just-retired players who could probably still play under the right circumstances, wouldn’t you find this to be an awesome fantasy-fulfillment idea to help the Cubs win a World Series? I mean, that’s gotta be pretty cool.  I know a large part of his motivation for this is the ego-boost, but I’ve always had the impression that he loves the game, the lore, the history, all that stuff, and while I can only fantasize about helping the Cubs or the Astros, or some other long-suffering franchise, get over the hump and bask in the glory of a city’s unleashed euphoria, well, that’s something I can only be jealous about.  The digs here just seem snarky and petty.

0