No Japan trip for Beckett, Dice-K will start opener

It’s official: Josh Beckett will not be making the season opening trip to Japan.

Said Terry Francona:

Beckett threw off the mound yesterday for the first time since injuring his back, and by all accounts the exercise was a success.

Dice-K Matsuzaka, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy on Saturday, now has clearance to travel to Japan and will pitch in the opener vs. the Athletics.

Lester will start game 2.

It should be a pretty special day for Matsuzaka, as he’ll be throwing in front of his countrymen for the first time since defecting to the Major Leagues last year. 

Beckett’s back worsens, Crisp and Lugo still hurt

Josh Beckett’s back flared up today, and he feels pretty pessimistic about his chances of pitching soon.

At this point it seems unlikely that Beckett will be making the trip to Japan, which was my original fear. 

In other injury news, Coco Crisp didn’t take batting practice today because his left groin is still sore.

Damnit Coco, don’t you know it’s hard to trade you when you can’t play?

And why stop there?

Lugo is still out with a sore back. He was expected to take some swings today, but didn’t show up at BP.

Meanwhile, I’m waiting for a smallpox epidemic to hit camp.

Ortiz says knee feels almost 100 percent

After playing most of last season with a bum right knee, David Ortiz is back and ready to rock.

Ortiz underwent surgery immediately following the World Series, and after months of rehabilitation he’s “Getting almost 100 percent.”

He still has some swelling in his knee after he works out, but he doesn’t have “that clicking and that pain that I was having before.

“I know you don’t get any younger at this game, and this is a game that’s all about speed - hitting, pitching, running, doing everything. So the older you get, you have to put in a little bit of extra work in what you do so you stay in good shape.”

Even with a bum knee, he managed to put up what I think were the best offensive numbers of his career in 2007.

It will feel good to see him crushing the ball again. 

White Sox: No record of Schilling surgery

After checking through the medical records for their past and present major and minor league players, the White Sox believe that “none of their players, either on the major league or minor league level, has undergone the type of surgical procedure Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling believes he needs to keep pitching.”

Tony Romeo, a member of the White Sox medical staff, had previously stated that he’d performed the surgery on at least two pitchers in their minor league system, but he refused to provide the Red Sox with names.

Now that his claims have been discounted, it appears that no professional baseball player has ever had the type of surgery that Dr. Morgan recommended.

Looks like a good call by the Red Sox to go with the rehab route…

State of Schilling’s shoulder no secret to Red Sox

Curt Schilling made a blog entry tonight that adds some additional insight to the timetable of his injury and recovery.

Apparently Schilling and the team have known about the injury for “three months now.” He maintains that “The Red Sox were never in the dark and knew the first day there were problems.”

If true, Kudos to everyone involved for keeping that news quiet for that much time—the Yankees (or worse yet, Red Sox) might have Santana right now if that info was leaked.

Interestingly, the tone in Schilling’s blog entry feels more positive than it was the last time we heard from him. Maybe that’s just what happens when you can edit yourself before your words hit the press, or maybe it signals a new willingness to toe the company line and play down the drama. Or hell, maybe it means actual acceptance.

Whereas yesterday he said that “I don’t have a choice” in reference to the club’s rehabilitation plans, today he took a more passive approach. “I am rehabbing and doing everything possible to get healthy and pitch again. Were there disagreements? Sure. Does that matter now? Absolutely not. The course of action has been laid out and I am dead set on making this work.”

Schilling obviously understands the financial impact that his injury had on the team—and how couldn’t he? “At the moment they are out 8 million dollars for a guy that cannot pitch, that can’t be a good thing,” Schilling wrote. “I’d bet that I’ll figure out some way to validate this entire thing when it’s all said and done. If you don’t like that, or believe that, then feel free to bet against me, it won’t be the first time.”

He goes on to make the type of prophetic statement that makes Schilling who he is, saying that he “will pitch again, and win.”

Not bad, but how about this one (my words): “I will pitch again, and win, and make 50,000 Yankee fans shut up.”

Schilling breaks silence: Talks about his shoulder

Curt Schilling spoke to a group of reporters this morning, ending his spring training silence.

He said that he notified the team that something wasn’t right with his arm long before the press caught hold of it, but everyone involved kept quiet with the Santana trade on the table.

“I actually reached out to Theo when the Santana thing came out because I knew I was not in a good situation and I knew if we started to poke around medically word might get out and I didn’t know how much interest there was on our behalf. I didn’t want to put him in a disadvantage, a leverage situation disadvantage. So I reached out to him very quickly to John Farrell and to Tito and told them I was very concerned and didn’t want that to mess up their discussions with the Twins.”

