Thursday, May 24, 2007
Curt Schilling: Time to worry?
After Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling had his worst start in years on Opening Day this season, he put out a few great starts in a row. However, he has struggled versus New York and his last 5 starts have not been what Red Sox Nation has been accustomed to seeing from Schilling.
Here are Schilling's last 10 starts (which is every start this season):
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GB | FB |
| 5/23 | @NYY | L 3-8 | 6.0 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 |
| 5/17 | Det | W 4-2 | 6.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 14 |
| 5/12 | Bal | W 13-4 | 5.1 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 5/6 | @Min | W 4-3 | 6.2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| 5/1 | Oak | L 4-5 | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| 4/25 | @Bal | W 6-1 | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 8 |
| 4/20 | NYY | W 7-6 | 7.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 4/14 | LAA | W 8-0 | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 4/8 | @Tex | W 3-2 | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| 4/2 | @KC | L 1-7 | 4.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Complete Game Log | |||||||||||
The numbers from the two starts versus NYY and the 5/12 start versus Baltimore are somewhat scary. A total of 18.1 innings pitched, 14 ER and 29 hits allowed, though his walk totals are down. His last 3 starts have been 6 innings or less and he hasn't gotten a win in his last 5 starts (the 5/1 start resulted in a ND due to a blown save). Aside form his start against Detroit, his walk totals have been down, but sometimes, it might be necessary to walk a batter. For instance, last night when Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada came up in big spots, it might have been a good idea to maybe issue an "unintentional-intentional walk." The high hit totals suggest a lack of command, which startles me a bit.
Curt Schilling also seems a little bit worried and needless to say he was not impressed by his last start:
"A craptastic finish to what could have been a nice series. I never gave us a chance to even get into this game. I felt great during the day, even better after warmups and then the game had to start...I’ve faced these guys so many times that the game comes down to executing a plan both Tek and I knew well going in...
"We ended up getting through six but I struggled to do it. 24 base runners in the past 12 innings means there isn’t just one problem here. From lack of command to horrible execution, the problems run the gamut. This game always is and always will be about making adjustments and right now there is a plethora of adjustments that need to be made. (38 Pitches)."
It may be that Schilling is just hard on himself, but he hasn't had the best command his last few starts. He's gotten hit a bit and will continue to do so. Also, he has been inconsistent with his Ground ball to fly ball ratio, which suggests some experimenting. Curt Schilling may be 40 years old, but he is still an integral part of this pitching staff given the Beckett injury, Daisuke Matsuzaka's inconsistencies and Tim Wakefield's streaky pitching.
Curt Schilling's performances will be something Red Sox Nation has to monitor all season long, as Schilling is a free agent at the end of the year, and the Sox need this guy to pitch well in order to continue to stay on top of the AL East.
5 Comments:
I think it is way too early to worry about Schilling. He has had two poor showings against the Yankees, but that offense is pretty damn potent so cut him a little bit of slack.
Schilling currently possesses a 3.94 ERA in an extremely tough AL East. He has pitched well for the Sox this year. Also, when he doesn't bring his A game it is great that he goes at least 5 innings, so you don't have to waste the entire bullpen.
Also, I love reading that quote from his blog. He is so self-critical, as a fan you know he is going to work hard to fix his current pitching issues. I think he will be fine and continue to pitch with an era around 4. The Red Sox don't need him to be great, but just consistently really good. With the exception of a few games he has been that.
As a Yankees fan, every time Schilling loses is a good day for me
He can't keep pitching like that against NY. We gotta beat those guys.
Also, he was under .500 after the All-Star break last year, so that's also a cause for concern.
I think he'll be fine, I haven't turned on him yet. I'm one of those guys that said the Sox should have extended him.
Schilling will be fine. He is a hard worker and maintains a good attitude throughout the slump.
No point in worrying about one game (this is the only loss that sticks out because it was against those yankees.
K rate still looks pretty solid, and the BB rate isn't too bad... he's obviously had a couple of bad starts, but definitely not time to worry. Yet.
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