Schilling has surgery

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- The Red Sox declared Curt Schilling's highly anticipated ankle surgery a success yesterday after the 21-game winner underwent the three-hour procedure at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston.

"It went well, and we're optimistic for a full recovery," general manager Theo Epstein said.

Doctors have said Schilling would need about 12 weeks to return to action after the surgery, and Epstein indicated the righthander should be ready for spring training.

Though the Sox limited the amount of information the hospital could release, the team's medical director, Bill Morgan, said the surgery to repair the ruptured sheath around one of Schilling's right peroneal tendons "proceeded as planned, with no complications."

Morgan, who is chairman of orthopedics at the hospital, led the surgical team in association with Dr. George Theodore, a staff physician at the medical center who specializes in foot and ankle surgery, according to a statement from the hospital.

The procedure involved an ankle arthroscopy and reconstruction of the sheath. The arthroscopy allowed Morgan and his team to examine the inside of the ankle joint without a large incision, according to the statement.

Later, as part of the tendon reconstruction, the surgical team performed an incision over the outside of the ankle. The peroneal tendons were evaluated and doctors placed the dislocated tendon back into its anatomic position and reconstructed the sheath.

Doctors also smoothed out a small cartilage defect in the right ankle joint. The defect caused discomfort for Schilling much of the season, leading him to get anesthetic injections before and during his outings.

Waiting their turn
While the Sox waited to gauge their chances of re-signing Pedro Martinez, they had yet to talk to the agent for Carl Pavano. Pavano's agent, Scott Shapiro, met yesterday with the Mariners and Orioles and said he expects to meet in the next day or so with the Sox and Yankees, among other teams. Pavano filed for free agency after rejecting a three-year, $21 million offer from the Marlins. "He'd love to be in a position where the coaching staff or the rotation has veteran pitchers he can learn from," Shapiro said. "He would love to be in rotation that has a Schilling or other veteran guys because he wants to continue to learn. He understands where he's been but he wants to continue to get better." Pavano, 28, who won a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003, went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA this past season . . . Look for the Sox to retain nearly their entire major league coaching staff, including third base coach Dale Sveum, who took some heat during the season. There were indications the only coach who may not return is bullpen coach Euclides Rojas . . . Yankees general manager Brian Cashman downplayed the notion that he endured serious backlash after the Sox won the American League Championship Series. "We fell short of our goal, obviously, and the Red Sox accomplished theirs," Cashman said. "It's harder to lose to them, of course, because of the rivalry. But we've lost before." . . . The general managers divided about 50-50 in a straw poll on whether to push back the non-waiver trading deadline from July 31 to Aug. 15. The GMs decided to launch a study and revisit the issue later. They also considered changing the rules for the Arizona Fall League to try to improve the caliber of pitching. The current eligibility requirements limit the pool of available pitchers. Among the proposals to be reviewed is allowing major league free agents and six-year minor league free agents to pitch in the league . . . Tomorrow is "Johnny Damon Day" in Orlando, Fla. Damon will be presented with a key to Orlando, where he went to high school and lives in the offseason.