Schilling draws praise

ORLANDO - The common theme among a few baseball executives who I've bumped into this morning at the GM Meetings is praise for Schilling for taking much less money to stay in Boston if a deal is worked out.

Schilling probably could have secured at least one year and a vested option for a second year in the open market at close to or about the $13 million per year he received from the Red Sox last year. While one AL GM didn't know the exact particulars of what Schilling will wind up with on a one-year deal, it's expected that he will play for, if he makes his incentives, in the $10 million range. Again, those are strictly ballpark figures and based on one GM's knowledge of what he's heard.