Daily Archives: November 25, 2003

After weeks of silly headlines, Mike Piazza attempts to set the record straight: He does not want to be traded and is willing to play some games at first base:

“I don’t want to be traded,” Piazza told The [Newark] Star-Ledger in a casual, matter-of-fact tone by phone yesterday from his L.A. home. “I signed on for seven years. I made a seven-year commitment and I plan to stick to it. I don’t know where all this came from, but it didn’t come from me. What hurts me is that the fans are confused, and they shouldn’t be. It’s kind of embarrassing. It shouldn’t be about me. It should be about making the team better.”

…”I’m just trying to be accommodating, to help the team. I think we should have open lines of communication and we should be adults about it. They shouldn’t be afraid to come talk to me about anything. I’ll do whatever they want me to do. My agent was quoted saying I’m willing to play first base. I’ve said it over and over again. What do I have to do, go to the top of a mountain at high noon and sign it in blood?”

That would be funny. Not necessary, but funny. I’ll settle for watching Mike play the air drums in the outfield during pre-game warm ups.

Travis Nelson has a winning (and funny) critique of the M.V.P. voting process. Travis offers some constructive criticism to Jayson Stark and makes his case for what “value” really means. This piece comes in two-parts (Part I and Part II) and I highly recommend that you stop by The Boy of Summer and give it a look.

The Red Sox high command will be in Arizona today to meet with Curt Schilling. From what I can gather, it is just a matter of time before Arizona’s right-handed ace joins Boston. Here is this morning’s coverage in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, New York Times, Daily News and the New York Post. Jayson Stark, who has been close with Schilling since the pitchers’ days with the Phillies, has the scoop at ESPN:

“I’m dealing with this situation exactly how I would if I were a free agent and Boston was a city I was interested in,” Schilling told ESPN.com Monday night. “And I’m going to assess things just the way a free agent would who was thinking about going somewhere.

“I’m concerned about a lot of things — and many of them are not just in the clubhouse and on the field. They’re personal, family issues. And they’re things I have to think about in a very condensed time frame, because by Friday at 5 o’clock, somebody has to have a decision.”

…”In a sense, I’m still standing on the mound with the ball in my hand,” he said, “because nothing has been determined. And nothing will be determined without my wife and I saying yes. That’s just like I’m on the mound. I’m in full control of the situation until the ball leaves my hand. So now, the most important thing to me, in this situation, is to make the right pitch.”

One major selling point for Schilling is the impending hiring of Terry Francona as the next Boston skipper. Schilling played for Francona in Philly.

Before flying out to meet with Schilling today, Boston GM Theo Epstein attended the Celtics-Knicks game last night in Boston with free agent reliever Keith Foulke. Looks like Red Sox Nation is going to have much to be thankful for come Thursday.

Hall of Fame southpaw, Warren Spahn passed away yesterday. He was 82. Spahn was famous for a fluid pitching motion and high leg kick. Oh yeah, he also holds the all-time mark for career wins by a lefty, with 363. He pitched for 21 seasons and won 20 or more games 13 times. He will be missed.

Forget the three-team swap. According to ESPN:

Boston would send left-handed pitcher Casey Fossum, lefty Jorge De La Rosa, righty Brandon Lyon and outfielder Michael Goss to Arizona for Schilling.

Schilling will meet with Theo Epstein and John Henry tomorrow in Arizona to work out the details for a contract extension:

“Money is not going to be the key factor. I already have more money then I am ever going to spend. It will have to be right for me, my wife and family. The Red Sox have some positives, the Yankees have some positives, but we will see after I talk to them.”

…”I’d rather stay here in Arizona, I have said that all along. I am adamant about that,” Schilling said at the news conference. “I realize that it is a payroll decision. They have to move payroll and change payroll. Twelve million dollars is a big chunk of that. You can’t always get what you want.”

Welp, Yankee fans, it looks to me as if Curt Schilling will be wearing a Boston uniform next year. (Do you feel angry or relieved?) That makes for an imposing front three, no? But as scary as it may seem