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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Schilling Obsession Kicks into High Gear

I wonder if Curt Schilling sleeps well at night? I wonder if in the middle of the night he wakes up and sees two beady little eyes in the corner and asks himself, "Is that a rat?" "Oh no, " he mutters to himself, "that's just Dan Shaughnessy."

Shaughnessy's hyper obsession of the Big Lug kicks into high gear this morning as he questions the breakdown of of Schilling's shoulder just months after Schilling signed an $8M contract. While Shaughnessy raises some legitimate questions, in its whole, it is a totally irresponsible and reckless piece of journalism. At its core, there is the hallmark of Shaughnessy: a failure to do a lick of research....Schilling won't talk to him; there is no insight offered by the team; there is no analysis offered by the medical community....but that doesn't stop Shaughnessy from putting this piece of garbage together. Shaughnessy just fills the gap by pontificating, speculating and ripping...

- He hints that Schilling knew his shoulder was hurt before he even signed the contract because he so readily grabbed the Sox lowball offer. This is a really cheap shot--just to casually question someone's ethics like that

- He complains that Schilling has been shaking hands with politicians and cutting ribbons at supermarkets but that he can't throw a ball across the infield.

- He suggests that Schilling hurt his shoulder after signing the contract by doing something non baseball related (blogging or reaching for a doughnut...oh that's a good one, Dan)

- Of course, Shaughnessy is critical of Schilling's methods for communicating to the public...between the blog and paid appearances on the radio.*

(*Is it not ironic that this comes one day after the NESN article in which Shaughnessy complains about the media exposure of the Red Sox but only to be feasting like a pig from the trough himself? Schilling is no more of a media whore than Shaughnessy is. Seriously, how nice it must be for Shaughnessy to moonlight like this--he should be focused on his primary job as columnist but he is too busy filling the airwaves himself. Maybe if he took time to research instead of finding new ways to collect a paycheck, we would not be treated to this crap day after day. )

Shaughnessy lays this whole bloody mess at the feet of Schilling. No blame for the Red Sox? After all, they are the ones who signed him to the contract knowing that his velocity was down; they did not insure his contract; they did a physical and pressed ahead anyway. They had to know it was a gamble and they pressed ahead anyway. There are two parties to a contract and because one side is Schilling, Shaughnessy puts his blinders on and fires away.

In the end, this was an amateurish hack job. In the ultimate irony....Shaughnessy, the media whore himself, is spread too thin with writing books and showing up on TV to be capable of writing a legitimate piece. I wonder if Shaughnessy wakes up in the middle of night and sees the beady eyes of a monster in the corner and thinks to himself "That must be the Big Lug" before he realizes that he is just looking in the mirror.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is Dan too lazy to spell 'Schill''s full name?

Anonymous said...

I didn't read today's "column". I didn't need to. If it's a Shank piece written about Schilling, I know what it say already.

Doesn't he know that the more he writes this garbage, the more he looks like the world's biggest whiner? Shank (and his parent company...who just blew $1,360,000 on Schill) has made a lot of money off of the Red Sox mostly because he was preying off of the fan's lovable loser mentality.

Now, that his cash cow is gone due to the Red Sox being one of the best organizations in baseball and winning two World Series titles, he focus' his rusty razor wit and bitterness on a guy who's really not all that controversial and the fans seem to like.

As much as I like Schilling, I can't wait for him to retire so I can see Shank self-destruct.

Who's he going to pick on next? Pedroia? Youkilis? Manny, perhaps? Seriously, who's the next most "controversial" guy on the team?

Anonymous said...

Shaughnessy is so predictable it's pathetic. Since he's so universally despised he can't get anyone to speak with him directly. The only way he obtains "quotes" is via press conferences. It's high time the Globe dumps him. Maybe they can ship him 180 miles south, to The New York Times. Perhaps we all should go to church and light candles with that prayer in mind. Shank, get a life!

Anonymous said...

As predictable as the sun rising in the East every morning, this column was its usual waste of space. Sycophants like OB will defend this POS, but seriously, someone explain the purpose of this column. Wah! He won't talk to me so I'll take shots at his blog and his weight, among other things.

He'll be back on the anti-Manny bandwagon the second Manny is late for camp.

Chris said...

The beauty of being a columnist is that you don't need to do any research. That's for REAL writers. Once you reach the haughty & elite level of a Shaughnessy, you've earned the right to look down from upon high. You've earned the right to pontificate (albeit from a sinking-ship pulpit). You've earned the right to be flat-out wrong. Why? Because you've earned tenure. In the time-honored tradition of school teachers and professors, tenure allows for shoddy work without any repercussions.

