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A big congratulations is to be sent out to Curt Schilling on gaining his 200th career victory last night against the D-Rays. Schilling improved his record to 8-2 on the season while striking out 7 in the process. Schilling may end up going down as one of the best big pressure pitchers in the game. Known across the bigs for his preperation, intensity, mouth, and his competitiveness, Schilling has emerged as one of the most recognizable figures in the game.
I look at Schill as a guy your glad is playing on your team. Because he's so outspoken, I feel like he at times can put a large target on his back for opposing fans and players, but he's the type of guy that you're glad as hell to have on your side. I like to call it the "Rodney Harrison Factor". The Rodney Harrison Factor describes a guy who you'd probably hate if he was on another team. For Yankee fans their Rodney Harrison Factor player would probably be Gary Sheffield.
Schilling's victory last night helped the Red Sox improve to 11 games over .500 and helped maintain a 2-game lead in the AL East. Timmy Knuckleball takes the mound today at 2:05pm EST as the Sox aim to get the four game sweep.
Congrats again Curt, you may be he largest reason the Red Sox finally won it all in 2004, and for that you'll be viewed in Orr, Bird, and Russell status in New England the rest of your life, and you deserved it. I'll end this post with a quote from Charles Euchner's "The Last Nine Innings":
"Curt Schilling's defining trait is his preparation for games.
The Diamondbacks' pitcher studies every batter, every game situation, more thoroughly than any player on any team. Working with a video company in Los Angeles, Schilling maintains a vast electronic library of images of hitters he might face. Over six years, Schilling has accumulated clips from twenty thousand at bats. He studies the clips to develop strategies for the batters he expects to face in the next game, looking for patterns and tendencies in different situations that he can exploit in game situations."
Sounds like the guy you'd want on your side indeed...
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