Schilling not expecting much
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- He is Sports Illustrated's major league player of the year -- a "self-appointed ghostbuster" who became "the ultimate closer," the magazine raved -- but Curt Schilling has prepared himself since September for the prospect of falling short in the race for his first Cy Young Award.
Schilling, who finished second in the National League Cy Young race to his Arizona teammate Randy Johnson in 2001 and 2002, appears destined to rank second behind Minnesota's Johan Santana when the American League balloting is announced today. Pedro Martinez also is expected to receive considerable support.
Schilling, who went 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA in his first full season as an AL starter and 3-1 with a 3.57 ERA in the postseason, will be remembered by generations of New Englanders for overcoming a serious ankle injury to help carry the Sox to their first world championship in 86 years. He led the majors in wins and the AL in winning percentage (.778). He also led the league in the ratio of strikeouts to walks (5.8 to 1).
But Santana will be remembered for one of the most sensational four months of pitching in decades. The lefthander, who languished at 2-4 with a 5.50 ERA as late as June 3, went 18-2 with a 1.36 ERA the rest of the way, holding batters to a .148 average.
Santana finished 20-6 and led the league in ERA (2.61), opponents' batting average (.192), strikeouts (265), on-base percentage allowed (.249), and slugging percentage allowed (.315), among other categories. Schilling ranked second in ERA, on-base percentage allowed (.271), and slugging percentage allowed (.387), among other categories.
Martinez, who has won three Cy Youngs, finished at 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA. He ranked second in strikeouts (227), third in opponents' batting average (.238), and fourth in on-base percentage allowed (.301).
Contact sport
In addition to renewing talks with Jason Varitek's agent, Scott Boras, Sox general manager Theo Epstein met with several other GMs and spoke on the phone with a number of other agents, including Orlando Cabrera's for the first time since the annual GM meetings began Monday.
Derek Lowe visited the Ritz-Carlton, where the meetings are being held, to strategize with his agent, Boras, but did not see Epstein, who has not made the sinkerballer as high a priority as the team's other top free agents: Varitek, Cabrera, and Martinez.
Epstein also spoke with Carl Pavano's agent, Scott Shapiro, who met with the Yankees, Tigers, and Reds after meeting Tuesday with the Orioles and Mariners. Pavano, who went 18-8 for the Marlins this past season, particularly would interest the Sox if Martinez departed.
As for the notion that the Sox are hamstrung by their high number of free agents (16), Epstein said, "Every year things are up in the air. There's a world of opportunity out there if are you open-minded and flexible. We have some unanswered questions about the retention of some key members of the 2004 club. That will work itself out in due time, but we're not paralyzed by this process."
Higher power
It's going to be a little harder for hitters to clear the Green Monster next season. Due to reconstruction of the field to improve drainage, the playing surface will be 10 inches to a foot lower, increasing the height of the Wall from 37 feet . . . The Sox claimed lefthander Billy Traber off waivers from the Indians, gambling the $20,000 waiver claim that Traber, a first-round pick of the Mets in 2001, can bounce back from Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him all last season . . . Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino and pitcher Bronson Arroyo will lead a team contingent in taking the World Series trophy to Rhode Island today for a rally on the south steps of the State House in Providence at noon.