Now, this Shaughnessy-Schilling battle has been going on for as long as Schilling has been here. It is a thinly-disguised rant by Shaughnessy against Schilling's blog, 38 Pitches. It's a snooty, haughty 'How-dare-you-talk-directly-to-my-customers!!!' campaign. But Schilling's the one with a beautiful wife and multiple homes and respected charitable work. Shaughnessy is the one who lives in 'a house' somewhere in Groton, who has a rather nondescript, unimpressive family, who wouldn't know how to even SPELL 'Charity' never mind participate in one.

dbvader said...

That comment about the lowball offer is a joke. Schilling was a 40-year old who missed almost two months on the DL. He wanted to stay in Boston so he suggested the the weight clauses. I don't think he jumped at the "lowball" offer because he knew he was hurt.

Unknown said...

This is such a vintage Shank piece today that I almost want to frame it. It is THE perfect example of everything I hate about him. Since I didn't really have to pay attention while I was reading (it was all the same typical anti-Shilling rant), I allowed my mind to wander down memory lane of previous CHB nemeses.

Remember the "Diva," Pedro?
And I do believe he was a Clemens hater before Rocket skipped town.

This makes me notice a pattern: Shank hates #1 starters (not that Schill is anymore, but Shank can't let go of a grudge!). Josh Beckett's turn will come next year, I guarantee.

And he'll always have Manny.

Unknown said...

I forgot to mention my favorite reckless accusation! Apparently Schilling "bullied" his way into the contract, according to Shank?!

Because the Sox front office was cowering in fear that he'd sign with the Devil Rays instead, I guess.

Anonymous said...

When the four contributers to this site open up to who they are (ala FJM) will we find out 'they' are Bob Ryan, Gordon Edes, Nick Cafardo and Amalie Benjamin?

Boy, that would be sweet!

Anonymous said...

//Josh Beckett's turn will come next year, I guarantee.//

Oh, God no. CHB has never said and will never say anything to or about Beckett, because Beckett would snap him in half with one hand.

Getting called "Giant Sphincter" in Schilling's blog is nothing compared to incurring the wrath of Joshua P. Beckett.

Dan Kennedy said...

Hasn't it been reported that the Sox gave Schilling a physical, including an MRI? The Sox knew they were taking a risk. Schilling's 41 and has thrown 10 zillion pitches. That doesn't make him a bad person ... except to Shaughnessy, apparently.

Anonymous said...

Dan

Notice you are a journalist. How is Shaughnessy viewed by fellow journalists?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous...

I'm a professional journalist ... and I wouldn't pee on Shaughnessy if he was on fire. Read Mnookin's book about the Sox. It simply reinforced everything I believed about Shank's approach to journalism.

Anonymous said...

Reading skills continue to suffer.

The column recites questions raised by the sudden development of potentially career-ending injury problems before a pitcher who had signed a new contract had thrown a single pitch. The questions are legitimate.

As for Mnookin, the less said of him the better. Perhaps when he matures and stops his incessant and vitriolic campaign against one particular writer he may be able to write thoughtfully about baseball.

Hmm, maturity as a curb on incessant and vitriolic campaign against one particular writer. Could we expect... nah. Too much to hope for.

Dubegedi said...

OB, I agree with your sentiments about the column itself, this Schilling campaign is irritating but CHB wouldn't sound quite so stupid had he not written this exact column 10 times before.

My issue is with your criticism of Mnookin. What the hell are you talking about? He is a damn good baseball writer, one of the few who makes an attempt to understand sabermetrics and your allusion to his "incessant and vitriolic campaign against one particular writer" you either A)Aren't referring to Dan Shaughnessy or b) don't read anything he writes.

Dave M said...

OB
Your reading skills continue to suffer as well. In the original post, I said Shaughnessy raises some legitimate questions.
It is the way that Shaughnessy frames it that is horrid for a major sports columnist.

As for Mnookin, I look forward to reading Feeding the Monster. I just took a look at his blog and he actually has some praise for Shank - for being able to strike a chord and standing up and taking his licks. I would similarly give Shaughnessy credit. Nevertheless, Shaughnessy's ability to maintain #1 status on the Globe's sports page just amazes me...a majority of his columns are the mail it in type. Globe readers deserve better

Monkeesfan said...

OB, the questions aren't legitimate. Shank just asks them to jsutify hating Schilling.