He responded to the fans and members of the media who suggested that he knew he was hurt before he signed the $8 million contract.

“Let’s be clear, if some people want to believe this was me taking advantage of the situation financially I wouldn’t have done it here. I would have done it in at least two other places for $14 million. If I was going to sit my ass on the DL and collect a paycheck. I know that for a fact. People are going to believe what they believe. I was healthy at the time. I didn’t feel great, but I felt like I was 40 or 41.”

Though Schilling clearly sides with Dr. Morgan and disagrees with the team’s rehabilitation plans, he’s promised to dedicate himself to the process.

“If their course of action doesn’t work I don’t pitch this year, and I may never pitch again. I don’t have a choice. I have to mentally get behind it and do everything I can do to make it work. It certainly isn’t the best spot to be in. When you here 5 and 10 percent and never pitch again and those things. I’m disappointed that after 21 years my career might end like this. But it is what it is. And if I never pitch again, as disappointing as it may be, I have no regrets about everything that I’ve been able to experience.”

He said that he was silent for the first part of spring training not because of any problems with the front office, but because he didn’t want to take anything away from the team.

“I don’t want to be a distraction. It’s one of the reasons I put this part of it off because the goal to be defending world champs and win the World Series. I don’t want to screw that up. There are so many great stories, and so many good things going on here. I don’t want this to impede any of that.”

Schilling concedes that he will need to have surgery at some point, whether it comes before or after his baseball career ends.

“I will have to have the biceps procedure at some point in the very near future in my life if I want to live a pain-free, normal life.”

Hansen K’s snoring

Craig Hansen is sleeping better these days.

In 2006, Hansen checked into a sleep study clinic, where he was diagnosed with sleep apnea, a condition that caused him to wake up an average of 56 times an hour.

He decided not to have corrective surgery at the time of diagnosis, because it would have delayed the start of his 2007 season.

He finally underwent surgery in November of 2007, and now that he feels rested, he’s focusing on getting his slider back in form.

“It’s a lot better. It’s got more bite to it. Mike Griffin was able to help me out at Pawtucket with that and we worked on that every day. Now I have that pitch, as opposed to not having it at all.”

If his slider continues to improve and he gets the call to Boston, Hansen should be a valuable option out of the bullpen. The club will be closely monitoring Okajima’s pitch count, and Delcarmen could use some help in the backup role.

Red Sox did not insure Schilling’s contract

The Red Sox didn’t insure Curt Schilling’s 2008 contract.

Before a contract was offered to Schilling, the medical staff suspected that his shoulder was in bad enough shape that he wouldn’t be able to pitch a full season.

They “initially proposed that he sign a half-season contract much like the ones Roger Clemens has had the last couple of seasons.” They also “either raised red flags about re-signing him or recommended outright that he not be brought back.”

Clearly the club suspected that they wouldn’t get a whole lot out of Schilling in 2008, and I’m sure they at least explored an insurance policy.

Maybe he isn’t insurable at this point in his career, or maybe the premium wasn’t worth the risk

Regardless, I’m a bit surprised that they didn’t have some kind of protection seeing as they didn’t exactly have high expectations for his health. 50% coverage on a one-year $8 million contract wouldn’t be a huge gamble for an insurance company as far as these things go. I mean, nobody would have expected in November that he wouldn’t pitch at all.

Schilling gets cortisone shot, plans to go without surgery

Curt Schilling has decided to comply with the Red Sox’ wishes and rehab his shoulder without surgery.

“After being diagnosed by the Red Sox medical staff I sought a second opinion, as anyone would, and when it became clear there was disagreement (which is not uncommon by the way), I agreed to see an independent Doctor from a list the Red Sox provided me, for the third opinion.

“At this time I have agreed to abide with the clubs wishes in hopes that will provide the results they believe it will.”

Schilling is scheduled to receive a cortisone shot today as the first step in his rehabilitation. If he responds well to the cortisone shot, then the Red Sox will probably decide to move forward with their rehabilitation program. If he is still in excruciating pain a week from now, I’d imagine that surgery will have to be reconsidered.

After hearing Dr. Morgan speak about Schilling’s shoulder, I’m less optimistic that this thing can be resolved without surgery. Schilling was resting his arm for most of the offseason, but noticed a dramatic increase in pain when he started his offseason throwing program in January.

“And by dramatic, he told me he could throw a ball five feet. By dramatic, I mean this guy’s got pain opening a door. He was not able to complete all of the positions that were requested for his MRI on Jan. 24 because he couldn’t put his arm above his head and hold it there without excruciating pain—that’s what we’re talking about here.”

