Because there’s no better way to replace one self-important, middle-aged mercenary in the starting rotation than by adding another, Newsday’s Jim Baumbach calls a mooted Mets pursuit of Curt Schilling “a no-brainer” for some of the follow reasons.
1. He wants only a one-year deal.
There are no better free-agent signings these days than short-term ones, which the Mets are aware of. Remember they did not fall for Barry Zito last year because of the seven-year commitment that he sought (and received). Signing Schilling gives the organization another year to find and develop more young pitchers to eventually take over.
2. The National League factor.
Anyone who saw Schilling pitch this past season, especially late in the year, knows he is far from his old self. His once-feared fastball now sits in the mid-to-upper 80s, and he’s become incredibly reliant on command. But let’s not overstate his downfall here. His statistics – 9-8, 3.87 ERA, 165 hits, 23 walks and 101 strikeouts in 151 innings – are still impressive for an American League East pitcher. Put him in the National League pitching half his games in Shea Stadium and it’s reasonable to expect a better season. Case in point: Pedro’s ERA went from 3.90 (’04) to 2.82 (’05) and his WHIP dropped from 1.17 (’04) to .95 (’05).
3. He’s a big-game pitcher.
Tom Glavine had a nice run with the Mets, though he will be remembered for coming up so small when the Mets desperately needed an ace. How do you think Schilling would have fared in that spot? Schilling is 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason starts, and you can make the case he’s the best big-game pitcher to come along in years.
It’s hard to argue that Schilling doesn’t have a knack for delivering the goods in what Sir Christopher Russo likes to call “a big spot”. But it’s equally impossible to ignore that Schilling made just 24 starts in 2007, two years after an injury-plauged campaign in which he made only 11. Given the Mets’ inability to count on Glavine, Martinez or El Duque throughout all of last season, does it really make sense to add another starter in his physical decline, one all but guaranteed to have one or two stints on the DL?