Curt Schilling’s exhibition start against Pittsburgh was going just fine yesterday…until he dusted off the Pirates’ Chris Duffy.
For having the audacity to dig in against the noted Everquest enthusiast, Duffy has a concussion for his troubles. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Bob Rossi gathers the differing reactions.
After his outing, Schilling — a past winner of the Major League Baseball Roberto Clemente Award for humanitarian service outside the game — offered little remorse over hitting Duffy.
“Bottom line is that ball should not have hit him,” Schilling said. “You got to be able to get out of the way with that pitch.”
Schilling explained that the previous pitch he threw to Duffy, one in which he jammed Duffy inside, was sent as a message for the Pirates’ young lead-off hitter to back off home plate.
Schilling said that for the first time in his career he is working on throwing inside during spring training; in an exhibition game against Boston College earlier this spring, Schilling also hit a batter on the head. Boston’s ace added that Duffy should have known pitches would come inside after the first at-bat, during which Schilling said he twice threw inside.
Pirates manager Jim Tracy initially tried to downplay Schilling’s words but later appeared taken aback by them.
“I’ve never seen Curt Schilling go out and start a game with the intention of hurting people,” Tracy said. “But if you start hitting people in the head… you need to be very careful of that.”
“I think most hitters will tell you the same thing,” Schilling said. “If you’re not comfortable in the box, your body will get out of the way. That’s part of it; it’s just the way it goes. I’m not trying to hit anybody in the head.
“If I throw a ball at your head, you’re going to get out of the way — not at the last second, either. And if you’re conscious of that when you get in the box, you’re going to get out of the way a lot quicker. I threw some balls in today to (Duffy) early… I’m just trying to either get him out of the box or get him uncomfortable. And to do that you have to continue to pitch in.”
The AP’s Howard Ulman quotes the Pirates’ Jack Wilson as follows,
“He should get out of the way?” an incredulous Wilson said after Pittsburgh’s 10-7 win Saturday.
“Did you hear that? He said that he thought Duffy should have been able to get out of the way of the ball,” Wilson told third base coach Jeff Cox when informed of Schilling’s remarks. “I think he needs to stop throwing at people’s heads.”
Sounds like a classic case of ‘roid rage to me.
Well done, Mr. Schilling. Keep up the important work of maintaining baseball’s sacrosanct image. But do please be careful the next time you have to bat, I wouldn’t want you to get a bruise. Oh, my mistake. Well, your teammates will surely not mind showing their loyalty by getting drilled in your place.
After all these aren’t bullets, are they? They’re just fuzzy little baseballs and I often confuse baseball with war, you know, with the long bombs, twin-killings, sacrifices and such. I’m sure, as a graduate of “Todd Bertuzzi’s Old School of Self Defense” you were just protecting your territory from a dangerous enemy who was brandishing his war-club, savagely opposed to your existence on this planet and intent on your violent demise.
Well done, you’ve rightfully earned your place in the pantheon of All-American heroes, like Msrs. Bonds and Palmeiro. Quick, cue the close-up of the bloody sock. Get the CMOH committee together, we have a new candidate. Bravo, I say. If we would have had more brave, tough soldiers like you at Iwo Jima, we would have won that war.
Hurrah for your fortitude! I know how you must struggle to barely keep your family fed in the economic dustbowl of MLB. How insecure your position within the company must feel., considering your temporary, part-time status. Do they give you any benefits for working 2-3 hours in a work week? If not, you chaps might consider forming some sort of union. I hear the miners have one, and we all know how easy their lives are.
Oh, and good show for the kids, as well. It’s important for them to learn that the best way to stand up for one’s self is by knocking someone else down. You know, they just don’t have enough violent, aggressive role models in their lives.
I wish I could write more, but now I think I’ll go and kick my grandmother in the shins, she’s been crowding the gravy all night but she should be able to get out of the way. After all, I did send her a message by humming a baked potato under her chin.
I wish you nothing but success in your sporting endeavors this season.
Sincerely,
George Steinbrenner
“For the first time in my career…” is a euphemism for “declining skills”