He gives the Red Sox’ rehabilitation recommendations no chance to succeed, and describes the injury as degeneration of his biceps tendon. The Red Sox’ doctors also noticed “a thickening of the rotator cuff and some fraying of the labrum.”

Dr. Morgan doesn’t see how the injury can improve without surgery. “I think his chances of that [Red Sox rehab recommendations] being successful to the point where he can rehab, get stronger, and become pain-free to be able pitch effectively are near zero.”

The Red Sox believe that any surgery would keep Schilling out of baseball for the entire season, while Morgan is more optimistic. He believes that he could be back by the All-Star break.

Early reports that the Red Sox tried to void Schilling’s contract now appear to be over-stated. The club has threatened to take that action only if Schilling has surgery without permission.

Schilling’s injury is serious: Red Sox tried to void contract

On XM radio today, it was said that Schilling’s doctor is recommending that he have surgery to repair damage to his shoulder. The Red Sox of course do not want him to take that route, seeing as they’re paying him $8 million for one year of service and would get no return on their investment if he spends the season rehabbing his arm.

The Boston Herald reported that the injury is believed to be to either his rotator cuff or labrum. If true, Schilling would presumably miss most, if not all of 2008.

The Red Sox attempted to void his contract because of a disagreement over whether he needs surgery.

It will be interesting to hear how long he has known about this injury, and whether he withheld any information from the club.

If this really is going to be his last year in baseball, I wouldn’t be surprised if Schilling decided just to hang up his cleats. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for him to spend six months getting his arm back into pitching shape, when there may not even be a spot in the rotation for him come September.

Hopefully this thing doesn’t get too nasty before it comes to a resolution. 

Schilling won’t be ready for spring training

Curt Schilling is experiencing shoulder issues, and won’t be ready for the start of spring training.

This is presumably the same shoulder issue (tendinitis, if the Red Sox are to be believed) that sent him to the disabled list in 2007.

Though it’s still possible that Schilling will be available on Opening Day, it seems unlikely at this point.

Schilling’s aching shoulder may have just punched Buchholz’s ticket into the starting rotation.

Lester is ready to go

When Jon Lester showed up to spring training last year, he was down to 190 pounds after losing a considerable amount of weight during his chemo treatments and cancer recovery.

Though it was an inspiration to have him back in a Red Sox uniform, his fastball lacked its usual pop, and it was clear from the outset that he still had a ways to go in his physical recovery. The Sox put him on a special program to ease him back into the game, and he spent most of the season in the minors.

Lester worked hard to build up his strength over the season, and his efforts were rewarded with a victory in the clinching game of the World Series.

He continued his hard work into the offseason, and he’s now back to his normal weight of 225 pounds, and ready to play some baseball.

Though pitchers and catchers aren’t due at the Red Sox spring training facility until February 14th, Lester is already there, continuing his training, and preparing for the start of the season.

He says that his fastball has finally returned to form, and that should help him considerably. He struggled to get ahead of hitters in 2007, when gave up a walk every two innings. If he can use his revamped fastball to get ahead in the count, his numbers should show significant improvement.

“Last year was uphill for the first half of the season, just trying to get physically back to where I was the year before or even the year before that. This year, I don’t have those hills to overcome.

“I come in at at my normal weight and just go out and pitch. I don’t have to worry about being in a special program or anything like that.”

It’s rare to find a young ballplayer with the drive that Lester has, and the further removed I get from the Santana saga, the happier I am that he wasn’t sent to Minnesota as a trade chip.

Lester is glad to remain in Boston as well.

“I don’t want to leave Boston. It’s a great place. I’m just glad I’m staying here. There’s no other place like it.”

It’ll be nice to have him back.

Schilling crits you for 5,000. You die.

In a recent interview with Allakhazam.com, Curt Schilling confesses that he is a World of Warcraft junkie.

“I am a hopelessly hooked World of Warcraft player now.”

I too have been hopelessly hooked on World of Warcraft (ok, I still am), so I know a thing or two about it. And I will tell you this, with absolute certainty:

If I were Theo, there would be a “no World of Warcraft during the offseason” clause in Schilling’s contract, with a bonus of 30,000 gold and an epic flying mount payable the first day of spring training.

If there’s one thing you don’t need when you’re trying to get in shape, it’s a hopelessly addicting game that rewards you for sitting motionless in your chair for 6-10 hours at a time while drinking beer and eating cookies.

One thing to remember, Curt: leveling your “thrown” skill doesn’t count as arm conditioning.