Schilling Out Until All-Star Break

That was quick. There's already been some clarification as to just how much Schilling's injury will affect him next year. According to the Boston Globe, Schilling has elected to go without the surgery and will likely return to action around the All-Star break.

This is good news for the Red Sox. Schilling missed a quarter of the season last year to the same shoulder injury and the team still managed to lead the league in ERA. So it shouldn't be a large blow to the team for him to miss half the season next year. As for how Schilling will perform coming off the injury, that's all speculative at this point. But last year Schilling did his best work of the season, coming off the same injury, to the tune of a 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 1.06.

It now appears likely that the Red Sox will go into the 2008 season with star prospect Clay Buchholz in their rotation. Buchholz, who will be on an innings cap of about 180, could then get some time off when Schilling returns. And if everything works out to plan, Buchholz will be available for the playoffs in 2008.

Questions About Schilling's Shoulder

The health of Curt Schilling's shoulder has recently become an issue. How much of an issue it is is unclear at this point, however. So far, the facts are as follows:

One doctor (Craig Morgan) has recommended that Schilling have surgery on his shoulder now. And the Red Sox have looked into if it would be possible to void Schilling's contract. But that's all anybody really knows. Anything else at this point is speculation.

There is conflicting news on just how much time Schilling could potentially miss in 2008. Some say that he's questionable to start Spring Training on time, others go as far as to say he's questionable for the entire season. It's likely that any news source knows just how severe Schilling's injury is. And Schilling's pitched hurt in the past, so even with an injury he may still be able to contribute to the rotation.

It's also likely that news sources are blowing Schilling's injury out of proportion. With a lack of interesting news to report on, many newspapers are no doubt desperate for attention. Even so, this will be an important story to follow throughout the season.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they have arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball ready to take on 180 innings of work. And if worst comes to worst, they could always rely on Julian Tavarez as a starters, as they did for most of last year. But it would be ideal to have a healthy Schilling as he has been an elite pitcher in the division the last two years and has a track record of postseason excellence.