Windup comes today on Schilling

General manager Theo Epstein spent Thanksgiving encamped in Phoenix with his baseball operations assistant, Jed Hoyer, amid reports that Schilling invited the GM for dinner to his home in suburban Paradise Valley. Sox officials said the talks continued yesterday but they could not confirm whether Epstein visited Schilling's home.

"Both sides are trying to reach an agreement, and that's encouraging," said Dr. Charles Steinberg, the Red Sox' executive vice president for public affairs, from San Diego, where he spent the holiday with club president Larry Lucchino.

Lucchino, who joined Epstein Wednesday in offering Schilling a multiyear contract extension to waive a no-trade clause and accept a swap from the Diamondbacks to Boston, was poised to return to Arizona today in anticipation of completing the transaction. The sides have until 5 p.m. to reach an agreement before Boston's exclusive 72-hour negotiating window closes.

Schilling is due to earn $12 million next season plus a possible $2 million in performance bonuses as he completes a three-year, $32 million extension he signed with the Diamondbacks after the 2000 season. He was expected to seek as much as $15 million from the Sox to pitch in 2005 and 2006 with an option of similar value for 2007.

The Sox have not disclosed the value of their offer and both sides have remained tight-lipped about the negotiations. Epstein and Schilling did not respond to messages.

"I couldn't characterize it in terms of optimism or pessimism," Steinberg said after consulting with Lucchino. "There was no color he could brush it. It simply goes on."

Schilling, 37, who shared the World Series MVP award with Randy Johnson in leading Arizona to the 2001 championship, has said the financial package would not be the overriding factor in his decision. In all, the former Sox farmhand has signed contracts through next season worth more than $64 million since he broke in with the Orioles in 1988, and he has demonstrated a willingness to be flexible. He helped the cash-starved Diamondbacks, for example, by agreeing to defer half of each year's salary when he signed his $32 million deal in 2000.

The greatest challenge for the Sox was expected to be persuading Schilling that his family would be happier in Boston than New York or Philadelphia as he pitches the final years of his career. He previously said he would consider waiving his no-trade clause only to join the Yankees or Phillies. He pitched more than eight years in Philadelphia and maintains close ties to the city.

Schilling also had harbored concerns about his ability to pitch effectively in Boston.

"I'm not going to Boston," he was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Inquirer Nov. 13 before the Sox offered four players -- Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, and Michael Goss -- to the Diamondbacks for him. "I'm a righthanded fly ball pitcher. In Fenway Park, that's not a tremendous mix."

In six career appearances at Fenway Park, including four starts, Schilling is 1-2 with a 6.04 ERA. One loss came in his rookie season in '88, when he surrendered four runs (three earned) in a start that lasted only 1 2/3 innings. His only other subpar performance at Fenway occurred in 1998 with the Phillies, when he was tagged for eight runs on 12 hits over seven innings.

The Sox clearly have convinced Schilling through statistical data that he could thrive in Boston. Otherwise, he would not be close to signing what is likely to be his final contract to play in the Hub. He is acting as his own agent.

Other than the $17.5 million extension granted to Pedro Martinez last April, Schilling would represent the largest signing by the new Sox owners. Their heftiest multiyear commitment since they bought the team early in 2002 was a three-year, $13.02 million contract signed by Tim Wakefield after the '02 season. The knuckleballer is the only player who has received more than two guaranteed years from the new regime.

If the Sox have their way, Schilling will join Martinez, Wakefield, and Derek Lowe in the rotation, with the fifth slot open to the likes of Byung Hyun Kim and Bronson Arroyo. The Sox will know by dusk whether they have succeeded.

"I think Larry expects the process to continue right through the allowable time," Steinberg said.