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July 21, 2007
By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer
PAWTUCKET _ Following his first rehab start with the Pawtucket Red Sox yesterday, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said he felt a bit awkward on the mound.
Not because he wasn’t pitching effectively, but just the fact he was back on the mound in a game situation for the first time since he was placed on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder on June 19.
The veteran right-hander was very sharp in his three-inning, 40-pitch outing for the PawSox at McCoy Stadium and said he hasn’t felt this good since 2002.
Schilling threw a side session at Fenway Park on Wednesday and played long toss on Thursday in preparation for yesterday’s start. During those two workouts, he told Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell he felt the ball was coming out of his hand better than it has in a few years.
It showed yesterday.
“Everything has felt different in the last two weeks, but in a positive way,” said Schilling. “I feel good about the outing. . . There were some balls today that I threw that I felt very good about. I don’t remember feeling like that for a significant period of time.”
Schilling worked on all of his pitches – curveball, fastball, change-up, split and sliders – saying it was the best he’s felt all season, including spring training.
“For the last five months when my arm got to the top slot the throw was more momentum than power,” he explained. “I would get my arm to a point and didn’t have the ability to finish the pitch and drive the ball through. In the last two or three weeks I’ve noticed that I could.”
He’s scheduled to throw another rehab start for the PawSox on Thursday in Toledo. There’s a possibility he could work a third game for Pawtucket before re-joining the Red Sox in Anaheim on Aug. 6.
“As much as I hate being on the DL and the guilt feeling of not contributing, I have a blast down here with these kids in this environment,” he said. “It kind of revitalizes you a little bit. I had a goal and some objectives. I was scheduled to throw 50 pitches and I only threw 40. I could have gone back out there, but I answered the questions I wanted answered today. That was the big and they were all positives.”
Schilling said he wants to return to the rotation as soon as possible, but at the same time he wants to make sure he’s healthy and doesn’t want to rush anything.
Left-hander Kason Gabbard has replaced Schilling in the Sox rotation and “he pitched really well today,” said Schilling. “The fact that we’re eight games up is huge. I’m not sure that our place in the standings would have changed the timetable for me because the main goal is to come back and pitch all the way through the World Series. I want to be healthy, effective and be the guy I can be.”
Because the PawSox offense struggled in the first two innings, Schilling was able to get back on the mound rather quickly to keep his solid momentum going. The only time he was crossed up was in the top of the third when he had to step off the rubber and ask Pawtucket catcher George Kottaras for a new signals, and because there seemed to be miscommunication the two had a meeting on the mound.
“George was great,” said Schilling. “It was hard to see, that was the only problem. [Working well with a batterymate] is a big thing because, for me, tempo is as important as anything else. If you’re out there shaking, shaking, shaking, you tend not to get into a groove. He was good.”
During his pregame warm up in the PawSox bullpen the Red Sox medical staff was keeping a close eye on the seasoned vet, and Schilling also had his family in attendance.
Even tough he was all business yesterday, arriving at McCoy early and watching a replay of Friday night’s Red Sox game, Schilling had some fun with former World Series teammate and current Louisville second baseman Mark Bellhorn during the outing.
“I made a comment to him after he swung at the first pitch,” Schilling said. “I’ve never seen the guy swing at a first pitch in the history of his career. He swung and I said ‘now you’re going to swing at the first pitch?’ He just kind of laughed.”
Bellhorn struck out swinging and he wasn’t the only one not to have success against Schilling yesterday.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 8:10 PM | Permalink
